October 23 1989
Antic Hay, Bloody Jellies, Flying Kidney (Headcore didn’t travel over)
The Grattan
Gaynor from Preston was organising a tour for Dutch band Antic Hay and she asked if they could add Ireland to it. They were on the same label as Vernon Walters and
Gaynor had some good taste in music so I said fine, without hearing the band. The Grattan was a small venue that was cheap to rent. It held up to 150 people but didn’t
look deserted if there was 30 there. It was perfect for local bands starting out and for touring bands that might not attract a big crowd. As Not Our World were
regular guests there, the manager Peter Quigley was quite receptive to any ‘Hope’ gigs we wanted to put on. So we booked the Grattan and tried to encourage people to
come along. Luckily it wasn’t deserted although only 27 people turned up on the night. Antic Hay surprised me. I personally didn’t like them; they reminded me of U2.
Most of the 27 people at the gig were more impressed by Flying Kidney who also played. The Flying Kidney were pre-occupied with quirkiness. Their music challenged the
listener and people in Dublin at that time weren’t willing to be challenged
