Bernard Patrick Fallon (born 24 August 1946), known as BP Fallon, is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

DJ, author, photographer, and musician. He lives in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, Texas.

Life

At a young age Fallon became a personality and broadcaster in Ireland, later moving on to music journalism and photography. In the late 1960s Fallon moved to London to pursue his journalism career. In March 1969 he scored a coup - an interview with

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

at the 'bed-in' in Amsterdam - which was published in the

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

. This led to a further Lennon interview and a job at

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mar ...

working with publicist

Derek Taylor Derek Taylor (7 May 1932 – 8 September 1997) was an English journalist, writer, publicist and record producer. He is best known for his role as press officer to the Beatles, with whom he worked in 1964 and then from 1968 to 1970, and was one ...

. In 1970 he appeared on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' miming the tambourine in John Lennon's performance of "

Instant Karma! "Instant Karma!" (also titled "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)") is a song by English rock musician John Lennon, released as a single on Apple Records in February 1970. The lyrics focus on a concept in which the consequences of one's actions ...

". In an alternate clip, Fallon was shown miming the bass guitar. Fallon then became publicist for

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or some ...

and T. Rex - for whom he coined the term "T.Rextasy". He worked and toured with

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

during the band's heyday in the 1970s. During the punk rock years he represented

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads an ...

. Fallon returned to Irish radio in the 80s and, in 1986, Fallon won a

Jacob's Award The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...

for his

RTÉ 2fm (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

show, ''The BP Fallon Orchestra''. In the early 1990s, Fallon toured with and DJ'd for U2 on their

Zoo TV Tour The Zoo TV Tour (also written as ZooTV, ZOO TV or ZOOTV) was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of their 1991 album '' Achtung Baby'', the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 1992 to 1993. It was intended to mirror ...

and wrote a book/journal about his experiences called ''U2 Faraway So Close''. He then started up a multinational club "Death Disco" with

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, which was variously located in Dublin, London, New York, and sundry other locations. Later in the 2000s he DJ'd on the road with the groups My Bloody Valentine and

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. In December 2009 he released a solo record "Fame#9" - a collaboration with

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on his label

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. The 7" single is notable for being "3-sided" - the b-side has separate tracks recorded on the left and right stereo channels. Fallon performed on stage with varying lineups before forming BP Fallon & The Bandits with

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(guitar), plus

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(bass) and

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(drums) both from Blondie. In 2013 the band released their debut album ''Still Legal'' on their own Vibrosonic Records. The album included additional playing by

Ian McLagan Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was in ...

of the

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The band w ...

. In March 2014 he appeared at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

with the group Ghost Wolves, as well as

The Strypes The Strypes were a four-piece rock band from Cavan, Ireland, formed in 2010 consisting of Ross Farrelly (lead vocals/harmonica), Josh McClorey (lead guitar/vocals), Peter O'Hanlon (bass guitar/harmonica) and Evan Walsh (drums). The band played ...

performing the song Vicious at a

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

memorial concert produced by

Richard Barone Richard Barone is an American rock musician who first gained attention as frontman for the Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and record producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created concert events ...

and

Alejandro Escovedo Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk ...

. In August 2016 a second album 'Hot Tongue' was released. Fallon performed the title song on

Irish television Television in the Republic of Ireland is available through a variety of platforms. The digital terrestrial television service is known as Saorview and is the primary source of broadcast television since analogue transmissions ended on 24 October ...

, backed by Emma Lou and the Agenda.

References

External links

* – official site * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fallon, Bp 1946 births Living people Electronic dance music DJs Irish DJs Irish photographers Irish writers Jacob's Award winners RTÉ 2fm presenters