A House
Encyclopedia
A House was an Irish
band from the 1980s to the 1990s, recognized for the clever, "often bitter or irony laden lyrics of [frontman] Dave Couse ... bolstered by the [band's] seemingly effortless musicality". The single "Endless Art
" is one of their best known charting successes. A House were managed throughout their career by Liam Crinion.
, guitarist Fergal Bunbury, bassist Martin Healy (who had all been schoolmates at Templeogue College
), and drummer Dermot Wylie came together as A House. Initially developing a classic, guitar based rock sound to highlight Couse's frank but often bitter-tongued lyrics the band put in all the appropriate rites of passage for an Irish group in the mid-eighties, honing their live skills in the pubs of Dublin, performing in McGonagle's club (best known internationally as the venue where U2
cut their teeth in the late seventies), at free gigs in the Phoenix Park
, and turns on RTÉ's
TV GaGa and Dave Fanning's
radio sessions.
The earliest recorded appearance for the band seems to have been on a charity compilation called Blackrock Youth Aid '85, put together at Newpark School. This was followed by tracks on two live compilations: A House contributed a song whose very title is representative of the band's early spirit, "On Your Bike Wench, and Let's Have the Back of You", to the EP Live at the Underground (1986), recorded in September 1985 (and only available) in The Underground club in Dublin, and featuring other contemporary up and coming bands such as Something Happens
and The Stars of Heaven
; the Street Carnival Rock EP (1987) includes songs recorded as Dave Fanning sessions, and finds A House, performing a song called "What A Nice Evening To Take The Girls Up The Mountains", alongside other young Irish bands including The Golden Horde
.
These beginnings were followed up by two self-released singles, "Kick Me Again Jesus" and "Snowball Down". A House released these on a label given the name "RIP Records".
who released the singles "Heart Happy" and "Call Me Blue" in Ireland and the UK. The latter was backed by a video and was relatively successful, receiving appreciable airplay and reaching number 28 in the Irish charts, as well as having some impact in the USA. These singles were followed by A House's first album On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round
in 1988. The success of the release and growing crowds at their live shows allowed the band to embark on their U.S.
tour with The Go-Betweens
.
A promo version of "Call Me Blue" for the US tour included a track labelled "Some Intense Irish Brogue" which was a short interview with the band. Even in Ireland, however, some listeners found Couse's "yelp of a voice" not quite suited to the slightly quirky but basically mainstream rock style of Merry-Go-Round. Perhaps the band had this in mind when, after that first major tour, they went back to Ireland, and wrote and recorded the album I Want Too Much in 1988 on the small Irish island of Inishboffin
. Observant critics had noted that On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Rounds title reflected a track list that developed a cartoonish sense of threat (with titles like "I Want to Kill Something", "Watch Out You're Dead", "Don't Ever Think You're Different", "Stone the Crows", and "Violent Love"). I Want Too Much was a move to maturity, with Couse's lyrical concerns becoming deeper, reflecting abilities both to look outwards and to introspect. The music too had developed, sounding far less like it wanted to sound like a rock band, and rather working with and enhancing Couse's unorthodox voice and phrasing, such that the album saw A House developing its own persona, although they would never lose their catchy side. The response of the press was good, but record sales were poor, and Blanco y Negro decided to drop the band. Eventually they were picked up by Setanta
, a London-based independent label tending to focus on Irish acts.
Dermot Wylie also quit the band in this period, to be replaced by Dave Dawson.
. The latter featured the track "Endless Art", on which A House first worked with Orange Juice
singer Edwyn Collins
as producer. A House met Collins because he was also signed to Setanta, and it was the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration as post-A House Couse and Collins remained friends and continued to work together. Setanta also facilitated a relationship between A House and countrymen The Frank and Walters
, with members of A House contributing production work to several Frank and Walters' albums.
"Endless Art" had also benefitted from an accompanying video using clever stop motion animation which gained significant airplay on MTV
in Europe, but again due to the bad timing with the song's distribution, the video seemed to be everywhere but the record was not selling. Nevertheless, "Endless Art" became A House's signature, replacing "Call Me Blue" as the song everyone associated with them. The video was memorable, and the song itself – somewhat unusual in its musical approach, and even more so in its lyrics, which led off with a quotation from Oscar Wilde
and ran through an extensive roster of famous artists from various fields, all dead, with years of births and deaths specified – stabilized the band as a cult favorite among indie lovers, and is the paradigm of the surprisingly successful "list" style of song which Couse has frequently used (the first example of this style had been the title track on I Want Too Much).
