DJ Profile

So here I was, despatched to the leafless tenements of G12. A wee world of it's own with it's own wee culture and with The Belle Sister as dj in residence for this week. Raised in the leafy countryside of Clady in Northern Ireland, a village so small it makes Killearn look like a Metropolis, The Belle Sister offered a unique insight into her musical upbringing and probably explains why she and the good DeeJock have collaborated in so many projects over the past few years.

The very earliest of years

The Beatles 'Twist n Shout' and my older sisters and brothers dancing to the creaking sound emanating from a record player must be the earliest muscial memory. Closely followed by Telstar (The Tornados?) - my brother Dermot was obsessed by this track.

First record I bought was I'm a Believer - The Monkees. I just loved the Monkees and used to cycle miles to buy chewing gum from different shops so I could collect Monkee cards.

The coolest cat in the village years

Like many people with elder brothers or sisters The Belle Sister managed to miss out on some of the 70's dubious excuses for music - the Osmonds, Partridge Family and the Carpenters. Good taste prevents us from including any sugar sweet songs here.

First album Led Zepplin 3 - think I was probably seduced by the funky sleeve. Still have it! Probably not Led Zeps finest but 'Thats the way still hits the spot.

As luck would have it with 5 older brothers and sisters there was a fair amount of music floating around the house - some dubious. Highlights for me in the 60's were

Sergent Pepper, The Kinks, Beach Boys, Simon Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen and of course

the fantastic Rolling Stones - love every track but Jumpin Jack Flash, Lets Spend the Night Together, Brown Sugar and have had the great pleasure of seeing them live 3 times - once at Slane Castle in Dublin in 1982 and twice with DeeJock in Glasgow.

Peter Sarstedt - still love 'Where do you go to my lovely' - gave a wee girl from Northern Ireland deluded aspirations and where did I end up but G12.

Ed. Delusions of adequacy by the looks of it if aspirations only reach as far as G12.

Radio Luxemburg

The Teenage Years

Into the seventies and The Belle Sister discovered prog rock - Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd and one of my favourite albums Dark Side of the Moon.

Spent most of 1972 - 75 in my bedroom in Clady listening to good old Radio Luxembourg on 208. Taping the charts on a Tuesday night. Loved Bowie, T Rex , Hawkwind (silver machine), Harry Nilsson - Without You, Alice Cooper,Rod Stuart, Roxy Music but mostly David Bowie. Big regret never having the opportunity to see him live. (yet!!)

No gigs in Northern Ireland in the 70s - bands were too frightened to perform so we just had to dream. Think the first gig was probably Rory Gallagher followed by Frankie Miller, Van Morrison and Doctor Feelgood.

Also was really digging (do you remember when we talked about digging) Van Morrison, Lou Reed, Carole King, Fleetwood Mac.

The Irish influence

The early 70s saw a growth of Irish Rock music. One band that rose to international prominence was the hard rocking Thin Lizzy, led by Phil Lynott. Another Irish band, Horslips, broke new ground by mixing hard rock with traditional Irish music to create a new genre - Celtic rock. They challenged the idea that an Irish band had to leave the country to be successful. They became the first major rock band to stay based in Ireland instead of moving abroad to chase success. Their highly original music was very successful in Ireland but never achieved much international success. The early 1970s paved the way for another band that would remain based in Ireland but would go on to dominate the music world - U2. U2 began their musical career in 1976 and went on to become internationally known. Rolling Stone claims this band to be “the biggest band in the world.” And of course there was the classic band The Undertones

Middle of the Road Rocker or Punk?

Bruce Springsteen

And then Bruce Springsteen came on the scene for me in about 1976 - saw him live in Wembley in 1985 and then again in Hampden in 2010. Dire Straits were big for me too from 78 - Sultans of Swing, Tom Waits, Jackson Brown, Queen and of course Van the Man still - only man who ever played Belfast - and every local band seemed to cover him. Much of my student days at Queens were spent standing on chairs singing along to GLORIA.

Despite frequenting the Marquee during the summer of 77 in London, I didnt quite 'get' punk, thinking it was for the Art School pseuds - apart from of course The Clash and London Calling. But looking back now I would have to admit to a retrospective appreciation.

1978 was luck enough to spend 5 months in Springsteen's very own New Jersey and Born to Run was still the Boss.

The start of the working years

80's - still Springsteen, Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman Annie Lennox / Eurthymics, Joy Division, New Order, REM and of course The Pet Shop Boys (must have been West End Girls that did it ominously) Early 80s spent in Dublin and my friend Pat became the Accountant for The Boomtown Rats so I still have a soft spot for Bob and the boys.

The (almost) lost decade

Obviously this was an era when music took a back seat for The Belle Sister. Probaly started a book group, a taste for wine and late lunches. Even when she moved to God's country in 1986 she couldn't hear the wonders that were eminating from the airwaves.

The Management Days

90's REM, Goo Goo Dolls (esp Iris or Acoustic 3) or Bittersweet Verve, Oasis, Radiohead, Belle and Sebastian, Moby and of course Pulp - Common People.

Ed. had the batteries ran out during the interview? The story is pretty paltry at this stage. Or was it the start of the family years. 3 daughters who would become the scourge, sorry apple, of the Belle's Sister's life.