The Blades are 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 ...

new wave band who formed in the late 1970s in the South Dublin neighbourhood of

Ringsend Ringsend () is a southside inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the southern terminus of the East Link Toll ...

, with Paul Cleary on bass and vocals, his brother Laurence on guitar and friend Pat Larkin on drums. The original line-up released two seven inch singles: "Hot For You" and "Ghost of a Chance", the latter of which they performed on '' The Late Late Show'' in 1981.

History

Origins (1977–81)

The Blades began in the summer of 1977 when five friends got together to play a gig in the Catholic Young Mens Society hall in

. The lineup was whittled down to three: Paul Cleary (born 9 September 1959) on bass and vocals, his brother Lar (born 21 June 1957) on guitar and friend Pat Larkin (born 25 November 1956) on drums. The band regularly played in Dublin's famous venues like The Magnet on

Pearse Street Pearse Street () (formerly Great Brunswick Street) is a major street in Dublin. It runs from College Street in the west to MacMahon Bridge in the east, and is one of the city's longest streets. It has several different types of residential and c ...

, McGonagle's on South Anne Street and The Baggot Inn on Lower Baggot Street, where they did a six-week residency with U2, with whom they would have a rivalry which would dominate discussion of the group. Although U2 were from the Northside and the Blades were Southsiders, the Blades were considered to have a more working class following. Their first single, "Hot For You", was released on

Energy Rekords Energy Rekords is a record label formed in 1990 by the merging of the three labels: Front Music Production, Electronic Beat Association, and Energy - all small labels run from the Swedish town of Älmhult. By banding together these labels' fou ...

in 1980, followed by "Ghost Of A Chance" in 1981 which they played on '' The Late Late Show''. The record producer John Porter produced their first album, ''Last Man in Europe'', but due to personnel changes at the record company, it never got released in England.

Reshuffle (1981–86)

Pat left the band in March 1981, to be replaced by Jake Reilly on drums, the new lineup of Paul, Larry and Jake played first gig in The Magnet on Pearse Street on 18 July 1981, later that summer Paul switched to guitar, bringing in bassist Brian Foley (formerly of

The Vipers The Vipers were an Irish new wave group of the late 1970s. A live act fronted by Paul Boyle and virtuoso guitarist George Sweeney, they toured with The Clash and The Jam. Their debut single "I've Got You"/"No Such Thing" (Mulligan LUNS 718) w ...

) and added a brass section including Frank Duff (formerly of the Mod-ls). Larry left in 1982. The band signed to Irish label Reekus, and a double A-sided single, "The Bride Wore White" / "Animation" was released in March 1982. In the

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...

National Poll, "The Bride Wore White" was voted best single while The Blades were voted 'the most promising act in Ireland' and Paul Cleary beat Van Morrison and Bono to the 'best Irish songwriter'. However, by this stage they had been eclipsed critically and commercially by their rivals U2.

"U2 and The Blades joined up in the summer of 1979 for a double- header six-week residency at the Baggot Inn. The result was a culture clash of sounds and styles that left no one the wiser about which way the A&R fairy godmother would point her wand. U2 went on to meet Brian Eno, buy some Stetsons and get on the cover of ''Time'' magazine. The Blades were flung from record company pillar to post but never lost their knack for three-minute pop-soul classics – not least ''Hot for You'' and ''Ghost of a Chance''." Brian Boyd, ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
''

In 1985, The Blades released the album ''The Last Man In Europe''.

Post break-up

Paul Cleary continued with a band The Partisans, and later led an eight-piece pub rock band called The Cajun Kings. He also released solo material. In 2001, Reekus records released a double CD boxset, ''Those were the Days'', which included both ''The Last Man in Europe'' and ''Raytown Revisited''. In

Roddy Doyle Roddy Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ma ...

's novel The Commitments the Blades are mentioned when Jimmy Rabbitte remarks that he recognises people in the audience as having been at Blades' gigs years earlier. The implication was that Blades fans were working class and knew their music, but were also slightly older than other Dublin gig-goers.

Reunion And ''Smalltime'' EP (2013–present)

The Blades reformed in 2013 for some live performances in Dublin including an appearance on '' The Late Late Show'' in November 2013. In November 2015, they released their first new music as The Blades since 1985 with a 4-track EP entitled ''Smalltime,'' including the single "Harder Times" which received positive reviews.

Discography

Studio albums

*''Modernised'' (2016) CD - Raytown Records - RAYCD 2 LP - Raytown Records - RAYLP 1 *''The Last Man In Europe'' (1985) LP - Reekus Records - RKLP1 - IRL - 1985 - matte B&W cover +inner; distributed by WEA Ireland LP - Reekus Records - RKLP1 - UK - 1985 - slick colour front cover adds "featuring Paul Cleary"; different back cover LP - Disc AZ/Reekus Records - 509 - France - 1987 - shiny textured sleeve +inner; slightly different from UK cover w/ red logo +2 bonus tracks CD - Reekus Records - RK CD1 - 2000 *''Raytown Revisited 1980-85'' (1985) LP - Reekus Records - RKLP3 - IRL - 1985 CD - Reekus Records - RK CD2 - 2000 - with three bonus tracks (including two 1979 demos)

Compilation albums

*''Those Were The Days'' (2000) 2xCD - Reekus Records - RK BOXCD1 - 2000 - box/slipcase Two-CD set in slipcase consisting of RKCD1 + RKCD2 *''Too Late To Stop Now: Reekus Records 30th Anniversary Compilation'' (2011) 2xCD - Reekus Records - RKBOXCD1 - 2011 - box/slipcase *''RTÉ Radio 2 Presents In Concert'' (1985) LP - RTÉ Records - RTÉ 92 - IRL - 1985

Singles

*"Hot For You" / "The Reunion" (1980) 7" - Energy/Polygram Records - NRG-3 001 959- IRL - PS paper labels 7" - Energy Records - NRG-3 - UK - PS plastic labels *"Ghost of a Chance" / "Real Emotion" (1981) 7" - Energy/Polygram Records - NRG-5 - IRL - PS paper labels 7" - Energy Records - NRG-5 - UK - PS plastic labels *"The Bride Wore White" / "Animation" (1982) 7" - Reekus Records - RKS005 - IRL - PS +insert *"Revelations of Heartbreak" / "Rules of Love" (1982) 7" - Reekus Records - RKS007 - IRL - PS *"Downmarket" / "You Never Ask" (1983) 7" - Reekus Records - RKS010 - IRL - PS *"Last Man In Europe" / "Sadlands" (1984) 7" - Reekus Records - RKS013 - IRL - PS *"Those Were The Days" / "Stand By Me Now" (Paul Cleary) (1985) 7" - Reekus Records 7" - Reekus Records - picture disc CD "Smalltime" EP-Reekus Records RKCD 157 (2015) CD Raytown Records RAYCD1 *"The Great Wall of America" / "Kingfisher Blue" (2016) CD Raytown Records RAYCD 2 *"Modernised" (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blades, The Irish new wave musical groups Musical groups from Dublin (city)