0:00:02 > 0:00:06This programme contains some strong language.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32I've a massive fondness for the music that comes out of here.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34Especially now, there's so many great new bands.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37The happiest days of my life, being in the Undertones,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39cos it was so exciting.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43I think Northern Ireland produced a lot of melodic music.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46There's a great sense of melody.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48It was a concept - create my own soul music.
0:00:48 > 0:00:53Not black, not white, but my particular soul music.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Music is something we do really well in Northern Ireland.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01We produce amazing players.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05The songs from here have real value across the world,
0:01:05 > 0:01:08and those tunes give voice to our shared hopes,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10our humour and our history.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21MUSIC: "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles
0:01:21 > 0:01:26The 1960s would be a decade of extremes for the North,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30and one very noisy arrival in 1963 was The Beatles.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34In the audience was a budding guitarist from East Belfast.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37I went on my own to see them.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40It was really funny, because I was about this tall,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43and of course, all the girls were standing on the seats,
0:01:43 > 0:01:45and they were about 18, or whatever,
0:01:45 > 0:01:48and you just hear, "It's been a hard..."
0:01:48 > 0:01:50and screaming for the rest of the song!
0:01:50 > 0:01:52I was jumping up and down the whole time,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55catching little glimpses of The Beatles in the distance,
0:01:55 > 0:01:57and it was amazing.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59Just to say you were there, it didn't really matter.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01You'd hear a bit of a song,
0:02:01 > 0:02:06and you were in the same room as The Beatles - that was good enough for me.
0:02:06 > 0:02:11MUSIC: "Baby, Please Don't Go" by Them.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21Ruby Murray had soothed the last generation with Softly, Softly,
0:02:21 > 0:02:24but this next decade was about freedom
0:02:24 > 0:02:26and challenge and attitude.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30The music started changing through television -
0:02:30 > 0:02:34you'd see bands and their hair'd be really long
0:02:34 > 0:02:37and they'd be playing rhythm and blues,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39and that's when it all started happening for me.
0:02:39 > 0:02:45There was a definite revolution, that I sensed, you know.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48And it didn't go away!
0:02:49 > 0:02:52I was brought up with this music,
0:02:52 > 0:02:54and my father had the records,
0:02:54 > 0:02:57he had blues records, rhythm and blues records,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00so I'd heard this stuff for as long as I can remember,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02so it had nothing to do with trends,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05it was the fact that it could be done.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10It was kind of like, I saw these guys in London doing it,
0:03:10 > 0:03:13and if they can do it, we can do it.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17And so Belfast produced its own exciting soundtrack.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Featuring Van Morrison, it was the arrival of Them.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25We used to practise in Dougie Knight's, Shaftesbury Square,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28above Knight's cycle shop. If it hadn't been for Dougie,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31groups wouldn't have had anywhere to practise!
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I was singing, Van was singing...
0:03:35 > 0:03:37..and gradually, it just...
0:03:37 > 0:03:42It went from that to Van doing more of the singing than I was.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Belfast's venue of choice was the Maritime Hotel.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53The rhythm and blues nights started there in April 1964,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55with thrilling results.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00The Maritime was a fantastic place, because it was small,
0:04:00 > 0:04:05filled with sweaty bodies, and bands that were very exciting,
0:04:05 > 0:04:07bands that were playing their own music.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12The first time that I saw Them, I thought the band were incredible,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14and Van was wearing an old army jacket,
0:04:14 > 0:04:17and he came to the fore and played a saxophone,
0:04:17 > 0:04:19and it really did blow my mind.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22# Started playing in the Maritime
0:04:23 > 0:04:26# That's Jerry, Jerry and Jimmy
0:04:28 > 0:04:30# You know, they were always fine...#
0:04:30 > 0:04:33It was good energy, and it was new then,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36because there was no such thing as... I mean...
0:04:36 > 0:04:40It was an education thing, as well, cos rhythm and blues, you know,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44if you didn't know about it, it was out of the ordinary.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50You had to educate people to what rhythm and blues was.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52# What are Them? #
0:04:55 > 0:04:59Friday night at the Maritime, the music was raw,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01it was loud, it was raucous.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03After a visit to the Spanish Rooms,
0:05:03 > 0:05:08which was known as the Scrumpy House, for a couple of pints of scrumpy...
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Quite mad, like you were bullet-proof. Nothing mattered!
0:05:17 > 0:05:21When Them travelled to London to record for the Decca label,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25they met another Ulsterman, Phil Coulter, from Derry.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30I was seconded to the band,
0:05:30 > 0:05:34not so much as a musical director
0:05:34 > 0:05:36or assistant producer or anything.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39In the early days, more as an interpreter,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42because the guys made no attempt whatsoever
0:05:42 > 0:05:45to make themselves understood. They would just go...
0:05:45 > 0:05:47HE IMITATES ACCENT
0:05:49 > 0:05:51And Phil Coulter was in the studio
0:05:51 > 0:05:56to witness the American producer Bert Burns at work with the band.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58I walked into the rehearsal,
0:05:58 > 0:06:02and there was Bert, with his little guitar, and the boys playing.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06He's driving the band on. They're playing Here Comes The Night.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09It was the first time, ever, that I had heard it,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12but in my mind there was no doubt this was a hit.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15# He's turning down the lights
0:06:15 > 0:06:20# And now he's holding her the way I used to do
0:06:21 > 0:06:23# I see her closing her eyes
0:06:23 > 0:06:28# Telling him lies, exactly like she told me too
0:06:28 > 0:06:31# Yeah, well, here it comes
0:06:34 > 0:06:36# Here comes the night... #
0:06:36 > 0:06:42They were a gutsy, raw R&B band - one of the best ever, I think.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46The fact that they were from Belfast, or from Northern Ireland,
0:06:46 > 0:06:48made it just extra special.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Fronted by a fantastic singer.
0:06:50 > 0:06:55# Here comes the night...#
0:06:55 > 0:06:59By the time we got to Here Comes The Night, to me,
0:06:59 > 0:07:03that was going in the direction of making pop records.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05That's not really what I wanted to do,
0:07:05 > 0:07:07that wasn't what it was about.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10So, that's where it all started to go haywire.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15My original intention, and where I was coming from, musically,
0:07:15 > 0:07:17was rhythm and blues, and soul.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21That's what I wanted to do,
0:07:21 > 0:07:27but all that was getting sidetracked all the time by other agendas,
0:07:27 > 0:07:33other producers, record companies, marketing, all this kind of stuff.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36All this stuff was getting sidetracked,
0:07:36 > 0:07:41so I just wanted to break everything down, and create my own soul music.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Van Morrison went solo,
0:07:46 > 0:07:51and soon moved from the pop music of Brown-Eyed Girl to Astral Weeks,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55an album full of wonder, and jazz, and soul.
0:07:55 > 0:08:00It wasn't a massive record. It didn't sell on a massive scale.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03I think it was critically acclaimed.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09He was recording in New York, but namechecking the places back home.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13I wrote the songs here. I had to leave.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15I didn't really have a choice.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19If I wanted to be a professional singer, I had to go elsewhere,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21cos there wasn't anything...
0:08:21 > 0:08:26You couldn't do that here. Professionally, you couldn't do it.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29# Down on Cyprus Avenue
0:08:31 > 0:08:35# With the childlike visions creeping into view
0:08:39 > 0:08:42# Clicking, clacking of the high-heeled shoes...#
0:08:42 > 0:08:44Astral Weeks kind of changed everything.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46It just blew everything apart.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49We used to go round Cyprus Avenue,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52and we used to think, "We're in Van's songs!"
0:08:52 > 0:08:54We literally did. We were just so obsessed.
0:08:54 > 0:09:00# Marching with the soldier boy behind... #
0:09:00 > 0:09:03The times when I've been around the world, away from home,
0:09:03 > 0:09:07feeling homesick, that's the record I can always turn to and listen to.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11It has so many great references to Belfast and Northern Ireland.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15There was an innocence in the music back then,
0:09:15 > 0:09:19but with the release of Astral Weeks in 1969,
0:09:19 > 0:09:23this sweet vision of home was giving way to a nightmare.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27# Outside, they're making all the stops
0:09:29 > 0:09:34# The kids out in the street collecting bottle tops
0:09:37 > 0:09:41# Gone for cigarettes and matches in the shops
0:09:44 > 0:09:47# Happy, taken Madame George...#
0:09:47 > 0:09:53This is the thing that I've never been able to understand about the Troubles,
0:09:53 > 0:09:57how quickly we became so ghettoised.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00The people that I was hanging about with in the jazz club
0:10:00 > 0:10:04and the Maritime Hotel, were fairly liberal and left all that behind.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07It wasn't until the displacement of population,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10when Catholics moved into Catholic areas,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13and Protestants were being forced in with Protestants...
0:10:13 > 0:10:16It became so ghettoised, burning houses and stuff,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18and the whole town centre went dead.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Belfast wasn't on the news for the music now,
0:10:23 > 0:10:25but that was still important,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28as an amazing blues guitarist called Rory Gallagher
0:10:28 > 0:10:31hired two local boys to join his band, Taste.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40We used to dream at nights, and say,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43"Wouldn't it be great? Can you imagine playing with Rory?
