Cover

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Title Page, Copyright Page

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pp. ii-iv

Contents

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p. vii

List of Illustrations

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p. ix

Acknowledgements

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pp. xi-xii

I have benefited enormously from the support and advice of many people while researching and writing this book. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the musicians who gave so generously of their time in interviews: Shane MacGowan, Johnny Marr, Kevin Rowland...

‘Dwellers on the Threshold’: A Prologue to the Book

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pp. 1-10

The dominant forms of popular music in most contemporary societies have emerged, notes Simon Frith, ‘at the social margins – among the poor, the migrant, the rootless’.⁴ Th is has certainly been the case in Britain, where, as one high-profile magazine put it, a ‘potent shebeen of...

1. ‘Here is a Protest’: Intervention and Recovery in Dexys Midnight Runners

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pp. 11-58

In the closing moments of ‘The Waltz’, the final track on Dexys Midnight Runners’ third and final album, Don’t Stand Me Down (1985), the group’s lead singer, Kevin Rowland, emits a striking gesture of unambiguous dissent. Mixed to the fore of the track’s sparse sound (comprising guitar...

2. The Importance of Being (London) Irish: Hybridity, Essentialism and The Pogues

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pp. 59-101

In 1988, at the height of Th e Pogues’ commercial success, the late Irish journalist Bill Graham offered a compelling account of the group’s appeal, arguing that their oeuvre equipped Ireland’s exiles with a means by which to ‘reclaim and reorder their inheritance’.⁴ This succinct...

3. ‘Oscillate Wildly’: Ambivalence, Elusiveness and The Smiths

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pp. 102-144

In December 2004 Morrissey concluded his most successful worldwide tour for several years with a concert at Dublin’s Point Depot. Adorned in the vestments of a Catholic priest, the singer made a series of playful references to local places (showing his affinity with Ireland) before...

Coda: From the Margins to the Centre

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pp. 145-156

This book has addressed the diverse ‘routes’ pursued by second-generation Irish musicians, exploring three high-profile projects in the 1980s. Its account of Rowland, MacGowan and Morrissey/Marr illumines the different means by which Irishness was engaged by Irish-descended figures...

Notes & References

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pp. 159-224

Bibliography, Interviews, Discography,Films & TV/Radio Programmes

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pp. 225-249

Index

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pp. 250-260