''Kaught at the Kampus'' is a live compilation 12-inch EP conceived and organised by Irish promoter Elvera Butler, and released in 1981 on her

Reekus Records Reekus Records is an Ireland, Irish independent record label and publishing company based in Dublin, founded by Elvera Butler in 1981. The label specializes in the promotion of mostly Irish people, Irish rock and alternative rock, alternative mus ...

label. A showcase of then emerging

Cork city Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

bands, it contains tracks by Nun Attax (later known as Five Go Down to the Sea?), Mean Features (featuring Mick Lynch (vocals) and

Liam Heffernan Liam Heffernan is an Irish actor, theater director and musician best known for his lead role in the critically acclaimed film The Clash of the Ash (1987), and later as the traveller Blackie Connors in the long running RTÉ television drama se ...

(guitar)), Urban Blitz (who later became Cypress, Mine!) and

Microdisney Microdisney were an Irish rock band formed in Cork in 1980. They were founded and led by songwriters Cathal Coughlan (keyboards, vocals) and Sean O'Hagan (guitar). Originally typeset as Micro Disney, the band had become Microdisney by the tim ...

(whose members Cathal Coughlan and

Sean O'Hagan Sean O'Hagan (born 1959) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and arranger who leads the avant-pop band the High Llamas, which he founded in 1992. He is also known for being one half of the songwriting duo (with Cathal Coughlan) in Microdisney and f ...

later formed

The Fatima Mansions The Fatima Mansions were an Irish rock band formed in 1988 by Cork singer/keyboardist Cathal Coughlan, formerly of Microdisney. Career The original line-up consisted of Coughlan, Nick Allum, Jonathan Fell, Zac Woolhouse and Aindrias O'Gruama. ...

and

The High Llamas The High Llamas are an Anglo-Irish avant-pop band formed in London circa 1991. They were founded by singer-songwriter Sean O'Hagan, formerly of Microdisney, with drummer Rob Allum and ex-Microdisney bassist Jon Fell. O'Hagan has led the group si ...

respectively.) The album was recorded live at the Arcadia Ballroom (commonly known as the Arc), Cork, Ireland, on 30 August 1980. Nun Attax were at the time scene leaders, and given three tracks on side one. Microdisney went on to international recognition with their 1985 album ''The Clock Comes Down The Stairs''. Following reissued of stock copies in 2015 and 2020, the compilation was re-pressed on vinyl and fully reissued in 2021 on its 40th anniversary. Writing in 2020, Mike McGrath-Bryan of the ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

'' said that the mural recognises a "record has come to be regarded as a document of the Cork music scene at an important juncture, helping to set the tone for the city's subsequent musical reputation, with many of the musicians and personalities involved becoming cult figures in their own right."

Background

The Arcadia was run by

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...

native Elvera Butler and her partner Andy Foster, and was one of the few places in Cork city that would host punk bands.O'Callaghan, Colm.
U2's Arcadian Dream - how one Cork music venue changed music forever
.

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

, 23 January 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2020 Butler had been the entertainments officer at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

, and so the venue, which did not serve alcohol, became known as the 'Downtown Kampus'. Nun Attax drummer Keith "Smelly" O'Connell recalls the mid 1970s Cork scene being "very tame. When we came first, there was nothing like us around. It was all rock 'n' roll really, and Hot Guitars and band's like that. It was all just rock 'n' roll and the long hair and the beards." The punk scene that developed in the late at the Arc was an important turning point for emerging Cork punk music; until then live music in the city had consisted mostly of Blues and

pub rock Pub rock is a rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particu ...

bands.Power, Ed.
B-Side the Leeside: Kaught at the Kampus
. ''

'', 29 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020 According to Mean Features guitarist

, "the merging post-punkscene was amazing....there was nothing else really in late Seventies and early Eighties Cork. Heavy industry was whacked. Elvera Butler brought some fantastic music to Cork. That woke us all up."

Recording

The live even were held on the 30th August 1980, using a mobile studio Butler borrowed from an outfit Belfast. Although it has earlier been used to record tracks by the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, there was surprise and disappointment when it arrived at the Arc in Cork, as it consisted of little more than a

mixing desk A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals from electric or electronic instr ...

in a caravan.

Legacy

The 40th anniversary of the album's recording was commemorated in August 2020 by the placement of two large murals on Cork's Grand Parade. The installation is a collaboration with between Cork City Libraries and

Cork City Council Cork City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Prior to the enactment of the 2001 Act, ...

to mark the 40th anniversary of the recording of "Kaught at the Kampus". The artwork was produced by Fiona O'Mahony and Siobhan Bardsley, and consists of a panel containing a reproduction of the album cover, and a panel showing a full sized photograph of Five Goes Down to the Sea? as well as a reprint of a fanzine interview with that band. The album was re-release in 2020, concurrent with a "Kaught at the Kampus" night at

Cork City Library Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as ...

on 18 September of that year.Power, Ed. "Nun Attax on Grand Parade jacks". ''

'', 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020

Track listing

Side one

# Nun Attax - "White Cortina" #Nun Attax - "Reekus Sunfare" #Nun Attax - "Eyeballs"

Side two

# Mean Features - "Summer Holidays" # Urban Blitz - "Breakaway" #

- "National Anthem"

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{Microdisney 1981 EPs 1981 compilation albums 1981 live albums Cathal Coughlan Five Go Down to the Sea? albums