At the time, however, the band had run into criticism because all the artists mentioned in the original "Bingo" release of the song were men. Despite the facetious excuse that they thought Joan Miró
was a woman, they tried to make amends by making available a second version of the song, called "More Endless Art", which lists only women artists, as the B-Side of the single version. Controversy aside, "Endless Art" is frequently featured on representative compilations of Irish rock and pop music. The 12" single included two other tracks, "Freak Show" and "Charity" which had been recorded for the band's second John Peel Session very early in 1992.
, on backing vocals, and David Morrissey on keyboards. This new trio remained with A House until it dissolved although they were less involved in the creative process than the remaining original trio. However, their presence enabled A House to significantly further the transition begun on I Want Too Much beyond the fairly straightforward sound of Merry-Go-Round to a broader musical palette. This was enabled further on "I Am the Greatest" by Collins's production work, and extra contributions from Susie Honeyman's
violin.
Lyrically, the songs on the record addressed themes running from satire of societal and religious pieties, through excruciating examinations of personal fears, to the title track, on which the three core band members ruminate in spoken word
fashion on their lives, their regrets, their jealousies, and the state of music in the 1990s. The cover artwork was by Irish photographer Amelia Stein, and a second single from the album, "Take It Easy On Me" (1992), was also released.
was released in 1994 to little notice outside of the band's fan-base, although the single "Here Come the Good Times
" was A House's only UK Top 40 chart
placing, reaching number 37. In 2002 this song experienced an rather unusual second life on the Irish charts when it was chosen by popular vote on national radio to be rerecorded, with new lyrics, as a team anthem and charity single by the Irish soccer squad
in the run up to the 2002 World Cup
.
Despite the relative success of "Here Come the Good Times", the good times never really came for A House. In the popular music market place this was probably largely because the band refused to do anything but their own thing, which lent extra resonance to the title of their fifth and final album, No More Apologies
, released in 1996. It was already known that A House would call it quits the year after that, but No More Apologies
, a collection of "twisted beauties", allowed them bow out, masters till of themselves and of "disturbing melodies reflecting the world as seen through their own, strangely coloured, spectacles".
. Although visibly moved by the occasion, Couse, ever sarcastic, wondered from stage if A House would have had to break up at all had everyone in attendance bought their records. But no one wanted to leave the Olympia, and A House went out on a high, producing
Even so, five years later Couse could still wonder how the apparent fondness of so many fans for his band had never really carried over to record sales.
", and that "their passing also arguably [drew] the safety curtain on the first and last great pop movement this country has either seen or heard".
More than ten years after A House's break-up, critics still held A House in high esteem. In 2008 the Irish Times rock critics voted I Am the Greatest the third best Irish album of all time (jointly with Ghostown
by The Radiators From Space
), behind only Loveless
by My Bloody Valentine and Achtung Baby
by U2
.
in 2003, has released three albums so far, two under his own name, and one billed as by Couse and The Impossible. Bunbury continues as Couse's frequent musical collaborator and live accompanist. Couse now hosts a weekly radio music show on Irish national radio station, Today FM.
Martin Healy also took on a couple of different projects. He formed the electro-rock band Petrol with French musician Julie Peel, although they didn't get very far; nonetheless, this was Peel's first entry into music, and she enjoyed working with someone who was "kind of famous" in Ireland, although they, "never actually played a gig - only did studio work and rehearsed". A more substantial effort was known as AV8 (sometimes "Aviate"). This began in 1998 when Healy and Niamh McDonald began a writing and performing partnership, to be joined about a year later by French guitarist Morgan Pincot. AV8 recorded an album called Tremor, and was still a going concern in 2002, albeit with a name change to "Sweet Hereafter", but may now be defunct as
Healy, with David Morrissey, is currently part of Mark Cullen's Pony Club
. Healy has also produced for Pony Club, and for other bands such as She's a Beauty.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
band from the 1980s to the 1990s, recognized for the clever, "often bitter or irony laden lyrics of [frontman] Dave Couse ... bolstered by the [band's] seemingly effortless musicality". The single "Endless Art
Endless Art
"Endless Art" is a song by Irish indie rock band A House, released initially as the lead track on the "Bingo" EP , and then as a single from their 1991 album I Am the Greatest...
