Him Goolie Goolie Man, Dem | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1989 | |||
Recorded | 1988 | |||
Genre | Post-punk | |||
Label | Setanta Records | |||
Producer | Jon Langford | |||
Beethoven chronology | ||||
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Him Goolie Goolie Man, Dem is a five track EP by the Irish post-punk band Beethoven Fucking Beethoven (formerly known as Five Go Down to the Sea?) released on the London-Irish label Setanta Records in June 1989. It was both the last album by the band, and the debut release by Keith Cullen's then fledgling Setanta.
The EP was well received on release. Steven Wells named the record "Single of the Week" in the NME , and wrote that "the centre-stone of this jewel of a record is the kidnapping, tarring and feathering, mugging, shagging and destruction of 'Day Tripper'". [1] However, before the band could capitalise on this success, vocalist Finbarr Donnelly died in a drowning accident on 18 June 1989.
When the first incarnation of Five Go Down to the Sea? broke up in 1984, lead vocalist Finbarr Donnelly and guitarist Ricky Dineen remained in London after the split. [2] They moved from Rotherhithe to Shepherd's Bush, [2] where early 1988 they recruited Dublin-born bassist Maurice Carter and Swiss drummer Daniel Strittmatter and reformed under the name Beethoven. After a debut gig at the Mean Fiddler, [3] the band came to the attention of Keith Cullen, owner of Setanta Records, [4] and for a period he acted as their manager and promoter. [5] The band released an EP, Him Goolie Goolie Man, Dem, in early June 1989, produced by Jon Langford of the Mekons and the Three Johns. [2] It was Setanta's first release, and contained five tracks, including a cover of "Day Tripper" by the Beatles. [6]
A few weeks after release, on 18 June 1989, Donnelly drowned while swimming in Hyde Park's Serpentine Pond, at the age of 27. [7] [8] Dineen had been out with him that day, and they had planned to meet at a pub later in the evening. [8] Dineen said, "If you went out for the craic with your friends on a Sunday afternoon and one of them didn't come back, it's surreal-like. Even though we were both 27, you're still young. It changes your whole life because we went from planning our future, thinking we were going to be in England for a while, to the next minute being on the flight back to Ireland." [4]
A second EP, planned to feature a cover of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", was never recorded. [9] [10] Dineen was grief-stricken and with the band at a sudden end, said that he "drank [his] way though the 90s" until his career revived in the early 2000s. [11]
The EP was the NME's "Single of the Week" in their 3 June 1989 edition. [12] In his review, NME writer Steven Wells called it a "jewel of a record" and praised the B-side "Jehovah's Wombles". [1] Melody Maker journalist David Stubbs gave a less favourable review, describing Donnelly's vocals as "a wail of 'WHOOOAAAS', like brickies on a roller coaster". [13] Neil Perry of Sounds who described the album "missing links between Stump and The Birthday Party", said "When you want to shout, 'F***!' in public, go home and listen to this instead." [14] Ua Laoghaire found that the new songs lacked the outward humour of Five Go Down To The Sea?, reflecting the bitterness of Donnelly and Dineen's music industry experience, but felt the band had retained their edge. [5]
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"Day Tripper" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double A-side single with "We Can Work It Out" in December 1965. The song was written primarily by John Lennon with some contributions from Paul McCartney and was credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Both songs were recorded during the sessions for the band's Rubber Soul album. The single topped charts in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway. In the United States, "Day Tripper" peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and "We Can Work It Out" held the top position.
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Five Go Down to the Sea? were an Irish post-punk band from Cork, active between 1978 and 1989. Vocalist and lyricist Finbarr Donnelly, guitarist Ricky Dineen and brothers Philip (bass) and Keith "Smelly" O'Connell (drums) formed the band as Nun Attax while teenagers. They became known for Donnelly's absurdist, surreal lyrics and stage presence, Dineen's angular guitar and their Captain Beefheart-style rhythm section. The group changed their name to Five Go Down to the Sea? after moving to London in 1983. Their line-up has at times included guitarists Mick Finnegan, Giordaí Ua Laoghaire, Mick Stack, and the cellist Úna Ní Chanainn.
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Ricky Dineen is an Irish musician best known as the guitarist with the post-punk band Five Go Down to the Sea?, earlier known as Nun Attax, later as Beethoven–fucking–Beethoven. He wrote most of the band's music and developed their angular musical style, which he said was in part influenced by The Fire Engines, Gang of Four, The Mekons and Bogshed.
Finbarr Donnelly was a singer and songwriter from Northern Ireland, who moved to Cork city at a young age. He is best known as the vocalist with the post-punk band Five Go Down to the Sea?. Known for his striking stage presence and absurdist, surreal lyrics, he and the band were hugely influential on later generations of Irish musicians. Mark McAvoy, author of "Cork Rock: From Rory Gallagher to the Sultans of Ping", said in a 2017 interview that "Donnelly probably would have been the most influential musician and songwriter in...the Cork music scene and the bands that stemmed from it."
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