Blue in Heaven 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 Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

quartet from

Churchtown, Dublin Churchtown () is a largely residential suburb on the southside of Dublin, between Rathfarnham and Dundrum. Landmarks Ely's Arch Braemor Road is still marked by a triumphal arch from the 18th century, which originally led to Rathfarnham Cas ...

, Ireland, active from 1982 to 1989 and led by singer Shane O'Neill. They reformed in 1990 as The Blue Angels. O'Neill later went on to form Supernaut with Dave Long from Into Paradise. Blue in Heaven released a few singles on U2's

Mother Records Mother Records was a record label founded by the band U2 in 1983 and distributed by parent Island Records. As a supportive promotional platform, the label released several one-off single releases for The Hothouse Flowers, In Tua Nua and Cactus ...

before being signed to Island Records in 1985, when they released their first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

, ''All The Gods Men'', which was produced by

Martin Hannett James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991), initially credited as Martin Zero, was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy ...

. Their follow-up, ''Explicit Material'' (1986), saw them team up with Island Records chief Chris Blackwell and Eric Thorngren. Their popularity grew thanks to touring with

The Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of lead vocalist and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever. Th ...

, Echo & the Bunnymen, and The Damned, alongside achieving a minor hit with "I Just Wanna". Kieran Kennedy joined and they played concerts for two years. They released an EP on the Solid label, ''Rock 'n' Roll R.I.P.'', which was a chronological compilation of their work: a 1983 track ("On and On") produced by

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

, four from 1987 and a live

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

's song "Loose." Kennedy left to start the Black Velvet Band.

Members

Original recording members

*Drums - Dave Clarke (later played drums for The Black Velvet Band,

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...

, and currently, for

Hothouse Flowers Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock band that combine traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel, and rock. Formed in 1985 in Dublin, they started as street performers. Their first album, ''People'' (1988), was the most success ...

) *Bass - Declan Jones *Guitar, keyboards, vocals - Shane O'Neill *Guitar, keyboards - Eamonn Tynan

Supernaut

In 1997, O'Neill played mostly rhythm electric and acoustic guitar and bass, and sang and wrote words and music with Dave Long, from Into Paradise. Clarke played drums and percussion. Paul McQuillan, who later played and wrote with Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions, played electric guitar and ray gun and released a self-titled album on Dirt Records. Today, O'Neill runs a recording studio in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Additional musicians

Blue Angels

*Guitar - Quentin Cowper; he moved to County Clare where he now plays largely traditional Irish music on fiddle and banjo with 'The Fiddle Case' and Ceili Bandits.

Discography

Blue in Heaven

Albums

* ''All the Gods' Men'' (1985) * ''Explicit Material'' (1986)

EPs

* ''Rock 'n' Roll R.I.P.'' (1988)

Compilation albums

* ''Live for Ireland'' (1986) -- "Tell Me" (recorded live during their performance for

Self Aid Self Aid was an unemployment benefit concert held in Dublin, Ireland on 17 May 1986. The concert performances were primarily by Irish musicians, although Elvis Costello and Chris Rea, both Englishmen of Irish descent, were designated "honorary Ir ...

)

Singles

* "The Lights Go Out" (1983) * "Julie Cries" (1984) * "Across My Heart" (1984) * "I Just Wanna" (1986) * "Track 01" (1988)

Blue Angels

Albums

* ''Coming Out Of Nowhere (1993)

EPs

* ''Get It Back'' (1991) * ''All The Way'' (1992) * ''When It's Gone'' (1993) "Blow"

Compilation albums

* ''HMV Unplugged: The Acoustic Sessions'' (1993) - "Candy"

Singles

* "Candy" (1991) * "Loose" (1992) * "Blow" (1994)

References

External links

Blue in Heaven in the Irish Music DatabaseTrouser Press Blue in Heaven profileSupernaut reviewBlue in Heaven thread on "I Love Music"New York Times articles
* https://isolations.blogspot.com/2019/02/our-interview-with-dave-clarke-about.html {{Authority control Irish new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups from Dublin (city) 1982 establishments in Ireland