0:10:43 > 0:10:47"Could you imagine playing the Marquee Club in London with Rory?"
0:10:47 > 0:10:49and we dreamt about all this stuff,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52and of course, when Rory then said, "Yeah, let's do this,"
0:10:52 > 0:10:56for us, it was like a natural progression,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58but the musical values,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02the three of us shared that, and that was the love of the music,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05first and foremost, not the show, not the business,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07just the actual, physical thing
0:11:07 > 0:11:11of three musicians going on stage and playing together.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Rory wasn't into rehearsing, and neither were we,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23but he would come up with ideas, we'd come up with ideas,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25and we'd try them out on the gigs,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28that was the way it worked. We were like jazz musicians,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32but we were young kids with long hair.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41But it wasn't all blues and free expression out there.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45And now, song number four, entitled Puppet On A String,
0:11:45 > 0:11:47written by Bill Martin and Phil Coulter.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51A Derry boy was aiming for Eurovision.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Now it's become a bit of a parody,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56but back then, it was kind of a musical Olympics.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58Sandie Shaw was the nominated singer,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01and I remember saying to my then partner, Bill Martin,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04the smart thing here is not to write a song for Sandie Shaw.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07The smart thing is to write a song for Europe.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11And we thought, "Well, we can't really compete with the Italians
0:12:11 > 0:12:16"or the French for the big lyrical ballads, but we should have a go at the cutesy."
0:12:16 > 0:12:18So, going cutesy became Puppet On A String.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23# Congratulations, and celebrations... #
0:12:23 > 0:12:26He was back a year later, with Cliff Richard.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Congratulations has gone on to become a song
0:12:29 > 0:12:33that has fed, clothed and educated several of my children,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35so, you know, why should I complain?
0:12:37 > 0:12:40And then it was Dana's turn.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44I went out to RTE, and there was a whole panoply of acts singing songs,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48and right in the middle of it was this little girl from Derry,
0:12:48 > 0:12:53and I thought, "Wow, that's so different. That could just do it."
0:12:53 > 0:12:56I sent the song up to our publicity company,
0:12:56 > 0:13:01did a new arrangement on it, and that won Eurovision again.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04So, it was a first, a second, and a first, within three years.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08# City sights, neon lights...#
0:13:08 > 0:13:14The high tide of peace and love - Woodstock Festival, 1969,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17and there was a guy from Portstewart on that stage,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19playing with Joe Cocker.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21It was just another gig for everybody,
0:13:21 > 0:13:25until about three days before it, when the TV people got onto it,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29and the amount of people that that brought out of the woodwork
0:13:29 > 0:13:33to head for Woodstock - it was almost a pilgrimage, at one point,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35to get to Woodstock for the festival.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39And it just got bigger, and bigger, and bigger,
0:13:39 > 0:13:44and today, a lot of kids come up - "What was it like at Woodstock?"
0:13:44 > 0:13:46It was great. It was a strange one, you know,
0:13:46 > 0:13:48but it was brilliant, altogether.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52# What would you do if I sang out of tune?
0:13:52 > 0:13:56# Would you stand up and walk out on me? #
0:13:56 > 0:14:00In 1969, I was in a cinema in Dublin, and Woodstock came on,
0:14:00 > 0:14:02and I suddenly stood up,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05and punched the man in front of me on the shoulder,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07and shouted, "I know him!"
0:14:07 > 0:14:09And indeed, in a way, I did.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13# Put your hands in the air, Simple Simon says... #
0:14:13 > 0:14:16Eric Bell was a guitarist on the showband scene,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19but a meeting with his friend, Gary Moore,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21inspired him to cut loose.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25I said, "Hi, Gary," and he said, "Hi, Eric..."
0:14:25 > 0:14:27HE IMITATES AN ELECTRIC GUITAR
0:14:27 > 0:14:31..and he did all these raw Eric Clapton licks,
0:14:31 > 0:14:37and I stood and I thought, "What am I doing, playing Simple Simon Says?"
0:14:37 > 0:14:40And it started something in my head again, you know,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43"I've got to get out of here!"
0:14:43 > 0:14:48Gary was a Belfast boy who connected with the singer Phil Lynott in Dublin.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51The pair of them would often travel up north.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58They used to come up to Belfast with me at weekends and sleep on the couch at my mum's house.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01My dad would come in drunk at night
0:15:01 > 0:15:04and my dad used to keep my mum up
0:15:04 > 0:15:08and - I know he'll deny this, but it really happened.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11He'd say to me, "Don't leave me with your dad.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15"Your fucking dad's going to come in and drive me fucking mad."
0:15:15 > 0:15:21As soon as my dad came home, I'd go straight up to my old bedroom and get some kip and leave him down there
0:15:21 > 0:15:25and I could hear my dad droning on at him, and he'd kill me in the morning.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28The girl next door fell in love with him and everything.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32She'd always get dressed up when she knew Phil was around.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35But he loved going to Belfast.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40We used to go and see Jim Armstrong and we'd get up and jam with him, play some blues.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Yeah, he loved it there.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47In 1969, Eric was in Dublin, looking for a break.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50He would also stumble across Phil.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54This band came on, called Orphanage, and Phil Lynott was the singer,
0:15:54 > 0:15:57who I'd never seen before in my life,
0:15:57 > 0:16:00and Brian Downey was the drummer.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Phil wasn't playing the bass, he was just doing this afro dance
0:16:04 > 0:16:06with a kaftan on. He looked amazing.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11But it was the drummer that knocked me out. Brian Downey's drumming...
0:16:11 > 0:16:15I just said, "Who is this guy? I've got to get him for my band."
0:16:15 > 0:16:17That was the only thought in my head.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20They made a deal backstage.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25He said, "We'll start a band with you on two conditions."
0:16:25 > 0:16:29I said, "What's that?" He said... This is Phil talking.
0:16:29 > 0:16:35"I want to play the bass. I'm taking lessons from Brush Shiels at the moment
0:16:35 > 0:16:38"and I want to do some of my own songs."
0:16:38 > 0:16:41And that's how Thin Lizzy started.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58# As I was going over
0:16:58 > 0:17:02# The Cork and Kerry mountains
0:17:02 > 0:17:05# I saw Captain Farrell
0:17:05 > 0:17:09# And his money he was counting... #
0:17:09 > 0:17:13Thin Lizzy was a band I was proud to be into, being Irish.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16They kind of changed my life, got me really into rock music.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21And also two of the guitarists in their ever-changing guitar line-up
0:17:21 > 0:17:25were Eric Bell and Gary Moore, who were Northern Irish,
0:17:25 > 0:17:30and Eric Bell is one of my favourite guitarists of all time. He's a bit Hendrixy, you know, more lyrical.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34You could really hear the Irish melody in his playing.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37He's so underrated. He's one of the best ever.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40# Whiskey in the jar... #
0:17:40 > 0:17:44I used to sit and play the guitar and Phil would be walking about
0:17:44 > 0:17:47and he would always say, "Is that yours?"
0:17:47 > 0:17:52And I'd say, "No, it's off..." Led Zeppelin's album or something.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56"Is that yours?" "Yeah."
0:17:56 > 0:18:00"What, that chord thing you're doing..."
0:18:00 > 0:18:02HE HUMS A CHORD SEQUENCE
0:18:02 > 0:18:04I'd say, "Yeah, that's mine."
0:18:04 > 0:18:07HE HUMS A CHORD SEQUENCE
0:18:07 > 0:18:10He'd say, "Right." And he went away and wrote lyrics for it.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17# I am your main man if you're looking for trouble
0:18:17 > 0:18:20# I'll take no lip No-one's tougher than me
0:18:20 > 0:18:23# I'd kick your face You'd soon be seeing double
0:18:23 > 0:18:26# Hey, little girl Keep your hands off of me
0:18:26 > 0:18:28# I'm a rocker
0:18:30 > 0:18:32# I'm a rocker
0:18:33 > 0:18:35# I'm a roller too, baby
0:18:35 > 0:18:37# I'm a rocker... #
0:18:39 > 0:18:43Meantime, the Antrim boy Henry McCullough
0:18:43 > 0:18:47was called to a rather important audition with Paul McCartney.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Oh, I was nervous!
0:18:49 > 0:18:52I grew up with The Beatles.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56When I was playing in showbands, we were playing Beatles songs.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02I had about three pints of Guinness before meeting Paul,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04just to settle meself,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07and we talked and stuff
0:19:07 > 0:19:10and we jammed around for about three days
0:19:10 > 0:19:14and at the end of it he just said, "Do you want to join a band?"
0:19:14 > 0:19:18And that's just how he put it. Who wouldn't, you know?
0:19:18 > 0:19:20I mean, Jesus...!
