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If you had somehow gone back in time to 1976, when I first fell in love with Horslips, and told my spotty, 13 year old self that I would one day be responsible for charting the extraordinary journey of this pioneering Irish band, I would have laughed you out of the door because, hey, I was an aspiring musician. But at the very start, I had every intention of becoming a writer. In1968,attheageoffive,IformallyannouncedtomyparentsthatIwantedtobeajournalistwhenIgrewupandproceededtowritealettertoMichaelAspel,thenaDailyExpresscolumnist,seekinghisadviceonhowthisprecocious,workingclasskidfromLondon’sEastEndmightattainsuchaloftycareer. Tomyfamily’ssurprise,MichaelrepliedonanExpressletterhead,recommendingacoupleofUniver-sitydegreesandwishingmegoodluck. TheletterhaslongvanishedbutIhaveneverforgottenthekindnessshownbyMichaelintakingthetimetopointtheway.AsfarasMumandDadwereconcerned,theirson’sfuturewasmappedout. BythetimeIreachedmyteens,however,thelureofrock’n’rollhaddivertedmyattentionasIbegantolayapathforafuturecareerasaprofessionalmusicianandproducer.Aftertheageof16,IreceivedmyeducationfromtheUniversityof
Life,andwentfromonebandtoanotherinsearchofthatelusiveTop10status.BrusheswithfamewerefleetingbutImadeadecentlivinguntillatenightsandperiodsawayfromhomewerenolongercondu-civewithastateofdomesticbliss. Left-fieldthinkingwasapplied.Ihadalwaysbeenthego-toguywheneverfriendsneededacreativeparagraphortwowritten,andIhadaccumulatedawealthofmusicknowledge.PerhapsIcouldmarrytwodisciplines.Eureka! Withinthreemonthsofdecidingtobecomeamusicwriter,Ihadfivefeature-lengtharticlespublishedbyleadingmusicians’magazines.Theywereallluckybreaks.I’dinterviewedahandfulofmusiciansIknewand,chancingmyarm,Isubmittedpiecestoeditors,
hopingtheywouldbeofsomeuse. Imusthavedonesomethingrightbecausecommissionsstartedtopourin.Intheearly’90s,how-ever,therewasmuchcompetitionamongstthepooloffreelancewritersandIhadtofindawayofdistinguishingmyself. Uptothispoint,therehadnev-erbeenabookpublishedonthedevelopmentofrecordproductionthroughthedecades.Itwasagap
FROMROCKERTO WRITER
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Ian Tomey
Mark at his first typewriter, with his mother Joan, Christmas 1967.
On November 4th 2013, when a heavyweight biography on Irish music giants Horslips was published by The O’Brien Press, an unlikely dream was fulfilled.Its author, MARK CUNNINGHAM talks about his ‘Plan B’ career journey.
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thatneededtobefilledandIhadtheraw,brassnecktothinkIcoulddoit.‘GoodVibrations:AHistoryofRecordPro-duction’(SanctuaryMusicLibrary),mybookdébut,wasamilestoneforme;itgavemesomevaluablecredibilityandprovidedaspringboardformyfuturecareer. Soonafter,in1998,Ico-foundedmyownmagazinefortheliveeventproductionindustry,TotalProductionInternational(TPi),whichcontinuestothrivetwoyearsafterImovedon.Itgavemeanunimaginablelifestyle. Rarelydidaweekpasswithoutmeetingagiftedshowdesigner,witnessing
anintimaterehearsalforaforthcomingworldtourorreceivinganexclusivepreviewofapieceoftechnologythatwouldsoonchangeanaudience’sperceptionofliveenter-tainment. WiththepublicationofthenewHorslipsbiogra-phy–agenuinelabouroflovethatslowlyfermentedover18years–Iamproudtohavefilledanothergap.GiventhatIrelandissuchaliterarynation,itstrikesmeasoddlyironicthatithastakenaCockneytowritetheonlybookdedicatedtothefoundingfathersofCelticRock,butsometimesittakesanout-sideviewtomakesenseofitall.
Mark Cunningham (wearing cap) with Horslips members Jim Lockhart, Johnny Fean, Charles O’Connor, Eamon Carr and Barry Devlin. Below: Mark’s long-awaited hardback biography of the band.
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The author on stage with Horslips at the book’s launch event in Dublin.
Horslips’storyhadalwaysfascinatedme.Idiscov-eredthemlatebutfromthemomentIheardtheirDancehallSweetheartsalbum,Iwashookedonhowtheymarriedtraditionalmusictorock’n’roll,introduc-ingIrishhistoryandculturetomealongtheway. Intheiroriginal10-yearcareer,HorslipsinfusedIrishyouthwithanewsenseofnationalpride;theycreatedalivecircuitbyopeningupprovincialIrishballroomstoanewgenerationoforiginalrockbandsandshowedthelikesofU2thatitwaspossibletohavecompletecontrolovertheirartisticproduct. ItdisturbsmethattheIrishmediaoftentrivialisesHorslips’legendbyfocusingontheoriginsoftheirpeculiarnameandtheirextravagantwardrobehabitsintheearlydays.TheydeservemuchmorethanthisandIfeelblessedtohavebeenthepersontobringtheirfullstoryintothepublicdomain…atlast. Thememoryofdisappointingmyparentsoneeveningin1979whenIrevealedthatIwasoptingoutofjournalisticstudiestopursuealifeinmusichasoftenreturnedtohauntme.Myfather,aLondondocker,wasdeeplyhurtandittookmemanyyearstoridmyselfoftheguiltIfeltfromnotbeingathissidewhenhepassedawayin1983.Ihadbeenplaying
agigattheEmbassyClub,London’sanswertoNewYork’sStudio54,doingthepolaroppositeofwhatheenvisagedwhenIwasaboy. DadspentsomeofhislatetwentiesworkinginCorkandKillarney,wherehealsoearnednumerousmedalsasacyclist.HeadoredIrelandandwouldoftentellmachotalesofGuinness-fuelledshenanigans,pre-Elvis.Ifhewasstillaround,IthinkDadwouldbeswellingwithpride,notonlybecausehissonfinallyrealisedhiswritingambitions,butalsothathislatestworkcelebratesacaptivatingsideofIrishculture. IfeellikeI’vecomefullcircle.
Mark Cunningham
‘HORSLIPS Tall Tales: The Official Biography’ by MarkCunningham is published in hardback by The O’Brien Press, price €24.99. Visit www.obrien.ie
Featuring a detailed timeline of events, exclusive interviews, previously unseen photography and a wealth of memorabilia including original handwritten lyrics and session notes, this is the long-awaited, first-ever book dedicated to the history of HORSLIPS, the pioneers of Celtic Rock.
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