" is one of their best known charting successes. A House were managed throughout their career by Liam Crinion.
Beginnings
Forming in Dublin out of the ashes of the band Last Chance, vocalist Dave CouseDave Couse
Dave Couse is a musician, producer, and radio DJ. He was the lead singer and main song writer with Irish band A House and has released three albums as a solo artist...
, guitarist Fergal Bunbury, bassist Martin Healy (who had all been schoolmates at Templeogue College
Templeogue College
Templeogue College is a secondary school, located in the Templeogue area of Dublin, Ireland. It is on the R112 and is within walking distance of Terenure, Templeogue and is accessible by numerous Dublin Bus services including: 54A, 15A, 15B, 49, 150, 74/A, and 65/BTempleogue College was founded in...
), and drummer Dermot Wylie came together as A House. Initially developing a classic, guitar based rock sound to highlight Couse's frank but often bitter-tongued lyrics the band put in all the appropriate rites of passage for an Irish group in the mid-eighties, honing their live skills in the pubs of Dublin, performing in McGonagle's club (best known internationally as the venue where U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
cut their teeth in the late seventies), at free gigs in the Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
, and turns on RTÉ's
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
TV GaGa and Dave Fanning's
Dave Fanning
Dave Fanning is an Irish rock journalist, DJ, retired film critic and veteran broadcaster. He currently hosts The 11th Hour on RTÉ Two and two radio shows: Drivetime with Dave on RTÉ Radio 1 and The Dave Fanning Show on RTÉ 2fm. He also fills in for other presenters on RTÉ Radio, including acting...
radio sessions.
The earliest recorded appearance for the band seems to have been on a charity compilation called Blackrock Youth Aid '85, put together at Newpark School. This was followed by tracks on two live compilations: A House contributed a song whose very title is representative of the band's early spirit, "On Your Bike Wench, and Let's Have the Back of You", to the EP Live at the Underground (1986), recorded in September 1985 (and only available) in The Underground club in Dublin, and featuring other contemporary up and coming bands such as Something Happens
Something Happens
Something Happens were an Irish pop-rock band whose heyday was the late 1980s – early 1990s. An earlier incarnation of the band was called 'The Dazzmen' and was fronted by singer Martin Lynch who left the band and became the frontman for another early 1980s Dublin band 'The Cracker Factory'. After...
and The Stars of Heaven
The Stars of Heaven
The Stars of Heaven were an Irish guitar pop band formed in Dublin in 1983. They released two albums on the Rough Trade label before splitting up in 1988.-History:...
; the Street Carnival Rock EP (1987) includes songs recorded as Dave Fanning sessions, and finds A House, performing a song called "What A Nice Evening To Take The Girls Up The Mountains", alongside other young Irish bands including The Golden Horde
The Golden Horde (band)
The Golden Horde were a rock, punk, psychedelic band based in Dublin, Ireland. The most renowned line-up of the band was: Peter O'Kennedy, John Connor, Sam Steiger, Des O' Byrne, and Simon Carmody, although at the very first live performance, there were 13 band members on stage.Their first...
.
These beginnings were followed up by two self-released singles, "Kick Me Again Jesus" and "Snowball Down". A House released these on a label given the name "RIP Records".
The First Two Albums: On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round and I Want Too Much
Recording a John Peel Session for BBC radio in the UK, and gaining regional popularity, the band signed with Blanco y NegroBlanco y Negro Records
Blanco y Negro Records, a subsidiary of WEA Records Ltd., was established in 1983 by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records.Blanco y Negro was home to such artists as Bananarama, Everything But the Girl, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Dream Academy, Dinosaur Jr., Bernthøler, A House, Catatonia, The...
who released the singles "Heart Happy" and "Call Me Blue" in Ireland and the UK. The latter was backed by a video and was relatively successful, receiving appreciable airplay and reaching number 28 in the Irish charts, as well as having some impact in the USA. These singles were followed by A House's first album On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round
On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round
On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round is the debut album of Irish rock band A House. Released in 1988, the album reveals a taste for driving, catchy guitar rock somewhat in the style of U2. The lyrics are full of attitude, including attacks on journalists and production team Stock, Aitken & Waterman...
in 1988. The success of the release and growing crowds at their live shows allowed the band to embark on their U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
tour with The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens
The Go-Betweens were an indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Australia in 1977 by singer-songwriters and guitarists, Robert Forster and Grant McLennan. They were later joined by Lindy Morrison on drums, Robert Vickers on bass guitar and Amanda Brown on violin, oboe, guitar, and backing vocals,...
