Toasted Heretic were an Irish

rock group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

who attracted a cult following in the late 1980s and 1990s. They were founded in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

in 1985, where singer and lyricist

Julian Gough Julian Gough (born 1966) is an English-Irish musician who was the singer and lyricist for the Galway band Toasted Heretic, and is best known for his songs "Galway and Los Angeles", "You can Always go Home" and "Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD ( ...

was studying English and philosophy. Their best known early independent released songs include "You Make Girls Unhappy" and "LSD (Isn’t What It Used to Be)" both released on their first two EPs. They made the top ten of the Irish Singles Chart in 1992 with "Galway and Los Angeles", written by

about a chance meeting with Sinéad O'Connor in the entrance to Raidió Teilifís Éireann's Dublin studios.

History

The band was formed in

in the mid-1980s and came to national attention with a self-published album, ''Songs for Swinging Celibates'' (an allusion to the Frank Sinatra album ''

Songs for Swingin' Lovers ''Songs for Swingin' Lovers!'' is the tenth album by American singer Frank Sinatra and his fourth for Capitol Records. It was arranged by Nelson Riddle and released in March 1956 on LP and January 1987 on CD. It was the first album ever to ...

''), in 1988. The album was recorded on cassette tape via a TASCAM

Portastudio The TASCAM Portastudio was the first four-track recorder based on a standard compact audio cassette tape. The term ''portastudio'' is exclusive to TASCAM, though it is generally used to describe all self-contained cassette-based multitrack rec ...

in drummer and producer Neil Farrell's home, and distributed only on cassette. A second album, Charm and Arrogance, was released in the same format in 1989, with its inlay card designed to resemble an addressed envelope, including a real (low value) Irish

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

. By the 1990 release of "The Smug E.P.", the band had attracted a following, including DJs in RTÉ and internationally. They developed a live following, and gained a positive review in

Q magazine ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series '' The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ...

, as well as a record contract with Liquid Records, a small Independent record label. Liquid Records released the full-length album ''Another Day, Another Riot'' (1992], the titular single, and the song ''Galway and Los Angeles'', which reached #9 in the Irish music charts. Toasted Heretic returned to their own independent "Bananafish" label for their last original album, 1993's Mindless Optimism. Without formally breaking up, the band went on hiatus throughout the 1990s, performing sporadically while its members pursued other interests: Farrell produced music; and Gough wrote his a debut novel, ''Juno & Juliet'' (ISBN 0-385-72161-7).

Discography

Albums

*''Songs for Swinging Celibates'' (1988) *''Charm and Arrogance'' (1989) *''Another Day, Another Riot'' (1992) *''Mindless Optimism'' (1994)

Compilation album

*''Now in New Nostalgia Flavour'' (2005)

Extended plays

*''The Smug EP'' (1990)

Singles

*"Galway and Los Angeles" (1991) *"Another Day, Another Riot" (1992) *"LSD (Isn’t What It Used to Be)" (2005)

Members

Current members

*Declan Collins (

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

) *Neil Farrell ( drums) *

(

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

) *Aengus McMahon (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

to 1992, then rhythm guitar) *Barry Wallace (bass guitar from 1992)

Former members

*Breffni O'Rourke (rhythm guitar 1985-1992, 2005)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Irish alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups from County Galway Music in Galway (city)