If you had somehow gone back in time to 1976, when I first fell in love with Horslips, and told my spotty, 13 year old self that I would one day be responsible for charting the extraordinary journey of this pioneering Irish band, I would have laughed you out of the door because, hey, I was an aspiring musician. But at the very start, I had every intention of becoming a writer. In 1968, at the age of five, I formally announced to my parents that I wanted to be a journalist when I grew up and proceeded to write a letter to Michael Aspel, then a Daily Express columnist, seeking his advice on how this precocious, working class kid from London’s East End might attain such a lofty career. To my family’s surprise, Michael replied on an Express letterhead, recommending a couple of Univer- sity degrees and wishing me good luck. The letter has long vanished but I have never forgotten the kindness shown by Michael in taking the time to point the way. As far as Mum and Dad were concerned, their son’s future was mapped out. By the time I reached my teens, however, the lure of rock’n’roll had diverted my attention as I began to lay a path for a future career as a professional musician and producer. After the age of 16, I received my education from the University of Life, and went from one band to another in search of that elusive Top 10 status. Brushes with fame were fleeting but I made a decent living until late nights and periods away from home were no longer condu- cive with a state of domestic bliss. Left-field thinking was applied. I had always been the go-to guy whenever friends needed a creative paragraph or two written, and I had accumulated a wealth of music knowledge. Perhaps I could marry two disciplines. Eureka! Within three months of deciding to become a music writer, I had five feature-length articles published by leading musicians’ magazines. They were all lucky breaks. I’d interviewed a handful of musicians I knew and, chancing my arm, I submitted pieces to editors, hoping they would be of some use. I must have done something right because commissions started to pour in. In the early ’90s, how- ever, there was much competition amongst the pool of freelance writers and I had to find a way of distinguishing myself. Up to this point, there had nev- er been a book published on the development of record production through the decades. It was a gap FROM ROCKER TO WRITER FEATURE © Ian Tomey Mark at his first typewriter, with his mother Joan, Christmas 1967. On November 4th 2013, when a heavyweight biography on Irish music giants Horslips was published by The O’Brien Press, an unlikely dream was fulfilled. Its author, MARK CUNNINGHAM talks about his ‘Plan B’ career journey. 24 writing.ie © Robert Cunningham
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If you had somehow gone back in time to 1976, when I first fell in love with Horslips, and told my spotty, 13 year old self that I would one day be responsible for charting the extraordinary journey of this pioneering Irish band, I would have laughed you out of the door because, hey, I was an aspiring musician. But at the very start, I had every intention of becoming a writer. In1968,attheageoffive,IformallyannouncedtomyparentsthatIwantedtobeajournalistwhenIgrewupandproceededtowritealettertoMichaelAspel,thenaDailyExpresscolumnist,seekinghisadviceonhowthisprecocious,workingclasskidfromLondon’sEastEndmightattainsuchaloftycareer. Tomyfamily’ssurprise,MichaelrepliedonanExpressletterhead,recommendingacoupleofUniver-sitydegreesandwishingmegoodluck. TheletterhaslongvanishedbutIhaveneverforgottenthekindnessshownbyMichaelintakingthetimetopointtheway.AsfarasMumandDadwereconcerned,theirson’sfuturewasmappedout. BythetimeIreachedmyteens,however,thelureofrock’n’rollhaddivertedmyattentionasIbegantolayapathforafuturecareerasaprofessionalmusicianandproducer.Aftertheageof16,IreceivedmyeducationfromtheUniversityof
Life,andwentfromonebandtoanotherinsearchofthatelusiveTop10status.BrusheswithfamewerefleetingbutImadeadecentlivinguntillatenightsandperiodsawayfromhomewerenolongercondu-civewithastateofdomesticbliss. Left-fieldthinkingwasapplied.Ihadalwaysbeenthego-toguywheneverfriendsneededacreativeparagraphortwowritten,andIhadaccumulatedawealthofmusicknowledge.PerhapsIcouldmarrytwodisciplines.Eureka! Withinthreemonthsofdecidingtobecomeamusicwriter,Ihadfivefeature-lengtharticlespublishedbyleadingmusicians’magazines.Theywereallluckybreaks.I’dinterviewedahandfulofmusiciansIknewand,chancingmyarm,Isubmittedpiecestoeditors,
hopingtheywouldbeofsomeuse. Imusthavedonesomethingrightbecausecommissionsstartedtopourin.Intheearly’90s,how-ever,therewasmuchcompetitionamongstthepooloffreelancewritersandIhadtofindawayofdistinguishingmyself. Uptothispoint,therehadnev-erbeenabookpublishedonthedevelopmentofrecordproductionthroughthedecades.Itwasagap
FROMROCKERTO WRITER
FEATURE©
Ian Tomey
Mark at his first typewriter, with his mother Joan, Christmas 1967.
