The Virgin Prunes was an
IrishIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
gothic rockGothic rock is a musical subgenre of Post-Punk and Alternative Rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
band. The band formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1986 after the departure of member
Gavin FridayGavin Friday is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter.-Career:Gavin was born in Dublin and grew up in Glasnevin, a neighbourhood located on Dublin's Northside...
. The rest of the band continued on without him for a while as
The Prunes, but they too ended activities by 1990.
Career
The band consisted of childhood friends of
U2U2 are a rock band that formed in Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr...
's
BonoPaul David Hewson, KBE , most commonly known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer and musician, best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife,...
. Lypton Village was a "youthful gang" created by Bono,
GuggiGuggi is an avante-garde Irish artist, once a member of the goth/post-punk band The Virgin Prunes alongside his close friend Gavin Friday. Guggi grew up and remains best friends with U2's Bono. In 1984 he left the Virgin Prunes to pursue his passion for art...
(Derek Rowan) and
Gavin FridayGavin Friday is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter.-Career:Gavin was born in Dublin and grew up in Glasnevin, a neighbourhood located on Dublin's Northside...
(Fionan Hanvey) in the early 70s, where every member got a new identity and where they could escape from dreary and predictable Dublin life and be anything they wanted to be. It was both lead singers Friday and Guggi who first gave a teenaged Paul Hewson his alter-ego and world-famous moniker "Bono Vox of O'Connell Street," later simply "
BonoPaul David Hewson, KBE , most commonly known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer and musician, best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his future wife,...
." Known for its outrageous and controversial stage performances, led by the bands' theatrical singer/songwriter Friday, they first began playing small shows in
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
gaining them a cult audience and ridicule from the culturally conservative community.
Friday and Guggi, along with third vocalist 'Dave-iD Busaras' (David Scott Watson), guitarist
Dik EvansRichard "Dick" ' Evans is the brother of David "The Edge" Evans, guitarist for rock band U2.The Evans brothers both played guitar in the initial line-up of the band, known as "The Hype," sharing their homemade guitar....
(brother of
U2U2 are a rock band that formed in Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr...
's
The EdgeDavid Howell Evans , more widely known by his nickname and stage name The Edge , is an Irish musician known best as the guitarist, keyboardist, and main backing vocalist for the Irish rock band U2...
), bassist Strongman (Trevor Rowan, brother of Guggi) and drummer Pod (Anthony Murphy), completed the original lineup.
Pod left the group and was replaced by Haa-Lacka Binttii (aka Bintii, aka Princess Tinymeat, né Daniel Figgis). With Binttii now on drums, tape loops and keyboards, the band secured a deal with
Rough Trade RecordsRough Trade Records is an independent record label, based in London, England. It was started in 1978 by Geoff Travis.-History:Geoff Travis was traveling in North America and amassed a huge record collection as he moved from coast to coast. He then shipped these records back to the UK which became...
. They released their first single "Twenty Tens (I've Been Smoking All Night)", through Rough Trade but on their own Baby Records label in late 1980. They released a second single "In The Greylight" in early 1981.
Two other Binttii tracks were released during 1980 before conflicts with other members forced him out of the band. "Red Nettle'" was included on an
NMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music magazine in the United Kingdom which has been published weekly since March 1952. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, which first appeared in the 14 November 1952 edition. The magazine's commercial heyday was during the 1970s when it...
compilation
C81 and "Third Secret" was included on the Cherry Red compilation
Perspectives And Distortion. Work had already started on the project "A New Form Of Beauty" while Bintti was with the band, but after he was replaced by Mary D'Nellon (Drums), some of his tracks were re-recorded and his name was not included in the credits.
"A New Form of Beauty" was a project that originally contained four chapters and was released in various formats - 7" single, 10" single and 12" single. There was also supposed to be a cassette but this fourth part was never officially released, although all four parts did appear on an Italian version of
A New Form Of Beauty which was released as a double album.
In November
1982See also:* 1982 in music Record labels established in 1982* list of 'years in music'-Events:*January 15 – K.C. and the Sunshine Band's Harry Wayne Casey is seriously injured in an automobile accident in Miami, Florida....
, the Virgin Prunes release their debut album
...If I Die, I Die (produced by
Colin NewmanColin Newman is an English musician, record producer and record label owner.-Biography:Newman is a member of the rock band, Wire. When the band temporarily split in 1980, Newman pursued a solo career. His first solo LP, A-Z, was released in 1980 on the Beggar's Banquet label...
of
WireWire are an English rock band formed in London in October 1976, by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed .c) Despite little attention in the beginning, Wire's first three albums are among the most influential on the postpunk era, cited by Michael Stipe of...
) and
Heresie, a French boxset.
Heresie was commissioned by Yann Farcy after seeing them perform at the Rex Club in Paris and was based on a loose examination of insanity.
In
1984This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.-Events:*January 21 - "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart; it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the Top 40....
both Guggi and Dik Evans, unhappy with the music business, left the band. This forced drummer Mary D'Nellon to take up the guitar and allowed Pod to return as the band's drummer. The Virgin Prunes started to record the album
Sons Find Devils, which has never been released.
In
1985-January-March:*January 28 - Various artists, under the group name USA For Africa, including Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Perry, Kenny Loggins, Willie Nelson, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Huey...
, confusingly enough, a retrospective video titled
Sons Find Devils was released; this video had nothing to do with the unreleased album of the same name. During May 1985,
Over the Rainbow, a compilation of rarities, was also released.