0:19:20 > 0:19:23I know about twelve players
0:19:23 > 0:19:26that would give more than one finger
0:19:26 > 0:19:30to play with Paul McCartney, and better men than me they would be.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43It's an opportunity of a lifetime, but once you get into it
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and you adapt to the lifestyle
0:19:46 > 0:19:51of the way it has to be, because you're part of that team, part of Paul McCartney's group,
0:19:51 > 0:19:55you can get on a Lear jet and end up in bloody Morocco and stuff.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58In the studio, we did My Love,
0:19:58 > 0:20:00a ballad that we were doing,
0:20:00 > 0:20:07and we'd rehearsed it and we had a full orchestra - that was recorded live, playing and sang live.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12And...we had the whole orchestra all waiting, you know, for the downbeat
0:20:12 > 0:20:16and Henry McCullough, the Irish guitar player, comes over to me.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20"We're ready to go." He says, "Just a minute." "What, Henry?"
0:20:20 > 0:20:22"Do you mind if I change the solo?"
0:20:22 > 0:20:25I said to him, in all honesty,
0:20:25 > 0:20:28"Listen, that's crap. I want to change the solo."
0:20:28 > 0:20:31And they're all waiting to go.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34- HE GULPS - "Not at all. You go ahead!"
0:20:34 > 0:20:38He said, "What are you going to play?" I said, "I don't know."
0:20:38 > 0:20:41And it was one of the best solos he ever played.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11I remember playing two notes on the solo
0:21:11 > 0:21:14but I don't remember any of it
0:21:14 > 0:21:16and...
0:21:16 > 0:21:18it's very unusual
0:21:18 > 0:21:23to get a solo of that length as a one-off.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25One, two, three...
0:21:25 > 0:21:28Back in Ireland, and Horslips were the stuff of legend.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33On bass guitar, from Ardboe in County Tyrone, Mr Barry Devlin.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35The whole Horslips thing was to,
0:21:35 > 0:21:39for better or worse, to try and do kind of a fusion thing.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42Fusion was a big buzzword at that time.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46# My love is colder than black marble by the sea
0:21:46 > 0:21:50# My heart is older than the cold oak tree... #
0:21:50 > 0:21:54We were all lying about in a Chinese restaurant
0:21:54 > 0:21:57and somebody said, "Let's call this group something,"
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Some pretentious person, probably me,
0:21:59 > 0:22:05said, "Let's call it the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." A sudden voice across the table said,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08"I think it should be the Four Poxmen of the Horslips."
0:22:08 > 0:22:11And Horslips it was.
0:22:12 > 0:22:18The North was an interesting mix for us. It was also quite interesting to play, in the Chinese sense,
0:22:18 > 0:22:22in that we were scared witless a lot of the time.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25You know, it was a pretty desperate time.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30At night, you never knew... coasting along the road
0:22:30 > 0:22:34and you'd see headlights in the distance or coming up behind you
0:22:34 > 0:22:40and you'd go, "I wonder what this is." And we had a couple of frights.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43But we kind of...
0:22:43 > 0:22:46We did what we had to do. We weren't going to stop playing.
0:22:46 > 0:22:51At the time, we kind of went, "Well, yeah, the worse that could happen is you get a hiding."
0:22:51 > 0:22:56But as it turned out, the worst that could happen wasn't that you could get a hiding.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59July 31st, 1975.
0:22:59 > 0:23:04Three members of the Miami Showband murdered on their way home from a gig.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15In the mid-70s, few bands played in the North,
0:23:15 > 0:23:20but Rory Gallagher remembered the better times and his return visits were even more welcome.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23On bass, Gerry McAvoy.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32I'd been a Belfast boy. It was like coming back to...
0:23:32 > 0:23:36I'm not saying adulation, but it was just the effect the audience had on me,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39the way they responded to Rory coming on the stage.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42The response was fantastic.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45It's hard to...
0:23:45 > 0:23:47to explain the emotions,
0:23:47 > 0:23:52because it was encompassed within the two and a half hours of that particular night
0:23:52 > 0:23:54and it was...euphoric.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59It was like fans going crazy - they just idolised the man.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13He was quite different offstage. He was his own man, very quiet and shy.
0:24:24 > 0:24:30I loved Rory's playing. He never lost the fact that he was from Donegal.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33He loved that part of himself.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37He used to do a lot of acoustic stuff and mandolin stuff
0:24:37 > 0:24:41if, I think once or twice, we did have a bit of a session going,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44but it was too rare actually.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49I'm sorry I didn't get to know him even more, because he was always touring,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51always touring in the North.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55He just felt very comfortable, part of him being an Ulsterman.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00CHEERING AND WHISTLING
0:25:04 > 0:25:08There were riots on Great Victoria Street, Belfast, in 1975
0:25:08 > 0:25:13and it was all Phil Coulter's fault, for writing those Bay City Rollers songs.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17# We were rippin' up We were rockin' up
0:25:17 > 0:25:20# Roll it over and lay it down... #
0:25:20 > 0:25:24We had, I suppose, maybe the four or five top three records
0:25:24 > 0:25:29on the trot in the UK, and throughout the world, because they were a global phenomenon.
0:25:29 > 0:25:35But most importantly, we had a number one single and a number one album in the United States,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37which catapulted them into mega-status.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40Unfortunately they didn't sustain,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44because there wasn't the substance, to be brutally honest.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48# ..as we ran with the gang Doin' doo wop be dooby do ay... #
0:25:48 > 0:25:51I make no apologies for the Bay City Rollers.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54People seem to think that I should, but I think it was great fun,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57sold a lot of records and everybody had a good time.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01The ultimate moment - Elvis Presley records your song.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06It probably would be one of my prouder boasts as a professional songwriter,
0:26:06 > 0:26:10the only non-American songwriter to have written a hit single for Elvis.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14I'm of an age that I remember Presley. He changed the picture.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18# I know it's hard to understand
0:26:18 > 0:26:20# Why did we ever start?
0:26:20 > 0:26:23# We're more like strangers now
0:26:23 > 0:26:26# Each acting out a part
0:26:28 > 0:26:30# I have laughed, I have cried
0:26:30 > 0:26:33# I've lost every game
0:26:33 > 0:26:35# Taken all I can take
0:26:35 > 0:26:38# But I'll stay here just the same... #
0:26:38 > 0:26:43Even to this day, when I hear that Presley record,
0:26:43 > 0:26:45I pinch myself and say,
0:26:45 > 0:26:49you know, here am I, a young fellow from Abercorn Terrace,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52and there's Elvis Presley singing my song!
0:26:52 > 0:26:54# I stay
0:26:54 > 0:26:57# I stay because of you
0:26:57 > 0:27:01# My boy... #
0:27:03 > 0:27:08Van Morrison is established in America now, with a series of amazing albums,
0:27:08 > 0:27:12but Belfast was never that far away from his thoughts.
0:27:12 > 0:27:18# And it's a long way to Buffalo
0:27:20 > 0:27:24# It's a long way to Belfast City too... #
0:27:24 > 0:27:28Any writers or poets that were from here,
0:27:28 > 0:27:33they do keep coming back in their imagination, cos it's like the source.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41Most people from here...you know, even if they live... they still have a sense of place.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53To the pessimistic eye, there was no future for Northern Ireland.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57- Happily, punk rock arrived. - MUSIC: "Teenage Kicks" by The Undertones
0:27:57 > 0:27:59# Are teenage dreams so hard to beat
0:27:59 > 0:28:04# Every time she walks down the street
0:28:04 > 0:28:07# Another girl in the neighbourhood... #
0:28:07 > 0:28:10They could really play and it was a unique sound
0:28:10 > 0:28:13that started Teenage Kicks -
0:28:13 > 0:28:15that "oompa-oompa-oom!"
0:28:15 > 0:28:18That brilliant intro. Why can't the drums start the song?
0:28:18 > 0:28:22# I'm gonna call her on the telephone
0:28:22 > 0:28:24# Have her over cos I'm all alone... #
0:28:24 > 0:28:28We just plugged in, set the mics up... I don't remember the details.
0:28:28 > 0:28:33Started playing and it just came out like that. Dunno - magic.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37- I can't explain it.- It's probably down to...with him
0:28:37 > 0:28:41and he'd be "turn the guitar up, turn the guitar up."
0:28:41 > 0:28:44It was like a fight between the two guitars.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49So suddenly you reach this area where all the guitars sound great.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52But to be honest, I've never got that guitar sound ever again.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57# Are teenage dreams so hard to beat
0:28:57 > 0:29:01# Every time she walks down the street... #
0:29:01 > 0:29:05There's something about the Undertones guitar sound on Teenage Kicks.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07As a guitar player,
0:29:07 > 0:29:12you can NEVER recreate that Teenage Kicks guitar sound. It's iconic. It's brilliant.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15# Get teenage kicks right through the night
0:29:15 > 0:29:17# I'm gonna call her on the telephone
0:29:17 > 0:29:21# Have her over cos I'm all alone... #
0:29:21 > 0:29:27Teenage Kicks was unbeatable. Even now, it's an anthem that brings out the fan in so many musicians.
0:29:27 > 0:29:31# I wanna hold her Wanna hold her tight... #
0:29:31 > 0:29:34It just seemed to be so confident and so sparkling
0:29:34 > 0:29:39and so gloriously poppy that I just wouldn't imagine that song coming from here.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42It just totally blew me away.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45When I found out it was Northern Irish, I was just so proud.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47And from Derry - my whole family are from there.
