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From: Dublin
Active: 1976- December 1980
Style: Punk/New Wave
Lineup:
- Damien Gunn - vocals/sax
- Paul McGuinness - guitar
- Brendan Gannon - keyboards
- Brian Seales - bass
- Ken Mahon - drums
The caption says DC Nien in 1979 but it looks earlier; l-to-r, the Blondie drummer look,
the tache's are never cool look, Damien Gunn, Paul McGuinness and
someone wearing a big badge
Bio:
Named after the north Dublin city district (Dublin 9) which spawned them and
in tribute to their German Musik influence (a mispelled 'nein') DC Nien were
unusual by 1977 standards, incorporating sax & synths and an unorthodox
approach to songwriting, and were reputedly awesome live, but by 1981 they
had regrettably morphed into Tokyo Olympics.
l-to-r: Brian Seales, Damien Gunn, an elderly fan
DC Nein were one of the big Dublin bands of their time, rivalling U2 and The Atrix
in popularity (Paul McGuinness had been a roadie for the Radiators From Space
at their first gig in November 1976). DC Nein toured Ireland as support to XTC in 1979; opened for AC/DC
the same year; they were mentioned regularly in the UK music press' coverage of
the Dublin music scene and were one of the main bands covered in Dave McCullough's
"Coming Up For Eire" piece in Sounds magazine in September 1979; and they played
the Dark Space (1979) and Sense of Ireland (1980) festivals. They also launched
their own Nienteeneightease label.
But the expected breakthrough didn't happen, punk became post-punk, new wave, new pop,
new romantic... and DC Nein with the addition of a couple of
ex Fast Skirts became Tokyo Olympics
around Christmas 1980.
Joey Cashman (saxophone) and John 'Sarge' O'Hara (replacing Brendan Gannon),
joined from the Fast Skirts), speeding the
transition to Tokyo Olympics.
left, Paul McGuinness in action; right, live at the Dandelion in October 1979 (photo by Gerard McIver)
Hot Press cover 1980?
Discography
• demos
There are undoubtedly several early demo tapes.
Details unknown; Hot Press mentions "Living At Risk", "Reverberation", "Master of the Universe"
• various artists - Just For Kicks
LP - Kick Records - KK-1 - IRL - 1979
See Compilations section for full track listing.
tracks: Reptile
• Nightclub / Things Japanese
7" - Nienteeneightease Records - DC9-001 - IRL - February 1980 - insert
Notes:
Recorded at Windmill Lane Studios. Produced by Tony O'Meara and
Donal Lunny with assistance from Ross Fitzsimons.
Excellent cover design by Rapid Exteriors AKA Steve Rapid. Approx 1500 copies sold.
• The Red Tapes
K7 - Nienteeneightease Records - DCMC 01 - IRL - 1980
10 track cassette
side one:
Black Jet
Modern Disgrace
Reptile
Mutants
Nightclub
side two:
Things Japanese
Pictures of You
Man In The Grey Suit
Keeping Up With The Jones'es
More Stories
Compilation tape released shortly after the Nightclub single, featuring recordings spanning
the bands career. Over 500 copies were sold by April 1981 and it remained available at
least during the lifetime of Tokyo Olympics. When the original 500 sold out, copies on
branded blanks were made available. I'm looking for a copy of this tape, preferably an
original; if you have one please get in touch
Help!
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.
See Also:
Fast Skirts,
The Mod-Ls,
Tokyo Olympics
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