.
A promo version of "Call Me Blue" for the US tour included a track labelled "Some Intense Irish Brogue" which was a short interview with the band. Even in Ireland, however, some listeners found Couse's "yelp of a voice" not quite suited to the slightly quirky but basically mainstream rock style of Merry-Go-Round. Perhaps the band had this in mind when, after that first major tour, they went back to Ireland, and wrote and recorded the album I Want Too Much in 1988 on the small Irish island of Inishboffin
Inishbofin, Galway
Inishbofin is an island lying about off the coast of Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. It is about 5.5 km long and wide, and has around 200 inhabitants. The island is popular with artists. Inishbofin can be reached by ferry from the pier in Cleggan...
. Observant critics had noted that On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Rounds title reflected a track list that developed a cartoonish sense of threat (with titles like "I Want to Kill Something", "Watch Out You're Dead", "Don't Ever Think You're Different", "Stone the Crows", and "Violent Love"). I Want Too Much was a move to maturity, with Couse's lyrical concerns becoming deeper, reflecting abilities both to look outwards and to introspect. The music too had developed, sounding far less like it wanted to sound like a rock band, and rather working with and enhancing Couse's unorthodox voice and phrasing, such that the album saw A House developing its own persona, although they would never lose their catchy side. The response of the press was good, but record sales were poor, and Blanco y Negro decided to drop the band. Eventually they were picked up by Setanta
Setanta Records
Setanta Records is a UK Independent record label. The label was at the forefront of the indie Irish music scene in the late eighties and nineties as itchampioned young Irish groups.-History:...
, a London-based independent label tending to focus on Irish acts.
Dermot Wylie also quit the band in this period, to be replaced by Dave Dawson.
Doodle and Bingo
Towards the end of 1990 and into 1991 Setanta released two A House EPs: Doodle and BingoEndless Art
"Endless Art" is a song by Irish indie rock band A House, released initially as the lead track on the "Bingo" EP , and then as a single from their 1991 album I Am the Greatest...
. The latter featured the track "Endless Art", on which A House first worked with Orange Juice
Orange Juice
Orange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, who left a band called The Machetes. The band...
singer Edwyn Collins
Edwyn Collins
Edwyn Stephen Collins is an Ivor Novello Award winning Scottish musician, playing mostly electric guitar-driven pop. Collins formed the musical group Nu-Sonics in 1976, which later became Orange Juice...
as producer. A House met Collins because he was also signed to Setanta, and it was the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration as post-A House Couse and Collins remained friends and continued to work together. Setanta also facilitated a relationship between A House and countrymen The Frank and Walters
The Frank and Walters
The Frank and Walters are an alternative rock band from Cork city in Ireland. The band was founded in 1990 by Paul Linehan , his brother Niall Linehan , who was replaced by Kevin Pedreschi in 2004, and Ashley Keating . They took the band name in honour of two eccentric Cork characters...
, with members of A House contributing production work to several Frank and Walters' albums.
"Endless Art"
With the sort of commercial luck that sometimes hit A House hard, in the week that "Endless Art" was the most played song on British radio, Setanta, which was only teething as a label, could not get enough copies into the shops to take advantage of the situation (Keith Cullen of Setanta had already had to borrow money from his father to fund the recording of the song). Parlophone Records tried to step in, redistributing 50,000 copies, but by the time these reached the shops it was too late and the re-released version of "Endless Art" (1992) did not get the same radio support, although it did reach the UK Top 50."Endless Art" had also benefitted from an accompanying video using clever stop motion animation which gained significant airplay on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in Europe, but again due to the bad timing with the song's distribution, the video seemed to be everywhere but the record was not selling. Nevertheless, "Endless Art" became A House's signature, replacing "Call Me Blue" as the song everyone associated with them. The video was memorable, and the song itself – somewhat unusual in its musical approach, and even more so in its lyrics, which led off with a quotation from Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
and ran through an extensive roster of famous artists from various fields, all dead, with years of births and deaths specified – stabilized the band as a cult favorite among indie lovers, and is the paradigm of the surprisingly successful "list" style of song which Couse has frequently used (the first example of this style had been the title track on I Want Too Much).
