The Stunning

• Steve Wall - vocals & guitar
• Derek Murray - guitar
• Jimmy Higgins - trumpet/keys/accordion
• Joe Wall - bass
• Cormac Dunne - drums
  
  
  
  

Bio:

Formed by brothers Steve and Joe Wall, The Stunning mixed rock, country, some rockabilly, and a twangy guitar sound to good effect on their early singles, while the country influence is less prominent on their later records. Enormously popular in Ireland but virtually unknown elsewhere, it was probably this lack of international success which ultimately led to their demise in 1994.

The Walls family moved from London (where Steve was born) to Dublin (aged 6) and finally, when Steve was 14, to Ennistymon, Co.Clare. Steve Wall was interested in pursuing a career in acting rather than music but this was not to be (he later auditioned for the part of lead singer Deco Cuffe in The Commitments). He and Cormac Dunne were in Galway Band New Testament in 1982-83. This band included Eamonn Dowd, later of the Swinging Swine. The Stunning formed in Galway in 1987. They were managed by Padraig Boran. They made a huge impact with their first single, "Got To Get Away", which seemed to predict the rise of alt.country. The second single was followed by the The Half Past Tour of Ireland in August 1988, which took them all over the country. Live, they sometimes worked with a brass section and with a backing singers called The Stunnettes.

 

This hard-working approach to live work is what broke the band in Ireland and saw their debut LP "Paradise in the Picturehouse" enter the Irish charts at #8 on it's release in 1990. It was #1 for five weeks and eventually sold about 60,000 copies in Ireland. This was a remarkable achievement for a self-financed album. Despite this success, the band was never able to get ahead financially. They never attracted major label support (Mother Records was among the labels that turned them down) and there was a perception that they would not be successful in the UK, where the debut was released in September 1990. Later, Steve Wall reflected that the band should probably have relocated to the USA. More Irish hit singles followed during 1991, followed by a second album "Once Around The World" in 1992, round about the time the debut was receiving it's Japanese release. There was a live album "Tightrope" in 1993, and a US tour the same year, but mounting debts and a lack of success internationally (and the financial independence that success would have brought them ) led to the decision to split up in 1994. They played their farewell gig at Féile '94 followed by two nights where it all began, at Galway's Warwick Hotel - two nights deemed necessary to make sure everyone could get in. A greatest hits packing "Milking The Hits" followed in 1994.

 

The official website has a good overview of the band. Donal Duggan & Ronan Kavanagh were early members of the band. After the split, Steve & Joe Wall formed The Walls. Jimmy Higgins played sessions (Paul Brady a.o.) and eventually he and Derek Murray became Saw Doctors. Cormac Dunne became involved in various dance-music projects. The Stunning reformed for live shows in recent years, coinciding with the reissue program of their albums on their own Earshot label.

Does the 12-inch version have extra tracks? Contact Us us if you know.

tracks:
Half-Past Two
Got To Get Away

side one:
Brewing Up A Storm
Romeos On Fire
Got To Get Away
This Happy Girl

side two:
Half Past Two
The Girl With The Curl
Roll & Tumble
An Empty Feeling

2003 remix CD bonus tracks:
Town For Sale (B-Side to "Rises" Single)
Wish We Never Met (B-Side to "Mr Ginger" Single)
A Delicate Web (Live In Galway,Ireland)
Men Without Souls (Demo)

The original 8-track Solid cassette edition resequences the tracks as below:

Notes:
The band's debut LP spent 5 weeks at #1 in the Irish album charts and eventually went platinum but remained more-or-less unknown outside Ireland.
Issue #1 of the fanclub magazine The Bin (December 1990) mentions a 'Christmas Cracker' edition of Paradise in the Picturehouse which includes a free 3-song cassette, which was also issued separately for the sake of those who already had the album. This is undoubtedly the Merry Christmas Baby EP, which was also pressed as a 7-inch (see below) but if you know any more details about the freebie edition, please get in touch.

7" tracks: Merry Christmas Baby    His Latest Flame (Gerry Ryan Mix)   The Muck Concerto

K7 tracks: Merry Christmas Baby Got To Get Away His Latest Flame The Muck Concerto

Notes:
Created as a freebie for the 'Christmas Cracker' edition of the Paradise in the Picturehouse album (see above) but also issued separately. Are the regular and freebie editions idential? If you know, please get in touch.

side one:
Everything That Rises
Brewing Up A Storm
She's On My Mind
December Sky
I'll be Around
Rusty Old River

side two:
She's Not There
Turn It On
All I Can Do
Mr. Ginger
Heads Are Gonna Roll
A Delicate Web

tracks:
Subterranean Homesick Blues
The Zig Zag Wanderer
So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star
Paperback Writer

Notes: Four tracks, all covers. 1 recorded at Roseland Studio, Moate, Co.Westmeath; 2-4 recorded at West One Studios, Galway.

tracks:
Tightrope Walker (radio edit)
Town For Sale (radio edit)
December Sky
She's On My Mind
A Delicate Web

Notes: First two tracks off the forthcoming Tightrope album; the other 3 are non-LP.

 

Tracks:
The Hurt Inside
Town for Sale
Half Past Two
Frank the Tramp
Wish We'd Never Met
Tightrope Walker
All Out Of Luck
Mr. Ginger
Men Without Souls
The Mountain [Solid CD only]

Notes:
"The Mountain" features Irish T.D. ("and self-righteous pain in the arse"-- political editor) Michael D.Higgins reciting one of his poems with backing music provided by the band; this track was not included on the 2006 reissue.

side one:
Got to Get Away
Half Past Two
Romeo's on Fire
Brewing Up a Storm
Heads
Rusty Old River
Everything That Rises

side two:
December Sky
She's on my Mind
Mr. Ginger
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Wish We Never Met
Town for Sale
Tightrope Walker

Video tracklisting:
Heads Are Gonna Roll
Everything That Rises
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Half Past Two
Mr. Ginger (Live at Feile '94)
Brewing Up A Storm (Live at Felie '94)

The Grateful Dead, Ennistymon, 1989

Stunning tracks:
The Hurt Inside (live @ An Taibhdhearc, Galway, - July 1993)
Rusty Old River (live radio session, 8/2003)
Got To Get Away (live radio session, 8/2003)

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.