Cry Before Dawn
Encyclopedia
Cry Before Dawn was a four piece rock
band
from Wexford
in the Ireland
. They released several singles and two albums in the late 1980s and toured the UK and US. Despite much promotion, they failed to crossover into the charts in either territory, although did succeed in the Irish charts. They reformed in late 2010 and embarked on an Irish tour in April 2011.
when they released their album
Crimes of Conscience on the CBS
label. The lead single
from the album was "Gone Forever", which was released in Ireland in February 1987 and subsequently re-released there and in the UK in 1988. The follow-up singles were "The Seed That's Been Sown" and "Girl in the Ghetto". The album was a success in Ireland and was critically acclaimed in the UK. The band made an appearance on the UK's Wogan
chat show performing "Witness for the World". Their popularity in Ireland was accounted by some to the fact that they came from Wexford, and lyrically their work connected more with the rural Ireland of the time than Dublin. This was reflected in the promotional video for "Gone Forever", which very successfully set itself in an Irish small town. Their success in Ireland did not transfer to the UK however, although they supported Big Country on their 1989 UK "Peace in Our Time" tour.
In 1988 Cry Before Dawn contributed a new track, "Silly Dreams" to the soundtrack
of the Irish film
, The Courier. Their second album Witness for the World was recorded
in Wales
and mixed in Los Angeles
, California
by Greg Ledanyi, and was released to luke-warm reception in 1989, again on Epic
/CBS. The lead single, "Witness for the World", reached number 67 in the UK Singles Chart
in June 1989, though the two follow-up singles: "Last of the Sun" and "No Living Without You" failed to chart. Around the time of their second album, the band appeared on the cover of the Irish music magazine Hot Press
. In 1990, Cry Before Dawn were awarded best Irish group at the Irish National Music Awards. After parting with their record company, the band toured Ireland later the same year, after which they decided to split.
This initial disbanding was short lived however, and the band reformed with Paul Spencer replacing Tony Hall on guitar. Steve Belton subsequently took on the role of guitarist instead of Paul Spencer. After a single-only release, "To Be True" in 1992 the band split again, this time it seemed for good.
Brendan Wade subsequently teamed up with Paul Bell to form The Wild Swans, shortened to The Swans in 1999, and renamed again to Bell and Wade in 2000. Their songs were moderately successful in Ireland, being released on Ritz Records and their own label
. Their most successful release was "Dancing at the Crossroads", released to coincide with County Wexford
's success in the 1996 All-Ireland hurling final
. Since 2004 he has been a member of traditional Irish band, The Bow Triplets.
Fellow band member Vince Doyle operates a Kia Motors
dealership with his family and Pat Hayes is also living back in Wexford after 12 years in Stockholm
, Sweden
.
The band reformed in November 2010 as mentioned on the Wexford People News website. Brendan's website gives the lineup for the reunion tour as himself, Pat Hayes, Vinnie Doyle and Steve Belton. The first dates announced on the tour are Vicar Street, Dublin on 8 April 2011 and at the Opera House in their home town of Wexford on 14 May 2011.
Paul Spencer replaced Tony Hall around the end of 1990, though a compilation CD release from 1991, containing a demo of "Love Somebody", had a photo showing Steve Belton (of Fountainhead) in his place. Steve also joined the band when they reformed in November 2010 for their 2011 reunion tour.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
from Wexford
Wexford
Wexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network...
in the Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. They released several singles and two albums in the late 1980s and toured the UK and US. Despite much promotion, they failed to crossover into the charts in either territory, although did succeed in the Irish charts. They reformed in late 2010 and embarked on an Irish tour in April 2011.