At the time, however, the band had run into criticism because all the artists mentioned in the original "Bingo" release of the song were men. Despite the facetious excuse that they thought Joan Miró
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...
was a woman, they tried to make amends by making available a second version of the song, called "More Endless Art", which lists only women artists, as the B-Side of the single version. Controversy aside, "Endless Art" is frequently featured on representative compilations of Irish rock and pop music. The 12" single included two other tracks, "Freak Show" and "Charity" which had been recorded for the band's second John Peel Session very early in 1992.
I Am the Greatest
The Parlophone distribution of "Endless Art" was the flagship single from A House's new album, called I Am the Greatest (1991/2), Parolophone again taking over distribution from Setanta. This new record represented a musical expansion for A House. Alongside new drummer Dawson, the recording introduced two other new members to the band, Susan Kavanagh, who had sung with a Dublin band named "Giant", and had been working on the TV show Jo MaxiJo Maxi
Jo Maxi was an Irish teenage entertainment show which would report on teenage issues. The presenters would discuss issues relating to teenagers through reports and studio discussions. They would also review books, movies and other TV shows. Gig Guides and job/study information was also reported...
, on backing vocals, and David Morrissey on keyboards. This new trio remained with A House until it dissolved although they were less involved in the creative process than the remaining original trio. However, their presence enabled A House to significantly further the transition begun on I Want Too Much beyond the fairly straightforward sound of Merry-Go-Round to a broader musical palette. This was enabled further on "I Am the Greatest" by Collins's production work, and extra contributions from Susie Honeyman's
The Mekons (band)
The Mekons are a British rock band. Formed in the late 1970s, they are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands.- History :...
violin.
Lyrically, the songs on the record addressed themes running from satire of societal and religious pieties, through excruciating examinations of personal fears, to the title track, on which the three core band members ruminate in spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
fashion on their lives, their regrets, their jealousies, and the state of music in the 1990s. The cover artwork was by Irish photographer Amelia Stein, and a second single from the album, "Take It Easy On Me" (1992), was also released.
The Last Two Albums: Wide Eyed and Ignorant and No More Apologies
I Am the Greatest is A House's most significant legacy, and is cited by many as one of the best ever released by an Irish band. But it was followed by two more albums on Setanta. Wide-Eyed and IgnorantWide-Eyed and Ignorant
Wide-Eyed and Ignorant is the fourth album from Irish rock band A House. It features the single "Here Come the Good Times", which was A House's only entry in the UK Top 40, at number 40....
was released in 1994 to little notice outside of the band's fan-base, although the single "Here Come the Good Times
Here Come the Good Times
"Here Come the Good Times" is a song by Irish indie rock band A House, released as a single from their 1994 album Wide-Eyed and Ignorant. It is the only single by A House to reach the UK charts, reaching number 40....
" was A House's only UK Top 40 chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
placing, reaching number 37. In 2002 this song experienced an rather unusual second life on the Irish charts when it was chosen by popular vote on national radio to be rerecorded, with new lyrics, as a team anthem and charity single by the Irish soccer squad
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
in the run up to the 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
.
Despite the relative success of "Here Come the Good Times", the good times never really came for A House. In the popular music market place this was probably largely because the band refused to do anything but their own thing, which lent extra resonance to the title of their fifth and final album, No More Apologies
No More Apologies
No More Apologies is the fifth album from Irish rock band A House. Released in 1996, it was A House's final studio album.-Reception:No More Apologies was generally well received, but reviewers tended to see it as an explicit swansong. Q Magazine gave it four stars recommending it "for all who love...
, released in 1996. It was already known that A House would call it quits the year after that, but No More Apologies
No More Apologies
No More Apologies is the fifth album from Irish rock band A House. Released in 1996, it was A House's final studio album.-Reception:No More Apologies was generally well received, but reviewers tended to see it as an explicit swansong. Q Magazine gave it four stars recommending it "for all who love...