On November 4th 2013, when a heavyweight biography on Irish music giants Horslips was published by The O’Brien Press, an unlikely dream was fulfilled.Its author, MARK CUNNINGHAM talks about his ‘Plan B’ career journey.
24 writing.ie
© R
ober
t Cu
nnin
gham
thatneededtobefilledandIhadtheraw,brassnecktothinkIcoulddoit.‘GoodVibrations:AHistoryofRecordPro-duction’(SanctuaryMusicLibrary),mybookdébut,wasamilestoneforme;itgavemesomevaluablecredibilityandprovidedaspringboardformyfuturecareer. Soonafter,in1998,Ico-foundedmyownmagazinefortheliveeventproductionindustry,TotalProductionInternational(TPi),whichcontinuestothrivetwoyearsafterImovedon.Itgavemeanunimaginablelifestyle. Rarelydidaweekpasswithoutmeetingagiftedshowdesigner,witnessing
anintimaterehearsalforaforthcomingworldtourorreceivinganexclusivepreviewofapieceoftechnologythatwouldsoonchangeanaudience’sperceptionofliveenter-tainment. WiththepublicationofthenewHorslipsbiogra-phy–agenuinelabouroflovethatslowlyfermentedover18years–Iamproudtohavefilledanothergap.GiventhatIrelandissuchaliterarynation,itstrikesmeasoddlyironicthatithastakenaCockneytowritetheonlybookdedicatedtothefoundingfathersofCelticRock,butsometimesittakesanout-sideviewtomakesenseofitall.
Mark Cunningham (wearing cap) with Horslips members Jim Lockhart, Johnny Fean, Charles O’Connor, Eamon Carr and Barry Devlin. Below: Mark’s long-awaited hardback biography of the band.
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Ian Finlay / O’Brien Press
The author on stage with Horslips at the book’s launch event in Dublin.
Horslips’storyhadalwaysfascinatedme.Idiscov-eredthemlatebutfromthemomentIheardtheirDancehallSweetheartsalbum,Iwashookedonhowtheymarriedtraditionalmusictorock’n’roll,introduc-ingIrishhistoryandculturetomealongtheway. Intheiroriginal10-yearcareer,HorslipsinfusedIrishyouthwithanewsenseofnationalpride;theycreatedalivecircuitbyopeningupprovincialIrishballroomstoanewgenerationoforiginalrockbandsandshowedthelikesofU2thatitwaspossibletohavecompletecontrolovertheirartisticproduct. ItdisturbsmethattheIrishmediaoftentrivialisesHorslips’legendbyfocusingontheoriginsoftheirpeculiarnameandtheirextravagantwardrobehabitsintheearlydays.TheydeservemuchmorethanthisandIfeelblessedtohavebeenthepersontobringtheirfullstoryintothepublicdomain…atlast. Thememoryofdisappointingmyparentsoneeveningin1979whenIrevealedthatIwasoptingoutofjournalisticstudiestopursuealifeinmusichasoftenreturnedtohauntme.Myfather,aLondondocker,wasdeeplyhurtandittookmemanyyearstoridmyselfoftheguiltIfeltfromnotbeingathissidewhenhepassedawayin1983.Ihadbeenplaying
agigattheEmbassyClub,London’sanswertoNewYork’sStudio54,doingthepolaroppositeofwhatheenvisagedwhenIwasaboy. DadspentsomeofhislatetwentiesworkinginCorkandKillarney,wherehealsoearnednumerousmedalsasacyclist.HeadoredIrelandandwouldoftentellmachotalesofGuinness-fuelledshenanigans,pre-Elvis.Ifhewasstillaround,IthinkDadwouldbeswellingwithpride,notonlybecausehissonfinallyrealisedhiswritingambitions,butalsothathislatestworkcelebratesacaptivatingsideofIrishculture. IfeellikeI’vecomefullcircle.
Mark Cunningham
‘HORSLIPS Tall Tales: The Official Biography’ by MarkCunningham is published in hardback by The O’Brien Press, price €24.99. Visit www.obrien.ie
Featuring a detailed timeline of events, exclusive interviews, previously unseen photography and a wealth of memorabilia including original handwritten lyrics and session notes, this is the long-awaited, first-ever book dedicated to the history of HORSLIPS, the pioneers of Celtic Rock.
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© Paul Callaghan
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