0:29:49 > 0:29:52# I wanna hold her Wanna hold her tight... #
0:29:52 > 0:29:55It was a crucial figure in England who spread the news -
0:29:55 > 0:29:58DJ John Peel.
0:29:58 > 0:30:01John Peel played it,
0:30:01 > 0:30:05and he said, "Isn't that the most wonderful record you ever heard?"
0:30:05 > 0:30:08And for the first time in Radio 1 history, he played it again.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14The Undertones had a classic understanding of the pop song
0:30:14 > 0:30:17and a totally unique singer.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19# ..Sure to go to heaven... #
0:30:19 > 0:30:23- We didn't...sort of, tell him what to sing or anything.- No.
0:30:23 > 0:30:29He started singing and that's the way the Feargal Sharkey voice came out. Like, wow!
0:30:29 > 0:30:31# My mum said it cost a package
0:30:31 > 0:30:34# She won't even let me explain... #
0:30:34 > 0:30:38Remember when we first made a demo, we were not liking the singing.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40Terrible thing to say!
0:30:40 > 0:30:45That's before you realise, you have to let the singer sing.
0:30:45 > 0:30:46Thankfully, we did!
0:30:46 > 0:30:50# ..Mother's little golden boy... #
0:30:50 > 0:30:54The Undertones were funny and sharp and self-aware.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57They were pure Derry.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00They had the perfect mixture of teenage heartbreak...
0:31:00 > 0:31:03you know, fancying girls,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07the feeling inadequate with the cousins and the cool boys.
0:31:07 > 0:31:12Cos Sharkey was that brilliant front man - off the wall, kinda quirky,
0:31:12 > 0:31:13kinda nerdy.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18It was just the boys from the bog.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20# What I like to do he doesn't... #
0:31:20 > 0:31:22# Big time... #
0:31:25 > 0:31:27Punk rock excitement was everywhere.
0:31:27 > 0:31:31It even had its own record label - Good Vibrations,
0:31:31 > 0:31:33founded by Terri Hooley.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35Punk was my hippies' revenge.
0:31:35 > 0:31:41We tried to hand you the flowers and you beat us up. Look what's happened to society now - punk!
0:31:41 > 0:31:46It didn't matter if you were Catholic, Protestant or you had pink hair or you're from Mars.
0:31:46 > 0:31:51As long as you were a punk, that was your guiding force. I just thought, "This is absolutely brilliant.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53"This is doing my old anarchist heart good."
0:31:53 > 0:31:57The label's first single - Big Time by Rudi.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01Terri's importance really can't be overestimated,
0:32:01 > 0:32:06cos he encouraged people. He was a great ideas man.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09Before that, people just laughed at us
0:32:09 > 0:32:13and thought, "These are just stupid kids, they'll grow out of it."
0:32:13 > 0:32:17But he took you seriously and with his contacts, he could do something about it.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20# Big, big time... #
0:32:20 > 0:32:24We'd never been to a recording studio or anything,
0:32:24 > 0:32:28and Terri was able to go, "Right, we'll do this, we'll do this."
0:32:28 > 0:32:31And we would never have thought of that ourselves.
0:32:31 > 0:32:38I remember when the record arrived back. It was amazing to open this box and there's this record
0:32:38 > 0:32:42and you put it on the record player and it was Rudi. It was great.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46Out there, to us, it was always a secret how you made that.
0:32:46 > 0:32:51Now every kid in Northern Ireland should know how you make a record, how easy it is.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58It was time to celebrate life in Belfast again -
0:32:58 > 0:33:03to go back to the city centre to visit clubs like the Pound and the Harp Bar.
0:33:03 > 0:33:09The Harp Bar was in Hill Street. It was one of the oldest bars in Belfast.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13It looked like a derelict building outside - barbed wire round
0:33:13 > 0:33:16and a security gate to let you in.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Inside, it looked almost derelict. It was black.
0:33:19 > 0:33:25The toilets didn't have cubicle doors on the cubicles
0:33:25 > 0:33:29and you went outside, it didn't look any different in the main dance area.
0:33:29 > 0:33:34It was a very intimidating place if you weren't part of that crowd.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36But to us, it was home.
0:33:36 > 0:33:41It was THE punk club in Belfast. It was us against the world. The best thing there is at that age.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43The Outcasts were contenders,
0:33:43 > 0:33:46so were Ruefrex
0:33:46 > 0:33:48and Protex.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50Victim had their moment
0:33:50 > 0:33:52and so did Big Self.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54# Nothin' for us in Belfast
0:33:54 > 0:33:56# The Pound's so old it's a pity
0:33:56 > 0:33:59# OK, there's the Trident in Bangor... #
0:33:59 > 0:34:01A Belfast act called Stiff Little Fingers
0:34:01 > 0:34:05saw this as their opportunity to make a political stand.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08# They don't even know, you know Just want our money
0:34:08 > 0:34:11# And we can take it or leave it What we need
0:34:11 > 0:34:14# Is an alternative Ulster
0:34:14 > 0:34:19# Grab it and change it It's yours - an alternative Ulster
0:34:19 > 0:34:21# Ignore the bores and their laws... #
0:34:21 > 0:34:24Four kids from Belfast writing about the Troubles
0:34:24 > 0:34:28and this is the great political rock bomb we've all been waiting for.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31It took us back a bit cos, you know, as far as we were concerned
0:34:31 > 0:34:34anything we'd written was just about our own lives.
0:34:34 > 0:34:40We didn't see ourselves as the great political voice of the disaffected youth of Northern Ireland.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44# They make us feel indebted For saving us from hell
0:34:44 > 0:34:48# And then they put us through it... #
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Stiff Little Fingers were one of the few bands to sing about sectarianism.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53They believe they made a difference.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56# Don't believe them Don't believe them
0:34:56 > 0:34:58# Don't be bitten twice
0:34:58 > 0:35:00# You gotta suss, suss, suss... #
0:35:00 > 0:35:04We'd met a couple of kids after a show
0:35:04 > 0:35:09who said that because of the influence of the band and lyrics
0:35:09 > 0:35:12they thought twice about getting involved
0:35:12 > 0:35:15with their local paramilitaries.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20And, I mean, all party politics and so on aside,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23that could've been a couple of lives saved.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26# Why can't you tell us the truth?
0:35:26 > 0:35:28# Why did you lie to us? #
0:35:28 > 0:35:31Stiff Little Fingers left Belfast and the Troubles behind
0:35:31 > 0:35:35but those early records are still hugely popular.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39# Why did you lie to us? Why did you lie to us? #
0:35:39 > 0:35:43Everything that the band did then or was involved in, I totally stand by.
0:35:43 > 0:35:48There are a few music lovers out there that think maybe we should've...
0:35:48 > 0:35:54learned to play the instruments before we actually cut a record, but, er, no.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59This exciting period was no bad thing for the Moondogs from Derry.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07And for another Belfast act - the Starjets.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12We did it the old-fashioned way. We put all our equipment in a van
0:36:12 > 0:36:15and got the ferry over and sort of drove down to London
0:36:15 > 0:36:17and slept on people's floors
0:36:17 > 0:36:22and...we eventually wrote some songs
0:36:22 > 0:36:25and got a record deal.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28Brought out a couple of singles on CBS,
0:36:28 > 0:36:32one of which was a track called War Stories which got to 47,
0:36:32 > 0:36:37which was...made us popstars in Belfast, you know - going on Top Of The Pops.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41# This is the way it all started... #
0:36:41 > 0:36:44# Best story I've ever heard... #
0:36:44 > 0:36:46The Undertones delivered so many great singles
0:36:46 > 0:36:51and then a more serious aspect revealed itself in the music.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57We did Top Of The Pops, I think the very day Bobby Sands died.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00The title alone was supposed to be about hunger strikes, cos...
0:37:00 > 0:37:03Irish history of hungry strikes
0:37:03 > 0:37:06and I said, "I'm gonna wear a black armband, does anyone else want to?"
0:37:06 > 0:37:09Nobody spat on it at the time.
0:37:09 > 0:37:15- But it was of its time.- I felt... it was, it was a scary moment, you know.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18It was a bad time for Northern Ireland.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20Tensions were high and emotions were very high.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23# Going to sleep without blinking a blue eye... #
0:37:23 > 0:37:27It was the final call for punk rock.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30It was also the beginning of the end for The Undertones.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34They were all a bunch of miserable gits - it's true.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38- Except for me, of course.- It's true. We always wanted to go home.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41See, that's why The Undertones weren't rich -
0:37:41 > 0:37:46- because they didn't want to work, they didn't want to work for their living.- And rightly so!
0:37:56 > 0:38:00In 1979, Gary Moore is back with Thin Lizzy
0:38:00 > 0:38:03and a crucial part of the Black Rose album.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11He had a couple of sides to him, Phil, like most people do.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14He had the very soft romantic side and then the other side,
0:38:14 > 0:38:16which was quite mercenary and ruthless.