, a collection of "twisted beauties", allowed them bow out, masters till of themselves and of "disturbing melodies reflecting the world as seen through their own, strangely coloured, spectacles".
Break-up
A House broke up in 1997. The demise of A House was marked by an emotional concert in Dublin on February 28, attended by the band members' families and packing out the Olympia TheatreOlympia Theatre, Dublin
The Olympia Theatre is a concert hall/theatre venue in Dublin, Ireland, located in Dame Street.-History:Built in 1879, it was originally called the "Star of Erin Music Hall". Two years later in 1881, it was renamed "Dan Lowrey's Music Hall" and was renamed again in 1889 to "Dan Lowrey's Palace of...
. Although visibly moved by the occasion, Couse, ever sarcastic, wondered from stage if A House would have had to break up at all had everyone in attendance bought their records. But no one wanted to leave the Olympia, and A House went out on a high, producing
- a farewell show last weekend [that was] one of the most cathartic and genuinely disconcerting live events that this column has seen or heard in 15 years. No caro meos, no undue fusses and no forced sentiment, A House came over like they’ve always come over, always four and often six-square, cocksure and strutted-up like they knew, just knew, how damned good they were and how damned good it was what they were leaving behind them.
Even so, five years later Couse could still wonder how the apparent fondness of so many fans for his band had never really carried over to record sales.
Almost the Greatest
A House were a spiky little band who persisted in producing their own brand of catchy, relatively accessible, but intelligent, and by times acerbic, pop. On the release of a best of album in 2002 (The Way We Were) one British reviewer wondered if they were one of the great lost bands of all time, or if most of the world had been right to ignore their "Gaelic charms". On the evidence of the retrospective collection he decided that the answer was "curiously enough, a bit of both". In a specifically Irish context, however, critics writing around the time of A House's demise claimed that there were ways in which "A House is far more important than U2U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
", and that "their passing also arguably [drew] the safety curtain on the first and last great pop movement this country has either seen or heard".
More than ten years after A House's break-up, critics still held A House in high esteem. In 2008 the Irish Times rock critics voted I Am the Greatest the third best Irish album of all time (jointly with Ghostown
Ghostown (Radiators from Space album)
Ghostown is a critically acclaimed 1978 album by Irish punk/new wave band The Radiators From Space.The Radiators from Space recorded two albums in the group's original incarnation, of which Ghostown is the second and final. Their first album was TV Tube Heart...
by The Radiators From Space
The Radiators From Space
The Radiators From Space are an Irish punk rock band. The band formed in 1975 in Dublin, originally under the name Greta Garbage and the Trashcans, and consisted of Philip Chevron , Pete Holidai, Steve Rapid, Jimmy Crashe and Mark Megaray. They were one of the earliest punk rock bands...
), behind only Loveless
Loveless (album)
Loveless is the second studio album by alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine. Released on 4 November 1991, Loveless was recorded over a two-year period between 1989 and 1991 in nineteen recording studios...
by My Bloody Valentine and Achtung Baby
Achtung Baby
Achtung Baby is the seventh studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 19 November 1991 on Island Records. Stung by the criticism of their 1988 release Rattle and Hum, U2 shifted their musical direction to incorporate alternative...
by U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
.
After A House
Following the breakup of A House, Couse and Bunbury started a new project together under the moniker Lokomotiv and recorded an album, but this was never released and Lokomotiv were only ever represented by one single, "Next Time Round" (2000). Couse went on to a solo career and, beginning with GenesGenes (album)
Genes, from 2003, is the first album released by Dave Couse since the breakup of A House in 1997.-Genes:Couse released Genes on his own record label, Beep Beep. It is very much a solo affair, with all songs but one written by Couse, and mostly performed by Couse, although he enlisted old friend...
in 2003, has released three albums so far, two under his own name, and one billed as by Couse and The Impossible. Bunbury continues as Couse's frequent musical collaborator and live accompanist. Couse now hosts a weekly radio music show on Irish national radio station, Today FM.
