June 9 + 16 1987

P.U.L.P

JJ Smyths

Kill Devil Hill asked any bands we met if we could play gigs with them. That way we got to sample local Dublin venues like the Underground. This was a small room in a pub, available to hire for £30. It had a P.A. and came with a sound engineer for your money. I came across The Pleasure Cell when I heard about a lecture they were  iving to Bolton Street College on the perils of drug abuse. After the lecture they played a gig. This happened every day for a week and Iwas there each lunchtime, enthralled that not only was a Dublin band playing great music but that, to them, being in a band meant more than just playing music. Seeing The Pleasure Cell was  inspirational. They brought out their own 7″ and were completely supportive of anyone at their gigs, always ready to talk and always friendly. Kill Devil Hill got to play quite a few gigs with them. We eventually split up however, as personalities were clashing and I was growing less interested in the music.

Jarlath and I started P.U.L.P (People Under Legislative Politics) as a 2 piece (bass and vocals with acoustic guitar). We changed our name to Hope after we heard a record by an English band called PULP. Michael Murphy, from The Pleasure Cell suggested it; he thought it was a nice word. After a few rehearsals we got a drummer and a second vocalist and searched around for a gig. We hired JJ Smyths (after seeing Paranoid Visions play there), hung up posters of then-Taoiseach of Ireland Garret Fitzgerald, his photo  upside down and with tape across his mouth, and felt ready to take on the world. We didn’t last long however as people in the band grew tired of it.

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