0:38:18 > 0:38:26# MUSIC - Intro to "Parisian Walkways"
0:38:35 > 0:38:37He's also working on a solo album,
0:38:37 > 0:38:40which features his pal, Phil Lynott, in a sentimental ballad,
0:38:40 > 0:38:43Parisian Walkways.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58# I remember Paris in '49
0:39:00 > 0:39:02# The Champs Elysees... #
0:39:02 > 0:39:06The song had a secret meaning for Phil.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09Phil wrote it about Paris, but his middle name is Paris.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13His dad was called Paris, and he was born in '49,
0:39:13 > 0:39:17so "I remember Paris in '49" that's what he was singing about.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20That was how he was, he wrote very oblique lyrics
0:39:20 > 0:39:23and you wouldn't really know what he was on about.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27But it would work on both levels, so it could have been about Paris,
0:39:27 > 0:39:32but it's whatever you want it to be about, which is the sign of a great songwriter.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35We did it a bit at a time, when he had a night off,
0:39:35 > 0:39:40we'd go to the studio and do a bit. He'd say, "Let's get an accordion!"
0:39:40 > 0:39:43Then he'd stand there squeezing it and I'd play the notes.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47Then we'd get a double bass! He'd never played it in his life.
0:39:47 > 0:39:52So we'd put chalk marks on the neck so he'd know here the notes were.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54It was just for the intro. He didn't have a clue.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01Gary and Phil continued to work together, scoring another hit - Out In The Fields.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03The song wasn't really written about Northern Ireland,
0:40:03 > 0:40:08the video was all set against Belfast and the soldiers and everything.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12But the song was just a general anti-war song.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15But because of where we came from we wanted to make it about that
0:40:15 > 0:40:17when we filmed the video.
0:40:17 > 0:40:22# It makes no difference if you're black or if you're white... #
0:40:22 > 0:40:24By now, Phil's heroin problem was severe.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27He would be dead in less than a year.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29He'd gone so far down that road,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32that I don't think he was capable of helping himself.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35And you could talk to him about it and he would say, "Thanks,"
0:40:35 > 0:40:38but the next day nothing had really changed.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40When someone's your friend you try and help them,
0:40:40 > 0:40:43and I know other people talked to him about it.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46But he wasn't the kind of guy that would listen easily.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52# ..a thousand more will die each day
0:40:52 > 0:40:55# Death just a heartbeat away... #
0:41:02 > 0:41:05Over in Donegal, a totally fresh sound was developing.
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Clannad had released six albums of traditional music,
0:41:09 > 0:41:11but Harry's Game was something else.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15THEY SING IN HARMONIES
0:41:20 > 0:41:22Nobody in Ireland wanted to hear us.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25Nobody wanted to hear this band that was singing in Gaelic.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29They thought we were mad. Then when Harry's Game happened,
0:41:29 > 0:41:34the beauty of Harry's Game is the fact that it was in Irish.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38All these people that said, you know, "Get rid of that language,
0:41:38 > 0:41:42"it won't last for another five years," were the same people
0:41:42 > 0:41:45who were saying, "I always knew it was there."
0:41:45 > 0:41:51# Satisfied If the past it will not lie... #
0:41:51 > 0:41:55In 1986, Clannad released a duet with one of their many fans -
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Bono from U2.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02When we were doing the album, Macalla, we had this,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05what we thought was a really amazing backing track.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08And it was hard to know what to do with it.
0:42:08 > 0:42:14We went round to the pub after the session and
0:42:14 > 0:42:20some of U2 boys were in there, and we ended up chatting.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24A couple of days later Bono ended up coming in to the studio.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28He and I just took microphones and started to sing
0:42:28 > 0:42:30anything that came into our heads first.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40It was an amazing learning point and to this day
0:42:40 > 0:42:45it has been for me, for being able to... I mean, when people ask me
0:42:45 > 0:42:50to sing with them or on other albums, it was at this point
0:42:50 > 0:42:53that gave me the courage to do so.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58Bono just came in and he didn't care what people thought of him
0:42:58 > 0:43:01just stretching for notes and trying different things.
0:43:08 > 0:43:11And while Clannad were astonishing people with those voices
0:43:11 > 0:43:16sister Enya was setting out for a rather successful solo career.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19# We can sail, we can sail
0:43:19 > 0:43:21# With the Orinoco Flow... #
0:43:21 > 0:43:25Elsewhere, Silent Running had big ambitions.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29#..to walk on the wild side... #
0:43:29 > 0:43:32Cruella de Ville were on fire.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35# Onward, onward, onward, onward Dancing heel to toe! #
0:43:35 > 0:43:38Andy White was free wheeling.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43The Bank Robbers were breaking out.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50And, yes, there was Baltimore.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52# ..come and join me
0:43:52 > 0:43:54# You won't be sorry It's easy to survive... #
0:43:54 > 0:44:00In the meantime, Fergal Sharkey was out of The Undertones,
0:44:00 > 0:44:02and into The Assembly.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05# It never happens to me... #
0:44:05 > 0:44:11And in 1985, he was number one with A Good Heart.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14# So please be gentle with this hea-a-a-rt
0:44:14 > 0:44:21# With this heart of mi-i-i-i-ne... #
0:44:23 > 0:44:27The O'Neill Brothers were also keen to follow on from The Undertones
0:44:27 > 0:44:32with That Petrol Emotion, the music was cool and the politics, acute.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36There was definitely a harder edge to the Petrols,
0:44:36 > 0:44:40consciously so. The idea was to educate people more about
0:44:40 > 0:44:44certain injustices that we thought were happening in Northern Ireland.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48So, for instance, in the back of our first single we talk about
0:44:48 > 0:44:52how many children get killed by plastic bullets and blinded.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55Or our LP sleeve might be talking about
0:44:55 > 0:44:58terrible conditions in Armagh jail for women prisoners.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01We just wanted to say something, we felt frustrated
0:45:01 > 0:45:03that people weren't getting to hear about these things.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07I don't know if putting it on the back sleeve of a pop record
0:45:07 > 0:45:10is the best way to do it. At least we were trying.
0:45:13 > 0:45:19Belfast act The Adventures were also thinking about home and A Broken Land.
0:45:26 > 0:45:29It is about Northern Ireland, but at the time
0:45:29 > 0:45:31there was a huge upheaval in South Africa.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34And that's when I thought about the song.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37But of course it was just as pertinent to Northern Ireland.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41I thought it was OK for me to do it because I'd lived there.
0:45:41 > 0:45:46# Comfort me through this stormy weather
0:45:46 > 0:45:50# From where I stand
0:45:50 > 0:45:55# I see a broken land... #
0:45:55 > 0:45:58By now, The Adventures had been joined in London
0:45:58 > 0:46:01by Ten Past Seven.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04On guitar, Bap Kennedy and on vocals, brother, Brian.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07# Tom Waits
0:46:07 > 0:46:11# Tom waits patiently, ah
0:46:11 > 0:46:14# I can hear
0:46:14 > 0:46:17# A swordfish trombone... #
0:46:17 > 0:46:21We lived in Tottenham and they moved into a squat
0:46:21 > 0:46:23literally three doors down from us.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27And we used to feed them and look after them, to a certain degree.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29There was like this big musical community
0:46:29 > 0:46:31living in this street in Tottenham.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35That was really our first taste of London. It was brilliant.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38The Adventures were unbelievably kind to us.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41I'm telling you it didn't get much harder than that.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43There was a lot of starvation,
0:46:43 > 0:46:46you know, it was hard times as well as good times.
0:46:46 > 0:46:51Ten Past Seven split and Brian Kennedy went solo.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54Welcome a newcomer on the music scene with his first single,
0:46:54 > 0:46:58which shot into the charts. It's called Captured and it's by Brian Kennedy.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:47:06 > 0:47:11# Oh I just heard a melody
0:47:11 > 0:47:15# And it almost made me cry
0:47:15 > 0:47:22# My voice was filled with yearning... #
0:47:22 > 0:47:27When Captured came out Pump Up The Jam was number one in the UK.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30My record didn't even have any drums on it.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33It had percussion on it, but no drum kit.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36So I couldn't have been more at odds, culturally, with what was happening.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39But that's what was in my heart and I feel lucky because
0:47:39 > 0:47:42first time out I made the record I wanted, that rarely happens.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46# Belfast... #
0:47:46 > 0:47:50Meantime, Ten Past Seven grew into Energy Orchard,
0:47:50 > 0:47:52fronted by Bap Kennedy.
0:47:53 > 0:47:55# You're like heaven
0:47:58 > 0:48:00# You're like hell! #
0:48:02 > 0:48:05Belfast was still pretty much in the news for the wrong reasons
0:48:05 > 0:48:07and we were a Belfast band.
0:48:07 > 0:48:11And we thought we were under pressure to say something or do...
0:48:11 > 0:48:15You can't just write a pop song and pretend we're not from Belfast.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18So we thought our first song should be this song, Belfast.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21# We...We sang
0:48:22 > 0:48:27# Cos we just didn't care
0:48:28 > 0:48:30# Sing out louder
0:48:33 > 0:48:36# I will soon be there... #
0:48:37 > 0:48:41- # Chain, chain, chain - Chain, chain, chain... #
0:48:41 > 0:48:43Down in Dublin and the director Alan Parker
0:48:43 > 0:48:46was casting for a film, The Commitments.
0:48:48 > 0:48:50Oh, it was just, I don't know...
0:48:50 > 0:48:53It was just brilliant. It was just brilliant.
