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.
DC Nein were one of the big Dublin bands of their time, rivalling U2 and The Atrix
in popularity. They 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.
Paul McGuinness (above) was a roadie for the
Radiators From Space at their first gig in November 1976.
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 - DC Nien - ??? - IRL - 1980
10 track cassette
tracklisting:
Reptile
Nightclub
Keeping Up With The Jones
Man In A Grey Suit
a.o.
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 in Tokyo Olympics. I'm looking for a copy of this tape; 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.
