Cormac Battle (born 11 July 1972) is an Irish musician and radio presenter/producer. He is the vocalist and lead guitarist for the bands

Kerbdog Kerbdog were an alternative metal band from Kilkenny, Ireland, formed in 1991. Following two albums released on Mercury Records, the band split up in 1998. Since 2005, they have reformed for a series of occasional one-off performances. In 201 ...

, Wilt, Jonny's Boys, and On the turn. He is also the current presenter of

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, whil ...

's alternative music programme, ''The Battle Axe''.

Early life

Battle was brought up in Kilkenny, Ireland, having moved from

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

, UK at an early age.

Career

Music

In 1991 Battle, along with school friends Darragh Butler (drums), Colin Fennelly (bass) and Billy Dalton (guitar) came together to formed a band called ''Rollercoaster'' before changing the name permanently to

. Following two demo cassettes recorded in Dublin and a short support slot to

Therapy? Therapy? are a Northern Irish rock band from Larne, formed in 1989 by guitarist-vocalist Andy Cairns and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing. Therapy? recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar. To complete the lineup, the band r ...

in 1992, the band was signed to

Vertigo Records Vertigo Records is a record company with United Kingdom origins. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Uni ...

in London. The group released their self-titled album, produced by legendary grunge icon

Jack Endino Jack Endino (born Michael M. Giacondino; 1964) is an American producer and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including Mudhoney, ...

, in 1994. A second album entitled ''

On The Turn ''On The Turn'' is the second and final studio album by Irish alternative rock outfit Kerbdog, released on Fontana Records in the UK on 31 March 1997. It was produced by GGGarth who had previously worked with Rage Against the Machine. "We did ...

'' was recorded in 1996, produced by

GGGarth Garth "GGGarth" Richardson is a Canadian record producer and music engineer. He is the son of music producer Jack Richardson (Alice Cooper, The Guess Who, Badfinger, Poco), a pioneer of the music recording industry in the 1960s and 1970s. Gart ...

, but the album's release was delayed for almost a year indicating troublesome times for the band with their record company. Kerbdog were soon dropped and eventually split up in 1998. Battle and Butler immediately formed another band, along with bassist Mick Murphy, called Wilt. Their music had a greater pop influence than Kerbdog. Following the release of two albums,

Bastinado Foot whipping, falanga/falaka or bastinado is a method of inflicting pain and humiliation by administering a beating on the soles of a person's bare feet. Unlike most types of flogging, it is meant more to be painful than to cause actual injury ...

and My Medicine on

Infectious Records An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable di ...

, Wilt split up in 2003 following limited success. At this point, Battle began to seriously focus on his DJ career and abandoned his musical pursuits. However, in 2005 Kerbdog reformed for a series of one-off shows. The band is still currently active on a part-time basis and have no plans to write or record new material. His favourite

Oxegen Oxegen was a music festival in Ireland, first held from 2004–2011 as a rock and pop festival and again in 2013 with dance and chart acts only. The event was regularly cited as Ireland's biggest music festival, and, by 2009, it was being ci ...

memory is playing the festival with Kerbdog in 2005.

Broadcasting

Battle began life at

Phantom FM TXFM (formerly Phantom 105.2) was a Dublin based radio station, founded in 1997 as a pirate radio station. TXFM broadcast under a contract awarded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). The station ceased broadcasting on 26 October 2016 ...

before moving, along with colleagues Jenny Huston and

Dan Hegarty Dan Hegarty is an Irish radio presenter employed by RTÉ. He presents his show ''The Alternative'' on RTÉ 2fm Monday to Thursday from 10:00 pm – 12:00am (the show is broadcast live each morning on RTÉ 2XM at 10am to 1pm). He is regularl ...

, in 2003 to RTE. Battle's late night show features new and alternative music from acts around the world as well as the 2fm sessions, live recordings, band interviews as well as from other sources. ''The Wireless'' is a supporter of the ''IMRO Showcase Tour''. He also offered his voice to the narration of popular live music programme '' 2fm Live'', which was broadcast on Saturday nights between 20:00 and 23:00 before it was axed and reformatted as ''2fm XtrAlive''. Battle regularly features in live coverage of high-profile musical events such as

Electric Picnic Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority shareholding in ...

and

, as well as being sent around the country to present the 2fm 2moro 2our. In 2008 Battle was sent to The Music Show to distribute advice. He has appeared on ''

BBC Introducing BBC Music ''Introducing'' is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. It gives artists the opportunity to be played on Local BBC Radio and nationally on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, ...

'' to discuss the state of the Irish music industry. He also contributes to television programmes in Ireland.

References

External links

Official RTÉ 2fm profile

Unofficial Kerbdog Message Board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle, Cormac 1972 births Living people Irish rock singers Musicians from County Kilkenny TXFM presenters RTÉ 2fm presenters 21st-century Irish male singers