Martin Healy also took on a couple of different projects. He formed the electro-rock band Petrol with French musician Julie Peel, although they didn't get very far; nonetheless, this was Peel's first entry into music, and she enjoyed working with someone who was "kind of famous" in Ireland, although they, "never actually played a gig - only did studio work and rehearsed". A more substantial effort was known as AV8 (sometimes "Aviate"). This began in 1998 when Healy and Niamh McDonald began a writing and performing partnership, to be joined about a year later by French guitarist Morgan Pincot. AV8 recorded an album called Tremor, and was still a going concern in 2002, albeit with a name change to "Sweet Hereafter", but may now be defunct as
Healy, with David Morrissey, is currently part of Mark Cullen's Pony Club
Pony Club (band)
Pony Club are a Dublin-based Irish band, primarily a vehicle for Mark Cullen. Other members include his brothers, Darren and Jason, as well as Martin Healy and David Morrissey, both formerly of A House, and Rob Cumiskey of The Kybosh.- Bawl and Fixed Stars :...
. Healy has also produced for Pony Club, and for other bands such as She's a Beauty.
- Four tracks from Tremor (Fireside / Push / Now and Forever / Never Knew What Luck Was) have been available for streaming and/or download on AV8's website.
Albums
| Year | Album | UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 1988 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert.... |
On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round is the debut album of Irish rock band A House. Released in 1988, the album reveals a taste for driving, catchy guitar rock somewhat in the style of U2. The lyrics are full of attitude, including attacks on journalists and production team Stock, Aitken & Waterman... |
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| 1990 1990 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze... |
I Want Too Much I Want Too Much I Want Too Much is the second album from Irish rock band A House.-Track listing:# "13 Wonderful Love Songs"# "I Want Too Much" # "Talking"# "The Patron Saint of Mediocrity"# "Shivers Up My Spine"# "Marry Me"# "I Give You You"... |
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| 1991 1991 in music See also:* 1991 in music Record labels established in 1991-Summary:The year 1991 is the year that grunge music made its popular breakthrough. Nirvana's Nevermind, led by the surprise hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", becomes the most popular U.S. album of the year... |
I Am the Greatest I Am the Greatest I Am the Greatest is the third album from Irish rock band A House and features the fan favorite track, "Endless Art".-Reception:At the time of its release, I Am the Greatest was very well reviewed, but sometimes the album was also marvelled at for its very existence... |
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| 1994 1994 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so.... |
Wide-Eyed and Ignorant Wide-Eyed and Ignorant Wide-Eyed and Ignorant is the fourth album from Irish rock band A House. It features the single "Here Come the Good Times", which was A House's only entry in the UK Top 40, at number 40.... |
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| 1996 1996 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact... |
No More Apologies No More Apologies No More Apologies is the fifth album from Irish rock band A House. Released in 1996, it was A House's final studio album.-Reception:No More Apologies was generally well received, but reviewers tended to see it as an explicit swansong. Q Magazine gave it four stars recommending it "for all who love... |
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| 1998 1998 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia... |
A House: Live in Concert A House: Live in Concert A House: Live in Concert is the sixth album-length release from Irish rock band A House. It is a live album and was released after the band’s career had officially ended. Its liner notes include the names of all former members of A House, and the sign off, “Over and Out. Amen.”Although issued in... |
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| 2002 2002 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI... |
The Way We Were (Album by A House) | - | - | 10 |
| 2002 2002 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI... |
The Way We Were (Album by A House) (limited edition, bonus disc of b-sides and obscurities) | - | - | - |
EPs
| Year | EP | UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 1987 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... |
Street Carnival Rock | - | - | - |
| 1990 1990 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze... |
Doodle | - | - | - |
| 1990 | Bingo Endless Art "Endless Art" is a song by Irish indie rock band A House, released initially as the lead track on the "Bingo" EP , and then as a single from their 1991 album I Am the Greatest... |
- | - | - |
| 1991 1991 in music See also:* 1991 in music Record labels established in 1991-Summary:The year 1991 is the year that grunge music made its popular breakthrough. Nirvana's Nevermind, led by the surprise hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", becomes the most popular U.S. album of the year... |
Zop | - | - | - |
| 1994 1994 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so.... |
