Pulling Faces

• Ken Kiernan - vocals, guitar, keyboards
• Ger MacDonald - keyboards, vocals
  
  
  Ger MacDonald is second from left, Ken Kiernen third from left.

Bio:

Pop band with some goth/new romantic influences. They had their moments, especially on the earlier records.

Pulling Faces was formed in 1980 by Ken Kiernan and his wife Ger MacDonald. The rest of the lineup was fluid over the next 6-7 years. They recoreded demos at Keystone Studios between October 1980 and March 1981. They released their debut single in 1982, and signed to WEA Ireland. By mid-1983 they'd recorded over 40 tracks and secured the managerial services of Michael Deeney (Horslips). They had three Top 20 hits in Ireland between 1984-87. Ken Kiernan's online bio claims they also had number one hits "across Europe" in the late 1980s but this must have been in Albania, because I can find no record of them!

Other members of the band included guitarists Conor Goff during 1983-85; Anto Drennan (ex C'est Clave) from 1987 onwards; bass was provided by Pat Courtney (Xerxes, Daddy Cool & The Lollipops, Sacre Bleu, Alleycats, etc); by Doish Nagle (Bogey Boys) in 1983; by Dermot Kerrins in 1984; and by John McKenzie from 1987 onwards; Paul Moran (ex Bogey Boys) was the longtime drummer.

All Pulling Faces artwork was handled by Jim Fitzpatrick. The front cover of "The Animal" is reminiscent of Fitzpatrick's design for the Virgin Prunes debut LP. Ken & Ger provided the music for Fitzpatrick's Erinsaga project in 1989.

Ken Kiernan was a well-known engineer and producer who founded Keystone Studios in Dublin in 1977 with Andrew Boland. His name appears in the credits on recordings by Sting, U2, John Martyn, The Chieftains, Clannad, and Christy Moore as well as a host of smaller local bands. He issued his solo debut LP in 1990, a collection of radio-friendly soft rock, and has since done soundtrack work.

Paul Moran was the drummer for the execrable Riverdance show during 1997-2000 and successfully sued his employers for aggravating his tinnitus in 2008!

Note: the discography is incomplete as I'm missing information about KENK02. Was this in fact "No Wonder My World Is Upside Down"?

tracks:
We're Only In It For The Money
Roll With The Flow
Why Do You Lie

tracks:
Front Page Story
Gonna Get A Gun
Money
Magazine Girl

side one:
The Animal (recorded 1984)
Loudest Whisper (recorded 1983)
Walk On Glass (recorded 1983)

side two:
Beats On The Heart (recorded 1984)
My Friends Are Normal (recorded 1982)
Don't Listen To Lies (recorded 1985)

Notes:
Six track mini-LP recorded 1982-5. Four of the six tracks had been released on singles. The two exceptions were "The Animal" and "My Friends Are Normal".

side one:
Power
Rain Don't Last Forever
Dance of Ghosts
Glad To Me
Filthy Minds

side two:
Are We So Blind?
Be My Friend
It Don't Stop
Wood for the Trees

Notes:
With Mel Collins (sax) and Frank Schaeffer (cello, additional keyboards)

 

side one:
I Am Tuan
The Vision
Belgatan (Our Will Is Strong)
Tailltu's Lament
Crom Cruach

side two:
The Dream of Nuada
Battle-Frenzy
My Love Is Yours
The Last Battle (Moytura)
Erinsaga

Notes:

"Erinsaga tells in words and music the epic legend of the earliest conquest of Ireland by a mysterious and mystical race known to the ancients as the Tuatha De Danann."

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.