The astonishing rise of U2 as Irish cities become a hotbed of musical creativity in the 1980s.

The Hothouse Flowers - labelled the hottest unsigned act on the planet at the time - discuss being "the next U2" as they came close to cracking America.

Something Happens and the Stunning discuss life in Bono’s shadow and the pursuit of a record deal - while Aslan talk about killing their own band to save Christy Dignam’s life.

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The end of the beginning as the glut of new festivals are taken down by a combination of tragedy, money and competition.

The mainly Irish line-ups become more international as fierce rivalry forces promoters to shell out huge sums on the likes of ageing rocker Chuck Berry.

The Radiators from Space discuss being implicated when a man was stabbed to death at a punk festival and why a combination of heavy handed Hell’s Angels and the tragic drowning deaths of 8 men finished Lisdoonvarna.

This podcast is produced by Headstuff.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The story of what Ireland’s music scene was, and an introduction to what it would become.

This episode introduces the grim 1970s, and the young people’s desire to leave the bleakness behind.

The biggest act of the 70s - Horselips - tell their story while future stars including Mary Black, Sharon Shannon, Tom Dunne and Fiachna Ó Braonáin outline their first steps into music.

Meanwhile, the seeds of the first festivals are sewn.

This podcast is produced by Headstuff.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.