0:48:53 > 0:48:58It was just...It was... Well, for meself, I was a soul freak.
0:48:58 > 0:49:02I was 17, just turned 18 when we did The Commitments,
0:49:02 > 0:49:04and I was just soul mad.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08There was about four auditions.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11And they were very clear to me about my accent,
0:49:11 > 0:49:13I was the only non-Dub in the film.
0:49:13 > 0:49:18And they said, "You're not from Dublin," and I said, "That I know."
0:49:18 > 0:49:22And they said, "You're not a singer." I said, "Right, OK." Ouch!
0:49:22 > 0:49:26But they said, "You're an actress and if you get a part,
0:49:26 > 0:49:29"it will be because of your acting ability, not your singing."
0:49:29 > 0:49:33# Chain, chain, chain. #
0:49:38 > 0:49:42# You had a little time and you had a little fun didn't ya, didn't ya... #
0:49:42 > 0:49:45And there was another distinctive voice from the north west,
0:49:45 > 0:49:50Briana Corrigan was singing with Paul Heaton and The Beautiful South.
0:49:50 > 0:49:54# Yours for good, I hope you're glad
0:49:54 > 0:49:56# Sad into unsad... #
0:49:56 > 0:50:02The first time I heard A Little Time I thought, "Ah, this is great, this is lovely"
0:50:02 > 0:50:08and it was probably the first thing I'd heard from Paul that I thought "He's written this for me to sing".
0:50:10 > 0:50:15We didn't know before we sat and listened to the charts on the Sunday night.
0:50:15 > 0:50:20We were sitting waiting to see whether it was us or I think it was Maria McKee. It was Maria we...
0:50:20 > 0:50:24How could I forget that. That was a real moment of...huh! Maria McKee.
0:50:24 > 0:50:29Em, but I remember sitting waiting and it came up she was No2,
0:50:29 > 0:50:35I think it meant we were No.1 and it was a really phenomenal feeling it really was.
0:50:35 > 0:50:39- # I've had a little time - I've had a little time
0:50:39 > 0:50:43- # I've had a little time - I've had a little time. #
0:50:48 > 0:50:53# Twas on one bright March morning
0:50:53 > 0:50:58# I bid New Orleans adieu... #
0:50:59 > 0:51:04Strabane singer Paul Brady had made his reputation in the traditional music field.
0:51:04 > 0:51:09# ..my fortune to renew... #
0:51:09 > 0:51:14Paul Brady is a really old friend and he goes back a long, long way.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17From the word go I was a fan
0:51:17 > 0:51:20and followed his career all the way.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24# Snow-bound siren in the winter dawn
0:51:24 > 0:51:28# There's a blizzard blowing in from off the river... #
0:51:28 > 0:51:32He developed into an all-rounder, writing songs for Carlos Santana,
0:51:32 > 0:51:34Tina Turner and Ronan Keating.
0:51:36 > 0:51:42He's gone out there and he's tried, you know, so many variations of his music,
0:51:42 > 0:51:48of his style, played with different people. I love that. I think that's what music's about.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50It's not about staying in one place.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55# Tonight we'll go and paint this town
0:51:56 > 0:52:00# We're gonna drink champagne till we both fall down
0:52:00 > 0:52:04# And we'll find some other crazy dream tomorrow. #
0:52:10 > 0:52:12The Four Of Us came out of Newry
0:52:12 > 0:52:15with a strong sense of their music, their visual style
0:52:15 > 0:52:17and their business potential.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22We started with recordings in Newry
0:52:22 > 0:52:26and started writing songs in our bedroom
0:52:26 > 0:52:29and then we moved to Belfast
0:52:29 > 0:52:31and basically just continued to do that.
0:52:31 > 0:52:36# Oh, Mary while I do have some sense
0:52:36 > 0:52:39# Please do something... #
0:52:39 > 0:52:42If you have big songs you get big reactions.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46Sometimes you write a song and it has one of those choruses people can sing.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51To hear 30,000 people just singing back a song
0:52:51 > 0:52:57that was written in a bedroom on acoustic guitar and a wee timpani drum box is pretty amazing, you know.
0:52:57 > 0:53:03# Oh, Mary while I do have some sense
0:53:03 > 0:53:06# Please do something
0:53:06 > 0:53:10# To restore my confidence... #
0:53:10 > 0:53:13There's a perfect song out there and there's a perfect performance
0:53:13 > 0:53:16and a perfect record and we're trying to get there.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's time we introduced you
0:53:20 > 0:53:22to our very, very special guest this evening.
0:53:22 > 0:53:28One of the great sons of Ulster. A big round of applause please for Mr Van Morrison.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30APPLAUSE
0:53:30 > 0:53:35In 1988, Van Morrison was working with The Chieftains on a folk collection -
0:53:35 > 0:53:36Irish Heartbeat.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39# On Raglan Road
0:53:39 > 0:53:46# On an autumn day I saw her first and knew... #
0:53:46 > 0:53:52Stuff that I heard when I was a kid like My Lagan Love, Star Of The County Down -
0:53:52 > 0:53:57strange as it seems the versions I heard were John McCormack
0:53:57 > 0:54:00and Kenneth McKellar - that kind of thing.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03It was the Scotch/Irish thing.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06# At the harvest fair she'll be surely there
0:54:06 > 0:54:09# And I'll dress in my Sunday clothes... #
0:54:09 > 0:54:12There was another Belfast man involved in this project -
0:54:12 > 0:54:15the very talented Derek Bell.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20Derek had a lot of knowledge of music
0:54:20 > 0:54:26and he was actually a music genius in the classical sense of the word.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28Em, he could play any type of music.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32I actually tried to get him to do other projects with me,
0:54:32 > 0:54:36but he was sort of locked up with The Chieftains.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42There was something stirring in Ballyclare and Larne.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45It was time for Therapy?
0:54:47 > 0:54:52Whenever Therapy? started out, we were from Larne and Ballyclare,
0:54:52 > 0:54:56and we kinda realised we didn't really fit into any category.
0:54:56 > 0:54:58The way we looked for a start -
0:54:58 > 0:55:02you've got a chubby guy singing, a little speccy guy playing the bass
0:55:02 > 0:55:05and the taciturn tall guy playing the drums.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08And we were seen as what they called "Culchees".
0:55:08 > 0:55:12Regardless of the fact is was only 16 miles up the road, we came to Belfast
0:55:12 > 0:55:15and everyone else was more au fait with the business -
0:55:15 > 0:55:20they'd look the part and they'd dress right and they had the right amps. We were this kind of anomaly.
0:55:24 > 0:55:29We never had any ambitions. We never did and people think because we've sold some records...
0:55:29 > 0:55:35Our biggest ambition, first of all, was getting our own 7" single out.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39The other two lads were at college. I used to work for Michelin Tyres in Ballymena.
0:55:39 > 0:55:40We saved up enough money
0:55:40 > 0:55:43to press up a thousand 7" singles.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47# Heaven kicked you out
0:55:47 > 0:55:49# You wouldn't wear a tie... #
0:55:49 > 0:55:52By accident, Therapy? became a pop band.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55# Staring at some pictures by yourself... #
0:55:56 > 0:56:00We're very, very serious about what we do
0:56:00 > 0:56:02and we're very serious about the music we make.
0:56:02 > 0:56:10But we've always been slightly wary of the peripheral nonsense that surrounds it.
0:56:12 > 0:56:17Ash have come along and they were playing the same kind of music we did.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21I think the Ulster pop crown has to be handed over
0:56:21 > 0:56:24cos these lads are young and they're better-looking.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26What are we gonna do now?
0:56:30 > 0:56:33In Downpatrick, Ash was ready to burn.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37Unfortunately, there was also homework to do.
0:56:37 > 0:56:42When we were 17, the buzz was starting to pick up over in the UK
0:56:42 > 0:56:45and we got offered an Elastica tour.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48Elastica were getting a real buzz at the time.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52And our manager had to come over to see our headmaster
0:56:52 > 0:56:56and ask him permission for us to go on tour for two weeks.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58Our headmaster kept him waiting outside the door
0:56:58 > 0:57:02and he felt like he was back in school again!
0:57:02 > 0:57:06And... Yeah, we promised him we'd do all our homework but...
0:57:06 > 0:57:09I sat down and tried to do French homework on the first night.
0:57:09 > 0:57:14Everyone else was, like, guzzling beer and having this great party
0:57:14 > 0:57:17and I was just, like, "I can't do this."
0:57:17 > 0:57:21I put my homework in my bag and never looked at it again.
0:57:21 > 0:57:23# I can see it in your eyes... #
0:57:23 > 0:57:26A lot of the early songs had potential.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29But Girl From Mars was a killer tune.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32We didn't put that on our first mini album
0:57:32 > 0:57:35because we knew it felt like a hit. We held it back till we were 18,
0:57:35 > 0:57:38till we'd left school and thought we could do something with it.
0:57:38 > 0:57:42Two weeks after we left school, it went in at 11 in the charts.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44# She never told me... #
0:57:44 > 0:57:48# We made a connection
0:57:48 > 0:57:51# A full chemical reaction... #
0:57:51 > 0:57:54Ash were instantly successful.
