Mar 29 1996
Cheapskate, Gout, Brian Bannon, Stomach
Attic
Tag: Hope Promotions
Stomach, Bambi, Cheapskate, Blackbelt Jones – Dublin 1996
Dec 7 1996
Stomach, Bambi, Cheapskate, Blackbelt Jones (Benefit for St Vincent dePaul)
Attic
Down By Law, Wheel, Groundswell Barnstormers – Dublin 1993
May 10 1993
Down By Law, Wheel, Groundswell
Barnstormers
Bluetip, Kerosene 454 Dublin 1997
Oct 26 1997
Bluetip, Kerosene 454, Jackbeast, Hylton Weir
Fusion Bar
Bikini Kill, Team Dresch, Bis – Dublin 1996
Apr 20 1996
Bikini Kill, Team Dresch, Bis
Charlies Bar
Frank Sidebottom – Dublin 1993
Nov 11 1993
Frank Sidebottom
Barnstormers
Mr T Experience, Dog Day – Dublin 1992
Jul 4 1992
Mr T Experience, Dog Day
Barnstormers
MDC, Ciunas Barnstormers – Dublin 1992
Aug 1 1992
MDC, Ciunas
Barnstormers
Cornershop, Wheel, Jam Jar Jail – Dublin 1993
Feb 28 1993
Cornershop, Wheel, Jam Jar Jail
Fibber Magees (Anarchy Night Cafe)
Technically this isn’t a Hope gig but we arranged the accommodation and made the provision for Cornershop to play in the Anarchy Night Café. The band was looking to play Dublin on that date which was a Thursday. Rather than clashing with Anarchy Night café, which was getting regularly good crowds, we asked could they be put on the bill. This was readily agreed. The people behind the Anarchy Night Café had a similar motto to Hope: “We are not promoters, we are people – just like you”.
They went to a lot of our gigs so we knew they’d be keen on helping. Cornershop had been getting plenty of attention from the British music press, which was interesting from our point of view. We weren’t too used to dealing with bands that garnered such interest. All we knew about Cornershop was that they had a link to the Membranes. Our base line, though, was they weren’t on a major record label (at the time) so we were happy to help. The major label thing left us open time and again for criticism.
It grew and grew as people were questioning our activities. For me I felt I just didn’t want to deal with big record labels. Hope never signed a “contract” and never gave cast-iron guarantees. Sometimes we would have a good idea of how many people will go to the gig and would pass that info on to the band. It was a nice level to deal with people.
Headcleaner Irish tour 1993
Feb 24 1993 Headcleaner, Holemasters Barnstormers
Feb 28 1993 Headcleaner, Slunk, Flexihead Barnstormers
Headcleaner used many of the contacts they had made to organise an Irish tour. I loved their enthusiasm. They were willing to travel anywhere for a gig. They became regular visitors to the country and struck up many friendships. They may not be a big-name band or hugely popular but they were able to visit many parts of Europe on free holidays and have a great time doing so. Not as many bands looked to come over this year.
We were happy with that as my health was starting to improve and Miriam, Pat, Joe and I were trying to find a premises. We had an idea that it would be good to have our own place for gigs and tried to figure out the best way of making it happen. Finance came into the equation so we decided to start a coop and look at ways of getting funding. We expanded the idea into a café and saw that you could readily obtain grants to run a business.
Everything was flowing except the main ingredient: a suitable premises. Because we were getting funding everything had to be above board. Therefore any prospective place had to meet all the necessary health regulations (or have the ability to meet them). We spent a lot of time putting together business plans, setting up a co-operative and putting together the relevant paperwork for grants. Many afternoons were spent over coffee discussing the price of potatoes.