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Bio:
The Commotion was formed by ex Jagz bassist John Byrne.
They were a mod/pop band who played regularly in Tommy Dunnes Tavern in
Dublin.
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.
They split in 1986, then 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.
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