Bagatelle were 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 ...

rock band that first formed in August 1978. They are known for their popular pop hits such as "Second Violin", "Leeson Street Lady" and "Summer in Dublin", their best known song.

Career

The band formed in Bray,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Fellow Irish musician

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commented on the impact that Bagatelle had on U2 in the early days of their career.

Larry Mullen Laurence Joseph Mullen Jr. (; born 31 October 1961) is an Irish musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band U2. Mullen was born in Dublin, where he attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School. In 1976, he co-founded U2 ...

, of the same band, once famously said that he used to call them "Baga-Money", in reference to their fame, and that he wished that his band could be as successful as Bagatelle. Bagatelle shared stages with artists such as

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

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and

Jose Feliciano Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean ...

. Their albums were produced by

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and the late

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, "Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US No ...

, who also produced for

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and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

. Bagatelle appeared on the "Self Aid" concert in the mid-1980s with U2 and

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

. When the original Bagatelle re-formed the band in 1992, Polygram (now

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

), their record label, decided to release ''The Best of Bagatelle and Liam Reilly'', and followed this with Bagatelle Gold. The band returned to touring in 2010 and released an album of cover versions entitled ''Under The Covers''. Although the band never attained international acclaim, they remain a hugely popular band in their home nation of Ireland. However, the hit "Second Violin" was such a success in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

that still today remains popular. The group's lead singer and principal songwriter Liam Reilly died unexpectedly on 1 January 2021, aged 65.

Discography

Albums

* ''Bagatelle'' (1980) ("Boat") * ''Bagatelle'' (1981) ("Waterfall") * ''Are We Keeping You Up?'' (1982) * ''Gold: The Best of Bagatelle'' (1985) * ''Cry Away the Night'' (1987) * ''Under the Covers'' (2010) Recorded and released on Irish record labe
Celtic Collections

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagatelle (Band) Musical groups from County Wicklow Musical groups established in 1978 Irish rock music groups Bray, County Wicklow 1978 establishments in Ireland