A-Z Artist Index Compilations Record Labels Media
Help Us! Contact Us Resources Timeline
Bio:
Powerpop/punk band who self-released a fantastic single which is now impossible
to find. It's as good as anything released on Good Vibrations and is highly
recommended. A CD of Blaze X recordings came out in 2002 which included the full
6-song demo session from which the single was culled. Amazingly, there are
even better songs than the two released on the single. The more often I play
this demo, the better it sounds. Think Moondogs, Tearjerkers and Ramones. Buy
the CD!
Blaze X formed in late 1975 in Tuam. They quickly learned to play and scored support slots for touring bands such as The Radiators, The Fuze, Horslips, Tony Koklin and most famously U2 at Leisure Land in Galway on December 18 1980.
In November 1980 they entered RCF Studios in Galway and recorded their self-released single which sold well locally but didn't have much distribution apart from some mailorder sales. They split in 1981 when they failed to achieve their ambitions.
Davy Carton later found fame in the Saw Doctors,
who also count among its
members ex Blaze X manager Padraig Stevens
and one Leo Moran , an early
supporter of the band who handled mailorder sales of their single and was later
in The Mix, managed All Cats Are Grey and
played in an early lineup of Too Much For The Whiteman.
Paul Cunniffe contributed to early
Saw Doctors
releases and performed as a solo artist in London. He died tragically in 2001.
A documentary about Paul Cunniffe was premiered at the Tuam Arts Festival in August 2007.
"Paul Cunniffe Man of Music Heart of Gold" can be viewed
here.
Recorded on St.Patrick's Day 1980 at the Scout Hall in Tuam (that's March 17 to you foreign devils). This is a live tape which circulated among fans at the time. It may in fact be their first gig. None of this material was used for the CD. About 17 tracks in all.
Only 500 copies pressed and it's a tough one to find these days. Plans to release the single in time for Christmas were scuppered by the death of John Lennon: Beatles records monopolised the pressing plants for several weeks thereafter. The single was finally collected by the band on December 30th. Most were sold locally and some were sent out as promos -- one of which went to RTE DJ Larry Gogan, who made it his Hit-Pick of the week (though the B-side "Rippy" was banned). Despite this success, the band failed to get on TV and the single was no more copies were pressed.
The crownd noises at the end of "Some Hope" were recorded at Pope John Paul's rally in Galway in 1979. 'Blackie' is credited with piano. Cover and label artwork by Jimmy McHugh, whose brother Mouse McHugh was in Too Much For The Whiteman.
This CD contains the complete 6-track session recorded at RCF Studios in
Ballybane, Galway on 23 November 1980 that yielded the single, plus 8 live
tracks from the gig recorded at the local Scout Hall in Tuam on 24.1.1981
which yielded the "I Used To Love Her" track on the Saw Doctors single which
(which itself is not included on the CD). A complete tape of this show exists.
Finally, video footage of live performances of "Some Hope" and "Should I?" exists.
Hopefully the next edition of the archive CD will include this material as bonus tracks.
We need your help to correct and/or complete this entry. If you can provide more information about this band, have scans, photos or any other memorabilia we can use, or spare copies of any releases, then please get in touch.