Career
They achieved attention in 1987 in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
when they released their album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Crimes of Conscience on the CBS
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
label. The lead single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from the album was "Gone Forever", which was released in Ireland in February 1987 and subsequently re-released there and in the UK in 1988. The follow-up singles were "The Seed That's Been Sown" and "Girl in the Ghetto". The album was a success in Ireland and was critically acclaimed in the UK. The band made an appearance on the UK's Wogan
Wogan
Wogan was a chat show on British television, hosted by Terry Wogan. It followed the format of a series broadcast in 1980 entitled What's On Wogan?, which failed to gather viewers. The Wogan show was initially broadcast on Tuesday evenings on BBC1 in 1981 and from 1982 to 1984, it moved into the...
chat show performing "Witness for the World". Their popularity in Ireland was accounted by some to the fact that they came from Wexford, and lyrically their work connected more with the rural Ireland of the time than Dublin. This was reflected in the promotional video for "Gone Forever", which very successfully set itself in an Irish small town. Their success in Ireland did not transfer to the UK however, although they supported Big Country on their 1989 UK "Peace in Our Time" tour.
In 1988 Cry Before Dawn contributed a new track, "Silly Dreams" to the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of the Irish film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, The Courier. Their second album Witness for the World was recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and mixed in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
by Greg Ledanyi, and was released to luke-warm reception in 1989, again on Epic
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
/CBS. The lead single, "Witness for the World", reached number 67 in the UK Singles Chart
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 ...
in June 1989, though the two follow-up singles: "Last of the Sun" and "No Living Without You" failed to chart. Around the time of their second album, the band appeared on the cover of the Irish music magazine Hot Press
Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
. In 1990, Cry Before Dawn were awarded best Irish group at the Irish National Music Awards. After parting with their record company, the band toured Ireland later the same year, after which they decided to split.
This initial disbanding was short lived however, and the band reformed with Paul Spencer replacing Tony Hall on guitar. Steve Belton subsequently took on the role of guitarist instead of Paul Spencer. After a single-only release, "To Be True" in 1992 the band split again, this time it seemed for good.
Brendan Wade subsequently teamed up with Paul Bell to form The Wild Swans, shortened to The Swans in 1999, and renamed again to Bell and Wade in 2000. Their songs were moderately successful in Ireland, being released on Ritz Records and their own label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. Their most successful release was "Dancing at the Crossroads", released to coincide with County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...
's success in the 1996 All-Ireland hurling final
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1996
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1996 was the 110th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition...
. Since 2004 he has been a member of traditional Irish band, The Bow Triplets.
Fellow band member Vince Doyle operates a Kia Motors
Kia Motors
Kia Motors , headquartered in Seoul, is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company, with sales of over 1.4 million vehicles in 2010...
dealership with his family and Pat Hayes is also living back in Wexford after 12 years in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
The band reformed in November 2010 as mentioned on the Wexford People News website. Brendan's website gives the lineup for the reunion tour as himself, Pat Hayes, Vinnie Doyle and Steve Belton. The first dates announced on the tour are Vicar Street, Dublin on 8 April 2011 and at the Opera House in their home town of Wexford on 14 May 2011.
Line up
- Brendan Wade - VocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, uileann pipes and whistleWhistleA whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means... - Tony Hall - ElectricElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
and acoustic guitars - Vince Doyle - Bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Pat Hayes - DrumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, percussion, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
Paul Spencer replaced Tony Hall around the end of 1990, though a compilation CD release from 1991, containing a demo of "Love Somebody", had a photo showing Steve Belton (of Fountainhead) in his place. Steve also joined the band when they reformed in November 2010 for their 2011 reunion tour.
Albums
- 1987 Crimes of Conscience (CBS Records)
- 1989 Witness for the World (CBS Records)
- 2011 The Best of Cry Before Dawn (Sony Music Ireland)
Singles
- 1986 "Follow Me" (Dawn Records)
- Feb 1987 "Gone Forever" (CBS Records) IRE #11
- Jun 1987 "The Seed That's Been Sown" (CBS Records) IRE #17
- Oct 1987 "Girl in the Ghetto" (CBS Records) IRE #24
- Feb 1988 "Gone Forever" (re-issue) (Epic Records)
- May 1989 "Witness for the World" (CBS Records) UK #67, IRE #13
- Sep 1989 "Last of the Sun" (Epic Records) IRE #17
- Jan 1990 "No Living Without You" (CBS Records) IRE #13
- Sep 1992 "To Be True"