0:57:54 > 0:57:56But then they lost their way.
0:57:56 > 0:58:01It was a big song called Shining Light that allowed them to resurface.
0:58:01 > 0:58:04We knew we needed to come back with something really strong
0:58:04 > 0:58:08and my song-writing sort of reached maturity with that song.
0:58:08 > 0:58:13It was one of those sort of magic inspirational moments.
0:58:13 > 0:58:18It won the Best Song of 2001 at the Ivor Novello Awards.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21I couldn't believe it. From the low point we'd come from to that.
0:58:21 > 0:58:24It was a great accolade. I was really proud.
0:58:24 > 0:58:26# Look into my tired eyes
0:58:26 > 0:58:29# See someone you don't recognise... #
0:58:29 > 0:58:32And so Ash continued as a classic singles band
0:58:32 > 0:58:33with more than a dozen hits.
0:58:33 > 0:58:36# Oh, this is slow suicide
0:58:36 > 0:58:39# Feelings that I can't disguise
0:58:39 > 0:58:41# And never will be reconciled
0:58:41 > 0:58:45# Oh, something inside has died. #
0:58:48 > 0:58:52A special moment - May 1998.
0:58:52 > 0:58:56Ash and U2 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
0:58:56 > 0:58:58# Stand by me... #
0:58:58 > 0:59:02It was just the most insane day. We had the whole world's media there
0:59:02 > 0:59:05and we ended up playing a few songs with U2.
0:59:05 > 0:59:09And John Hume and David Trimble came on stage and linked hands.
0:59:09 > 0:59:11It was quite amazing.
0:59:11 > 0:59:14It was just a whirlwind kind of day.
0:59:14 > 0:59:18Come on! CROWD CHEERS
0:59:24 > 0:59:26# You can have my heart
0:59:26 > 0:59:31# If you don't mind broken things... #
0:59:31 > 0:59:36But that optimism was tested with the Omagh bombing.
0:59:36 > 0:59:41It was Juliet Turner who captured the mood in a song.
0:59:45 > 0:59:50# But I heard that you make all things new
0:59:50 > 0:59:55# So I give these pieces all to you
0:59:55 > 0:59:58# If you want it
0:59:58 > 1:00:04# You can have my heart. #
1:00:08 > 1:00:10SINGS A REQUIEM
1:00:17 > 1:00:22In County Fermanagh, a choirboy had other musical ambitions.
1:00:27 > 1:00:31I just really wanted people to take any notice of me at all,
1:00:31 > 1:00:32I didn't mind if they...
1:00:32 > 1:00:37sort of really reacted badly as long as I got a reaction.
1:00:37 > 1:00:44# You don't really love me
1:00:44 > 1:00:47# And I don't really mind... #
1:00:49 > 1:00:54When people started listening to the records and taking notice
1:00:54 > 1:00:56and actually applauding,
1:00:56 > 1:01:00I'd love to say that I was surprised
1:01:00 > 1:01:03but I just felt glorious vindication really.
1:01:03 > 1:01:06They don't have to like your music.
1:01:06 > 1:01:09There's no law that says you have to be a pop star.
1:01:09 > 1:01:14And suddenly you have to kind of concentrate and work quite hard,
1:01:14 > 1:01:18and make sure you're doing your job properly.
1:01:18 > 1:01:23# On the National Express There's a jolly hostess... #
1:01:23 > 1:01:28Neil toured with Robbie Williams and drove National Express into the charts.
1:01:28 > 1:01:33Probably without those 20 gigs in the arenas of the UK
1:01:33 > 1:01:37playing to 4,000-5,000 people every night
1:01:37 > 1:01:41National Express would not have been the mega hit it was.
1:01:41 > 1:01:46Mega hit in terms of the Divine Comedy. It got to number eight.
1:01:46 > 1:01:51But it was a top-ten single and it's our only one and I'm very pleased that I've actually had one.
1:01:51 > 1:01:54# They ask what hate is
1:01:54 > 1:01:57# It's just the other side of love
1:01:57 > 1:01:59# Just the other side of love... #
1:01:59 > 1:02:01By Christmas 1995,
1:02:01 > 1:02:04there was a real potential for peace
1:02:04 > 1:02:08and once again it was music that underpinned that hope.
1:02:08 > 1:02:10# Some say why don't you love your neighbour
1:02:10 > 1:02:13# Why don't you love your neighbour?
1:02:13 > 1:02:15# Go ahead and turn the other cheek
1:02:15 > 1:02:18# Go ahead and turn the other cheek... #
1:02:18 > 1:02:20I remember it being freezing cold.
1:02:20 > 1:02:23And it wasn't lost on me how important it was
1:02:23 > 1:02:28that you have somebody who grew up where I grew up in West Belfast, a Catholic upbringing,
1:02:28 > 1:02:32and you have Van Morrison who grew up in East Belfast with a Protestant upbringing.
1:02:32 > 1:02:36And we sang a song called No Religion. I remember that.
1:02:36 > 1:02:42I remember thinking, "I love the way this is saying it without saying it, united just by being together."
1:02:42 > 1:02:46That never occurred to me till journalists pointed it out.
1:02:46 > 1:02:50Because for me and for Van, and one of the reasons we get on,
1:02:50 > 1:02:54is that we have absolutely no interest in politics and all that stuff.
1:02:54 > 1:02:56It's music that we love.
1:02:56 > 1:02:58And my voice is what's brought me out into the world.
1:02:58 > 1:03:04At that moment what was really very sharp in focus was co-existence,
1:03:04 > 1:03:10literally singing in harmony, me and him, literally, our voices in harmony.
1:03:10 > 1:03:15I'll never forget looking out across that T-junction swarmed with people, President Clinton there.
1:03:15 > 1:03:19We dedicated Have I told You Lately for him and the First Lady.
1:03:19 > 1:03:23So just one of those moments when you think, "My God, how did I get here?"
1:03:23 > 1:03:25And I got there because Van is so generous.
1:03:25 > 1:03:28# Fill fill fill my heart with gladness
1:03:28 > 1:03:31- # Fill my heart with gladness - Take away my sadness
1:03:31 > 1:03:34- # Take away my sadness - Ease my troubles
1:03:34 > 1:03:37# Ah that's what you do. #
1:03:37 > 1:03:41'He did a recording for some project of Celtic writing'
1:03:41 > 1:03:44and somebody gave me the tape.
1:03:44 > 1:03:47And I heard it and I thought, "That's pretty good."
1:03:47 > 1:03:52So, um, I wanted to try him out as a backup, you know,
1:03:52 > 1:03:54to work in my band.
1:03:54 > 1:04:00And we ran just a load of various songs, soul stuff. I can't remember exactly.
1:04:00 > 1:04:04We just ran other people's songs, not my songs.
1:04:04 > 1:04:07Then we tried a few of my songs
1:04:07 > 1:04:11and thought, "This is working," you know.
1:04:11 > 1:04:13- # Sing it out loud - Sing it out loud
1:04:13 > 1:04:17- # Sing it in your name - Sing it in your name
1:04:17 > 1:04:19BOTH: # Sing it like you're proud
1:04:19 > 1:04:23- # Sing it like you're proud - Sing the healing game. #
1:04:24 > 1:04:28# Things can only get... #
1:04:28 > 1:04:33Dance music was taking hold and D:Ream gave Tony Blair an election anthem.
1:04:34 > 1:04:37# ..Now I've found you and you and you. #
1:04:41 > 1:04:44Agnelli and Nelson were big in Ibiza.
1:04:44 > 1:04:47# El Nino El Nino... #
1:04:47 > 1:04:53And back in Belfast, David Holmes was the ultimate shaker.
1:04:57 > 1:04:59In a way I've kind of come full circle.
1:04:59 > 1:05:03When I DJ now, I play a whole mix of music and that's what I love.
1:05:03 > 1:05:06In a way that's what I grew up with.
1:05:06 > 1:05:11House music just cast its spell, I think, on so many people in Europe.
1:05:11 > 1:05:13The most important thing was going to these clubs
1:05:13 > 1:05:15and dancing for eight hours.
1:05:18 > 1:05:23And then David made his move into film soundtracks.
1:05:25 > 1:05:27When Ocean's Eleven came along,
1:05:27 > 1:05:31I'd just seen a little caption in the Daily Mirror saying that they were making it.
1:05:31 > 1:05:35And I remember I came home really pissed from this party
1:05:35 > 1:05:38and I was staying in a friend's house in London.
1:05:38 > 1:05:42I rang Soderbergh there and then because of the time difference
1:05:42 > 1:05:44and just got through to him
1:05:44 > 1:05:47and he said, "Yeah, I was going to ask you to do it anyway."
1:05:48 > 1:05:50It's so nice to be home.
1:05:50 > 1:05:53AUDIENCE CHEERS
1:05:53 > 1:05:56I would like to say a big thank you
1:05:56 > 1:06:02to our families for supporting us through 12 years.
1:06:02 > 1:06:0512 years it took to get here for us!