360 North Rockingham | - | - | - |
Compilation appearances
| Year | Albums | UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 1985 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1985.-January–March:*January 1 - The newest music video channel, VH-1, debuts on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV... |
Blackrock Youth Aid '85 | - | - |
| 1986 1986 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-January-June:*January 23 – The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place... |
Live at the Underground | - | - |
| 1986 1986 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-January-June:*January 23 – The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place... |
Street Carnival Rock EP | - | - |
| 1987 1987 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... |
Heads Over Ears: A Debris Compilation | - | - |
| 1994 1994 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so.... |
A Flavour of the Label (Parlophone promo) | - | - |
| 1988 1988 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert.... |
Just Say Yo Just Say Yo (album) Just Say Yo was Sire Records' Volume 2 of Just Say Yes and was originally released on August 16, 1988, as a winter CD sampler. It contained remixes and non-album tracks of artists on the label, most of which were considered New Wave or Modern Rock .-Track listing:# Galbi - Ofra Haza# Will Never... |
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| 1997 1997 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy... |
The Sunday Times Music Collection: The Best of Indie | - | - |
| 2004 2004 in music See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol.... |
The Definitive Irish Rock Album | - | - |
| 2005 2005 in music -Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:... |
The Definitive Irish Rock Album II | - | - |
| 2005 2005 in music -Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:... |
Fanning's Fab 50 | - | - |
Singles
| Year | Song | UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 1987 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... |
"Kick Me Again Jesus" | - | - | - |
| 1987 | "Snowball Down" | - | - | - |
| 1987 | "Heart Happy" | - | - | - |
| 1987 | "Call Me Blue" | - | - 1 | 28 |
| 1988 1988 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1988.-January-March:* January 1 – André Rieu's Johann Strauss Orchestra plays its first concert.... |
"I'll Always Be Grateful" | - | - | 22 |
| 1988 | "I Want to Kill Something" | - | - | - |
| 1990 1990 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze... |
"I Think I'm Going Mad" | - | - | 22 |
| 1991 1991 in music See also:* 1991 in music Record labels established in 1991-Summary:The year 1991 is the year that grunge music made its popular breakthrough. Nirvana's Nevermind, led by the surprise hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", becomes the most popular U.S. album of the year... |
"You're Too Young" | - | - | - |
| 1991 | "I Don't Care" | - | - | - |
| 1991 | "Second Wind" | - | - | - |
| 1992 1992 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s.... |
"Endless Art Endless Art "Endless Art" is a song by Irish indie rock band A House, released initially as the lead track on the "Bingo" EP , and then as a single from their 1991 album I Am the Greatest... " |
46 | - | - |
| 1992 | "Take It Easy on Me" | 55 | - | - |
| 1992 | "Everything's Gone" | - | - | - |
| 1992 | "Slang" | - | - | - |
| 1992 | "Santamental" | - | - | - |
| 1994 1994 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so.... |
"I Will Never Forgive You" | - | - | - |
| 1994 | "A House A Reintroduction" | - | - | - |
| 1994 | "Why Me?" | 52 | - | 20 |
| 1994 | "Here Come the Good Times (Part 1) Here Come the Good Times "Here Come the Good Times" is a song by Irish indie rock band A House, released as a single from their 1994 album Wide-Eyed and Ignorant. It is the only single by A House to reach the UK charts, reaching number 40.... " |
37 | - | 21 |
| 1994 | "Here Come the Good Times (Part 2) Here Come the Good Times "Here Come the Good Times" is a song by Irish indie rock band A House, released as a single from their 1994 album Wide-Eyed and Ignorant. It is the only single by A House to reach the UK charts, reaching number 40.... " |
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| 1997 1997 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy... |
"Without Dreams" | - | - | - |
- 1 - Though failing to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, the song managed to chart at #9 on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock TracksModern Rock TracksAlternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...
chart.
John Peel Sessions
- Session, January 25, 1987, produced by Dale Griffin.
- Call Me Blue / Y.O.U. / Hit Me Over The Head With Your Handbag Dear / Heart Happy
- Session, February 2, 1992 at Malda Vale Studio, produced by Dale Griffin.
- Endless Art / Charity / Freakshow / Force Feed
External links
- A House homepage with discography and lyrics
- The Irish Music Database has an entry and family tree for A House with a lot of information (bios, discographies, press) about A House, as well as Lokomotiv, Dave Couse, and other musicians connected to A House.
- A House entry in The Irish Punk & New Wave Discography
- A House myspace
- Listen To Heart Happy
- AV8 webpage