A-Z Artist Index Compilations Record Labels Media
Help Us! Contact Us Resources Timeline
Bio:
The Passion Machine was not a band, but a theatre company. Their first production
was a musical called "Drowning", written by Paul Mercier, with music by John Dunne and Paul Mercier.
It was staged at the now defunct SFX
in Dublin in the summer of 1984. The main character was played by Joe Savino
(Max Quad Band, B.T.'s).
The part of "Da" was played by Brendan Gleeson. The musical was recorded during
sessions in December 1983. The single was released to
promote the show in the summer of 1984. The musicians involved included Dave Sweeney
(Max Quad Band, The Vipers, etc)
on guitar, Paul Bushnell (The Commitments, The Partisans,
The New Radicals, Faith Hill, etc)
on bass and Dave Bell (The Epidemix, The Big Noise) on drums.
It's become a minor collectable.
The musical was revived in 1991 in the
Olympia Theatre in Dublin and also toured to Glasgow. The Solid Records single
of "Drowning" dates from this revival and is not a reissue of the earlier single.
This 1991 single is not credited to The Passion Machine, understandable given
that a different theatre company was involved, but I've listed it here for
simplicity. The only copy I've seen is a test pressing without picture sleeve.
The B-side "Heartland" was not recorded during the original 1984 sessions.
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.