1:06:05 > 1:06:07CHEERING
1:06:07 > 1:06:11MUSIC: "Starfighter Pilot" by Snow Patrol
1:06:11 > 1:06:13# Andrew's a starfighter pilot
1:06:17 > 1:06:19# And he can get high in his jet
1:06:23 > 1:06:26# Tells me about all his women. #
1:06:26 > 1:06:30Snow Patrol struggled in the early days
1:06:30 > 1:06:32until one massive hit launched their career.
1:06:32 > 1:06:37# You do the only thing that's right
1:06:39 > 1:06:41# In all of time
1:06:46 > 1:06:50# And I can barely look at you... #
1:06:50 > 1:06:52'We went to a friend of ours house in Glasgow.
1:06:52 > 1:06:54'There was about 50 people there.
1:06:54 > 1:06:57'We had this massive party to see the chart coming in.
1:06:57 > 1:07:00'We'd never done it before so... It just kept going up'
1:07:00 > 1:07:03and we thought, "We haven't done it. We haven't got in."
1:07:03 > 1:07:06"There's no way we could be in the chart now." It's up to six.
1:07:06 > 1:07:09Six or seven. And then five.
1:07:11 > 1:07:13And there it was. We were in the top five.
1:07:13 > 1:07:16AUDIENCE: # Light up light up
1:07:16 > 1:07:21# As if you have a choice
1:07:21 > 1:07:23# Even if... #
1:07:23 > 1:07:27'Run is such a unifying song when you play it live. It's not a bad thing,
1:07:27 > 1:07:29'you know, to have everybody in the room signing it.
1:07:29 > 1:07:32'It can only be a positive thing, you know.'
1:07:32 > 1:07:34There are hopeful words and they're written in hope.
1:07:34 > 1:07:38They were written at a very dark time in my life, wanting something better.
1:07:38 > 1:07:43AUDIENCE: # ..As if you have a choice
1:07:45 > 1:07:50# Even if you cannot hear my voice
1:07:50 > 1:07:54# I'll be right beside you, dear. #
1:07:54 > 1:07:57AUDIENCE WHISTLES AND CHEERS
1:08:01 > 1:08:04CHEERS AND APPLAUSE
1:08:04 > 1:08:06Belfast, you have spoiled us.
1:08:06 > 1:08:08Thank you so much.
1:08:08 > 1:08:10SPEECH DROWNED OUT BY CHEERS
1:08:10 > 1:08:13And so many other acts are in contention.
1:08:13 > 1:08:17Like former Snow Patrol guitarist Ian Archer.
1:08:17 > 1:08:21Like Rocky and Shaun from Oppenheimer.
1:08:24 > 1:08:27Or the havoc that is Alloy Mental.
1:08:27 > 1:08:29# Time moving. #
1:08:29 > 1:08:34There's the sweetness of Foy Vance.
1:08:34 > 1:08:36# You look them in the eye... #
1:08:37 > 1:08:40And the big rock shapes of The Answer.
1:08:40 > 1:08:43# Never too late Never too late! #
1:08:43 > 1:08:48An amazing person, from Ireland, a great singer-songwriter over there - Duke Special!
1:08:48 > 1:08:53PLAYS HONKY-TONK STYLE PIANO
1:08:53 > 1:08:56But the boy most likely to is Peter Wilson.
1:08:57 > 1:09:00'For years I'd run away from playing piano.
1:09:00 > 1:09:04'I had really decided I wanted to play guitar in a rock band.
1:09:04 > 1:09:07'Piano wasn't a very cool and sexy instrument.
1:09:07 > 1:09:11'And I think there was a whole range of things from listening to The Band
1:09:11 > 1:09:14'and hearing Tom Waits for the first time and talking with friends
1:09:14 > 1:09:16'and realising that what I actually do best
1:09:16 > 1:09:18'is playing piano and singing.'
1:09:18 > 1:09:22# Your broken heart was never on my mind. #
1:09:22 > 1:09:24It was actually, coincidentally,
1:09:24 > 1:09:28something that other people weren't really doing at that time...
1:09:28 > 1:09:33very much. Um, so I was probably just beginning to feel comfortable with who I was
1:09:33 > 1:09:38and, at the same time, beginning to think that I was an artist as a songwriter.
1:09:38 > 1:09:43I wasn't someone that was wanting to be that or someone that would never be that. I actually was already.
1:09:43 > 1:09:49I think all those things kind of gelled, um, into Duke Special just at that point
1:09:49 > 1:09:55so I think that was such a gradual process for me. I'm a late starter, I suppose.
1:09:55 > 1:09:58# No cover up
1:09:58 > 1:10:01# I hope I'm learning
1:10:01 > 1:10:06# Some honesty
1:10:08 > 1:10:12# Some honesty. #
1:10:15 > 1:10:19# Have I told you lately That I love you... #
1:10:19 > 1:10:23Thee have been huge changes in the music here since the 1960s
1:10:23 > 1:10:26but a constant feature has been Van Morrison.
1:10:26 > 1:10:30It's a creative energy that will never be taken for granted.
1:10:30 > 1:10:32# ..Take away my sadness
1:10:32 > 1:10:36# Ease my troubles That's what you do. #
1:10:36 > 1:10:43'The longer you do it, the harder it becomes to make it fresh cos that just simply is the way things are.
1:10:43 > 1:10:46'You know, you can't do something a long time
1:10:46 > 1:10:49'and expect that it's going to be the way it was when you started
1:10:49 > 1:10:52'so you have to work harder.'
1:10:52 > 1:10:54# ..You can make it better
1:10:54 > 1:10:57# Ease my troubles That's what you do... #
1:10:57 > 1:10:59'The message changes,'
1:10:59 > 1:11:03you know, according to what your life experiences are,
1:11:03 > 1:11:05what's going on,
1:11:05 > 1:11:08um, things you feel that you need to say.
1:11:09 > 1:11:12So that affects the writing.
1:11:12 > 1:11:14# Out on the highways
1:11:14 > 1:11:16# And the byways
1:11:17 > 1:11:19# All alone
1:11:23 > 1:11:25# Yeah I'm searching for
1:11:27 > 1:11:30# Searching for my home
1:11:33 > 1:11:36# I'm up Up in the morning
1:11:37 > 1:11:39# Up in the morning
1:11:39 > 1:11:42# Out on the road
1:11:45 > 1:11:48# And I'm on the road again And I'm searching for
1:11:50 > 1:11:53# The philosopher's stone... #
1:11:53 > 1:11:56'The older you get, the more knowledge you get.'
1:11:56 > 1:12:01And the more knowledge you get, that changes things because you get a different perspective.
1:12:02 > 1:12:08And, you know, you know, I'm not going to say the same thing as I said when I was 20.
1:12:08 > 1:12:12# ..When my job is turning lead
1:12:13 > 1:12:16# Into gold
1:12:19 > 1:12:21# Born in the back street
1:12:21 > 1:12:25# Born in the back street
1:12:25 > 1:12:27# Jelly Roll
1:12:31 > 1:12:34# I'm on the road again And I'm searching for
1:12:35 > 1:12:38# The philosopher's stone. #
1:12:39 > 1:12:45And the Snow Patrol story still astonishes. Number One in the UK and Ireland
1:12:45 > 1:12:47top of the downloads,
1:12:47 > 1:12:50all over the TV and film soundtracks,
1:12:50 > 1:12:52massive at Botanic Gardens
1:12:52 > 1:12:54and top five in America.
1:12:54 > 1:12:57# If I lay here
1:12:59 > 1:13:02# If I just lay here
1:13:03 > 1:13:09# Would you lie with me And just forget the world... #
1:13:09 > 1:13:14'In America we worked so, so hard and we're still working hard
1:13:14 > 1:13:18'and we'll almost be up to our 10th or 11th tour for these two albums.'
1:13:18 > 1:13:23And, um, each one's at least a month long and so that's a full year
1:13:23 > 1:13:28out of the three-and-a-bit years we've spent just in America.
1:13:28 > 1:13:31And that's the way U2 did it.
1:13:31 > 1:13:34'We use their sort of template, yeah.'
1:13:34 > 1:13:37# .. Those three words
1:13:38 > 1:13:41# Are said too much
1:13:43 > 1:13:46# They're not enough
1:13:49 > 1:13:51# If I lay here... #
1:13:51 > 1:13:55These last 40 years have been a musical journey to be proud of.
1:13:55 > 1:13:58So Hard To Beat.
1:13:58 > 1:14:03# ..Would you lie with me And just forget the world?
1:14:07 > 1:14:09# Forget what we're told
1:14:11 > 1:14:14# Before we get too old
1:14:15 > 1:14:18# Just show me a garden
1:14:18 > 1:14:21# That's bursting into life. #
1:14:26 > 1:14:30- # Well the choirboys sing - Well the choirboys sing
1:14:30 > 1:14:34- # Where I've always been - Where I've always been
1:14:34 > 1:14:38- # Sing a song of soul - Sing a song of soul
1:14:38 > 1:14:40# Baby don't you know?
1:14:40 > 1:14:41# Don't you know?
1:14:41 > 1:14:45- # We can let it roll - Let it roll
1:14:45 > 1:14:50- # On the saxophone- On the saxophone - Let's do jelly roll
1:14:50 > 1:14:55- # Let's do jelly roll - I'm in the healing game. #