Tom Dunne: Farewell to Johnny Fean and sweet memories of Horslips in '72
Horslips in 1974: Jim Lockhart (behind), Johnny Fean, Barry Devlin, Charles O'Connor, and Eamon Carr (behind). Picture: Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
For what died the sons of Róisín? Was it so we might never again make it out of the group stages of Eurovision? “Irelande, nil point.” We are stuck in a time warp. We repeat the same mistakes. No one is honest. And it’s the hope that kills ya.
But that is not why we are here this week. We are here to remember Johnny Fean, Horslips wonderful guitar player; part of the band that changed everything in Ireland, the band that made Irelands showbands wonder, “What will we do now? Eurovision maybe?” There is a cogent argument to be made that 1972 was the year in which music as we know it began in Ireland. The showbands had the upper hand to this point. There was Rory and Van making original music and then there were The 700 showbands. There was almost nothing in-between.
Obviously, there were other scenes: the Beat Scene, the Folk Scene, the Prog-folk scene (yes, I really said that), the Trad Scene, etc., but they were fairly niche. Mass success wasn’t really on their agenda. They were pure of thought and mind, but they weren’t The Kinks.
If you wanted to hear the kind of music that was electrifying audiences in the UK or America you had The 700. They’d play “the hits of the day” brilliantly and entertain you mightily, but there might be a priest wandering the isles to maintain decorum. It was still more 1922 than ‘70s LA.
Plus, The 700 averaged eight musicians a band. That’s 5,600 Irish musicians playing in what were essentially covers bands. Factor in the band managers, drivers, tech crew, promoters etc, and that’s half of Ireland in wedding bands. Is it really a surprise we can’t write an original Eurovision song?
Then came Horslips. They started life as a made-up band for a TV advert and in many ways, they encapsulated the Ireland of the time. Front man (unofficial, but still) Barry Devlin had even dallied with being a priest. Jim Lockhart brought a love of Sean Ó Riada with him, and Eamon Carr a love of beat poetry.
Charles O’Connor brought a fearsome prowess on fiddle and mandolin for starters but was from England. You can’t help but wonder that apart from his musicianship, did that little bit of outside perspective sweeten the pot also?
Johnny was the last to join. A child prodigy from Limerick, Johnny was as happy playing rock music – he idolised Jimi Hendrix - as he was playing Irish trad music. Check out Sideways to the Sun, Speed the Plough or I’ll Be Waiting and prepare to be blown away by his guitar prowess.
Horslips were an instant hit. No one had ever seen a band that was proud of their Irish roots but were also writing original material with a rock edge, and an Irish lilt. Not until The Pogues mixed Irish trad and punk would such a cogent hybrid be seen again.
But it was what they did next that changed everything; they toured, endlessly, the ballrooms of Ireland. Wherever you were in Ireland, this was an original band that came to you! For the first time ever, this multi-headed God-like thing, in mad outfits, was playing your town.
The effect of this on the music-moving populace of Ireland has been described as being akin to the effect of the rural electrification scheme. Fires were lit in the hearts and minds of young writers, poets, aspiring band members all over the county.
You could be Irish and make music that was original. Once that genie was out of the bottle it was never going back in. Young musicians no longer wanted to be in showbands. The 700 were doomed. This was better, cooler and far, far more original.
It has never been forgotten. When I ran a radio poll in 2001 in conjunction with a Sunday newspaper, many thousands of people voted. U2 won, Lizzy were second, but Horslips - 21 years after their last gig in Ulster Hall - were third. It was then a huge drop off to fourth. The love was still palpable.
Shoot forward five short years from their formation to Dalymount Park and you have Thin Lizzy, The Radiators from Space and The Boomtown Rats topping the bill. You could not imagine that transformation from the perspective of a pre-Horslips Ireland.
Johnny was a beautiful, modest, man. He had an ease of playing that was a joy to watch. Travel on, friend.