In July
1986
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-Events:*January 23 - The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place...
the band, now a four-piece recording music written for 'Sons Find Devils', finally released a new album,
The Moon Looked Down and Laughed. Also that year frontman Gavin Friday left the group. His departure was confirmed in the liner notes of the band's 1987 live album
The Hidden Lie which contained a short statement confirming the band's break-up.
After disbanding as The Virgin Prunes, D'Nellon, Strongman and Busaras formed an offshoot group called The Prunes, which released three albums between 1988 and 1990 (
Lite Fantastik, 1988;
Nada, 1989; and
Blossoms & Blood, 1990). Dik Evans played on The Prunes' album
Lite Fantastik and a seventeen year old, Justin Kavanagh (a.k.a. Valley Limberg) from the Dublin hardcore band Mutant Asylum (with his cousin Cormac Figgis a.k.a. The Master Switch, now with
Paranoid VisionsParanoid Visions are an infamous punk band from Dublin, Ireland who formed in 1982. They broke up in 1992, had reunion shows and eventually decided to reunite....
) took the helm as guitarist for "Blossoms & Blood". In 1993, Justin Kavanagh went on to form Gormenghast with Padraig O'Toole of "The Gods". Justin Kavanagh also formed Snifferdog with Gerard Griffin. The Band was Hotly tipped for the top by Hot Press Magazine and courted much record company interest But was plagued by line up problems, eventually fizzling out in 2007. Griffin is working on new material with The T.N.C.at the helm. Gormenghast reformed in late 2008 after 13 years and are currently working on a new album.
Binttii's youngest brother
Jonathan FiggisA Co-Founder and Director of award-winning film production company October Eleven Pictures, Film Director and Producer Jonathan Figgis worked in the animation industry for a number of years, contributing on award-winning independent animated shorts as well as television series’ for the...
is the boy who appears on the cover of the second Virgin Prunes single 'In The Greylight'. Jonathan now runs the award-winning film production company
October Eleven PicturesOctober Eleven Pictures is an Irish Production Company based in Dublin, Ireland. It is a company dedicated to the development and encouragement of new and existing talent in the arenas of film, design and music. October Eleven Pictures was set up by The Figgis Brothers, Jonathan Figgis and Jason...
with his other brother
Jason FiggisManaging Director and Award-winning director of October Eleven Pictures, Jason Figgis has an extensive background in the entertainment industry, having worked creatively on two seasons of Murakami Wolf's hugely successful TV animated series 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'...
In 1998,
Cleopatra RecordsCleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label.- History :Founded in 1992 by long-time music fan Brian Perera and, it specialises in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music...
re-released the
Sons Find Devils video, along with a soundtrack album on CD. This was the first commercially-available Virgin Prunes material to be released since 1993 and, for a few years, the
only commercially available full-length Virgin Prunes album on compact disc (though studio recordings of the songs "Baby Turns Blue," "Pagan Lovesong," and "Caucasian Walk" had cropped up on CD compilations of various
GothGothic rock is a musical subgenre of Post-Punk and Alternative Rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
and other dark/avant-garde
post-punkPost-punk is a popular musical movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
bands).
Gavin Friday has since had a reasonably successful solo career in both music and film. Guggi remains an influential artist in Dublin. Dave-id still records as a solo artist in Ireland. After 20 years of self-imposed seclusion from the rock world, Dik Evans recently gave an overview of his and brother Edge's early years in U2 for the December 2005 issue of 'Word Magazine'. Trevor, Mary and Anthony Murphy live quietly throughout Europe.
As of 2004, Daniel Figgis is currently composer in residence with Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown, Dublin. His most recent composition, Post Production, was performed at the Winter Garden, New York City, in December 2006.
After much talk, years of anticipation from fans, and with much input from the band, The Virgin Prunes' discography was remastered and reissued on
Mute RecordsMute Records was an independent record label based in the UK, founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. In 2002 the label was sold to EMI.-Background:...
, which included
...If I Die, I Die,
The Moon Looked Down and Laughed,
Over the Rainbow,
Heresie and an album of selections from the
A New Form of Beauty series.
In 2006 Dave ID-Busaras, Guggi and Gavin Friday contributed a track to the
sea shantySea shanties were shipboard working songs. Some speculate that shanties may have been sung as early as the 15th century though there is little evidence to support this claim...
collection
Rogue's GalleryRogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys is a compilation album of sea shanties performed by a wide array of artists, ranging from Sting to Bryan Ferry, representing a variety of genres. The artists cover a large number of diverse songs of the sea, at times adding elements...
, appearing in the track listing as
Three Pruned Men.
On October 4, 2009, three original members of the band,
Gavin FridayGavin Friday is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter.-Career:Gavin was born in Dublin and grew up in Glasnevin, a neighbourhood located on Dublin's Northside...
,
GuggiGuggi is an avante-garde Irish artist, once a member of the goth/post-punk band The Virgin Prunes alongside his close friend Gavin Friday. Guggi grew up and remains best friends with U2's Bono. In 1984 he left the Virgin Prunes to pursue his passion for art...
and
Dik EvansRichard "Dick" ' Evans is the brother of David "The Edge" Evans, guitarist for rock band U2.The Evans brothers both played guitar in the initial line-up of the band, known as "The Hype," sharing their homemade guitar....
, performed two classic Virgin Prunes songs,
Sweethomeunderwhiteclouds and
Caucasian Walk at Carnegie Hall as part of "An Evening with Gavin Friday and Friends", to celebrate Friday's 50th birthday. J.G. Thirlwell appeared with them as backing vocalist.
External links