To Here Knows When - Great Irish Albums Revisited Paul McDermott

On this episode I’m joined by Gerry Leonard for a deep dive into Hinterland, the band he formed in the late 80s with Donal Coughlan, and the duo's 1990 album Kissing the Roof of Heaven. Both Coughlan and Leonard had been in a variety of Dublin bands during the 80s but it wasn’t until they both moved to Copenhagen in 1986 that they got to know each other. Early in 1987 the duo returned to Dublin and formed Hinterland – Coughlan was principally responsible for the lyrics while both concentrated on melodies and arrangements. Demos were recorded for a second album but it wasn’t to be. In the mid-90s Leonard headed for New York with $200 in his pocket and ended up working with Bowie. He’s worked with Suzanne Vega and loads of others and we chat about all of that and more. Coughlan, who was diagnosed with MS in his early 20s, sadly passed away in 2016, he was only 54. Episode notes are here.

A short video preview of Episode 41 – Kissing the Roof of Heaven by Hinterland.

A short preview of Episode 41 – Kissing the Roof of Heaven by Hinterland.

Joining me on this special bonus episode are Dr Richard McMahon (lecturer in History at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick) and Mike Smalle (academic librarian, musician and former frontman of the great Galway band Cane 141) to discuss Bring Your Own Hammer, a collaborative project that brings historians and composers together to create new song cycles based on historical sources and to re-interpret song material rooted in the history of 19th century Ireland and of the Irish Diaspora. My Grief on the Sea, the project's first album, was released recently featuring the late Cathal Coughlan, Mike Smalle, Jah Wobble, Eileen Gogan, Linda Buckley, Adrian Crowley, Michael J Sheehy, Carol Keogh and others. My conversation with Richard and Mike is interspersed with music from the album and Linda Buckley, Carol Keogh and Michael J Sheehy introduce their songs. Episode notes are ⁠⁠here⁠.

On this episode I’m joined by Liam Heffernan and Ricky Dineen from Big Boy Foolish, a post-punk duo from the northside of Cork City who have just released their debut album – Stall the Ball. Ricky was the guitarist in the legendary bands Nun Attax, Five Go Down to the Sea? and Beethoven and Liam Heffernan played guitar with another Cork band Mean Features, and is well known for his acting roles on both stage and screen. Ricky and Liam revisit "Get That Monster Off the Stage" my old radio documentary about their late friend Finbarr Donnelly. We chat about Ciarán Ó Tuama's recent film version of the documentary and the lads talk about about making music in their 60s, the origins of Big Boy Foolish, the writing, recording and release of Stall the Ball and much more. Episode notes are here.

A short video preview of Episode 40 – Hiding From the Landlord by Nun Attax, Five Go Down to the Sea? and Beethoven.