Belters Only: Aiming to make Cork people feel good at Marquee gig
Conor Bissett and Robbie G from Belters Only in Cork recently ahead of their Live At The Marquee gig. Picture: James Jeffrey, PlayCreative
It was during the darkest, grimmest depths of November 2021 that Irish dance duo Belters Only released one of the greatest summer anthems of recent pop history.
The song was — a euphoric house jam with vocalist Jazzy which, within the year, was soundtracking sunny escapades at clubs and festivals across Europe.
A banger for the ages, here was one of those epic floor-fillers that somehow seemed to have always existed yet which also felt fresh and new.
“There was definitely a special feeling from the tune,” says Conor Bissett, who started Belters Only with Robbie Griffith after the duo met while DJing at Sin nightclub in Dublin in 2017. “We didn’t know how big it was going to be. But we knew it was a big tune.”
“When we made that tune, there was something special about it,” agrees Griffiths, seated alongside at their publicist’s office.
Some five years later, is a late-hours classic — a track that will again be lighting up the floors when Belters Only play at Live at the Marquee in Cork on July 3.
“Everybody when the sun is hitting their face, they have a different energy,” says Griffiths of festival season and the impending Live at the Marquee date. “When you add good tunes, everyone’s bouncing around.”
Bissett and Griffiths are skilled producers and DJs. But they also believe that much of their success is down to timing and the fact that they began releasing music just as the pandemic was coming to a close.
After two years of lockdown, young people wanted to experience freedom and togetherness — the very qualities which ripple through like a swirl of raspberry on an ice-cream cone.
“That definitely had an impact on the song doing so well. We always say the music industry was the first to close, the last to reopen. The people who relied on those spaces, they were deprived of bands and they were deprived of having a dance with people — the human connection,” says Bissett.
“House music brings people together — the connection is very important. When came out, covid was easing off. People were starting to dance together again. Hearing dance music on the radio was also a huge part of it.”
None of this was by coincidence. was written with the explicit purpose of encouraging people to come together and to celebrate what they had in common, he says. “It was very clear what the song was, what the intention of the song was,” says Griffiths.
“Our job is to try to get that feeling all the time and to follow that feeling. People were deprived of that. So when they did hear that song around the time they were able to be together again, it just took off.”
Live at the Marquee will be another high point in a career that has already seen them play 3Arena Dublin in October 2023 and February 2025. Those gigs were history-making as Belters Only were the first Irish DJs to headline the venue.
“We both individually had envisaged that show for so long,” says Griffiths.
“Dublin had wanted it for so long. Dublin is a small place so it was a success story for everybody because it was the first Irish dance act who were making our own music to sell out the 3Arena. And these people had followed us individually from the get-go. It was like family reunion to be honest. That’s the feeling we had at the time.”
They’re grateful for their success. However, there is a speck in the ointment: since the pandemic, they fear an opportunity has been missed. When it comes to clubbing, Ireland’s licensing laws remain draconian. heralded a bright future for Irish nightlife but this has yet to come to pass — to the frustration of Griffiths and Bissett.
“There aren’t enough spaces for them to express themselves. They have to go elsewhere, which isn’t right at the end of the day, “ says Griffiths.
“You’re a not a true artist if you can’t express yourself. blew up because people were able to come together. That’s what clubs do. The government is, like oh we’ll extend the laws so then more people can drink. It’s not about drinking — it’s about people who need an escape.”
- Belters Only play Live at the Marquee Cork, on Friday, July 3
