A-Z Artist Index Compilations Record Labels Media
Help Us! Contact Us Resources Timeline
Bio:
The Commotion was formed by ex Jagz bassist John Byrne.
They were a mod/pop band who played regularly at the Mood Club in
Tommy Dunnes Tavern in Dublin during 1984-85.
They were one of several mid eighties mod / garage / pop bands
documented on the Hip City Boogaloo
compilation LP on Hotwire Records in 1984.
Other bands included the Fontaines,
Side One,
the Temps
and the original
Light a Big Fire.
The Commotion also released a split single with
Private Number in 1985.
A new keyboard player joined in 1986 and a second single
"The Rain Came In" / "Your Love Has Changed My Mind" was
announced in March, but this never came out and in fact
the band split soon after.
They announced their intention to split in May 1986, with their final
gig at the Danceline club on 6 June 1986. They reformed in 1987 as
Hallelujah Freedom.
Author Roddy Doyle has acknowledged that The Commotion were
part of the inspiration behind The Commitments, a comparison which
made some of the band members wince. But it was only the format of the
band and their
soul leanings which bear any real comparison. Unlike The Commitments,
The Commotion
wrote most of their own material and any covers they included in their
live set tended to be obscure sixties soul numbers rather than the cliched
Pub Rock by numbers stuff that featured in the Commitments film.
John Byrne appears in a crowd scene at the end of the film. He later
became a journalist, writing for the RTE Guide.
| 1984 | |
| May 11 | Side One + The Commotion |
| May 18 | The Fontaines + The Commotion |
| May 25 | Side One + The Temps |
| June 1 | The Fontaines + Side One |
| June 8 | The Fontaines + The Commotion |
| July 6 | The Golden Horde + The Stars of Heaven |
| July 13 | The Commotion + The Temps |
| July 20 | Side One + The Temps + The Coalition |
| July 27 | The Commotion + The Golden Horde |
| Sept 7 | The Stars of Heaven + Side One |
| Sept 14 | The Temps + The Gorehounds |
| Sept 21 | The Golden Horde + Boy's Talk |
| Sept 28 | cancelled |
| Oct 5 | The Commotion + Side One |
| 1985 | |
| Feb 9 | The Commotion + Side One |
| Feb 16 | The Commotion + The Wilderness Years |
| Feb 23 | The Commotion + Side One |
| Mar 2 | The Commotion + Side One + The Purple Telephone |
| Apr 27 | The Commotion + The Experiment |
| May 4 | The Commotion + The Wilderness Years + The Baby Snakes |
| May 11 | The Commotion + Side One |
| May 18 | The Commotion + The Wilderness Years |
| May 25 | The Commotion + The Stars of Heaven |
| June 8 | The Stars of Heaven + Loudness of Whispers |
| June 15 | The Wilderness Years + Loudness of Whispers + The Coalition |
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.