A House

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Wikipedia

A House
OriginDublin, Ireland
GenresAlternative rock, indie rock[1]
Years active1985–1997
LabelsBlanco Y Negro
Parlophone
MCA Records
Setanta Records
Sire Records
Past membersDave Couse
Fergal Bunbury
Martin Healy
Dermot Wylie
David Morrissey
Susan Kavanagh
David Dawson

A House were an Irish rock band active in Dublin from 1985 to 1997 and recognised for lead singer Dave Couse's distinctive vocals.[2] The single "Endless Art" is one of their best-known charting successes.

The band's name is pronounced with "A" as the indefinite article, pronounced /æ/ or /ə/, not as the letter A (/eɪ/).[3]

Career

Beginnings

Formed in Dublin in 1985 by former members of the band Last Chance, vocalist Dave Couse, guitarist Fergal Bunbury and drummer Dermot Wylie were joined by bassist Martin Healy (who had all been friends at Templeogue College), formed as A House.[4] The band honed their live skills in the pubs of Dublin, performing in McGonagle's club (where U2 performed in the late 1970s), at free gigs in the Phoenix Park and turns on RTÉ's TV GaGa and Dave Fanning's radio sessions.

The band's earliest recorded appearance was on a charity compilation called Blackrock Youth Aid '85, assembled at Newpark School. This was followed by tracks on two compilations. "On Your Bike Wench, and Let's Have the Back of You" appeared on the EP Live at the Underground (1986) and "What a Nice Evening to Take the Girls Up the Mountains" appeared on the Street Carnival Rock EP (1987).[5]

Two self-released singles, "Kick Me Again Jesus"[6] and "Snowball Down", followed, released on the label RIP Records.

On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round and I Want Too Much

Recording a John Peel session for BBC radio in the United Kingdom,[7] and gaining regional popularity, the band signed with Blanco y Negro, which released the singles "Heart Happy" and "Call Me Blue" in Ireland and the UK.[4] "Call Me Blue" was backed by a video and was relatively successful, receiving appreciable airplay and reaching number 28 in the Irish chart, as well as having some impact in the U.S. These singles were followed by A House's first album On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round in 1988.[6] The band then toured with the Go-Betweens, and "Call Me Blue" reached number 3 on the Billboard college chart in 1989.

A promo version of "Call Me Blue" for the American tour includes a track labelled "Some Intense Irish Brogue" that is a short interview with the band. Following the tour, the band recorded the album I Want Too Much in 1989[6] on the small Irish island of Inishboffin. Press response was positive, but record sales were poor, and Blanco y Negro dropped the band.[2] The band then signed with Setanta, a London-based independent label tending to focus on Irish acts.[4]

Dermot Wylie also quit the band in this period and was replaced by Dave Dawson.

I Am the Greatest, new members and the Setanta years

Doodle and Bingo

Toward the end of 1990 and into 1991, Setanta released two A House EPs, Doodle and Bingo.[6] The latter features the track "Endless Art", on which A House first worked with Orange Juice singer and Setanta bandmate Edwyn Collins as producer. The band members continued to collaborate with Collins after the band's breakup. Setanta also facilitated a relationship between A House and fellow countrymen the Frank and Walters, with members of A House contributing production work to several of their albums.

"Endless Art"

In the week that "Endless Art" became the most-played song on British radio, Setanta, a small label, could not send enough copies of the single into shops to take advantage of the popularity. Keith Cullen of Setanta had already borrow moneyed from his father to fund the recording of the song. Parlophone Records redistributed 50,000 copies, but by the time that these copies reached the shops, it was too late and the rereleased version of "Endless Art" (1992) did not receive the same radio support, although it did reach the UK Top 50.[8]

"Endless Art" also benefitted from an accompanying stop-motion animation video that gained significant airplay on MTV in Europe, but the record failed to sell well. Nevertheless, "Endless Art" became A House's signature for many, replacing "Call Me Blue". The song, somewhat unusual in its musical approach and lyrics, begins with a quotation by Oscar Wilde and lists an extensive roster of famous artists from various forms of art, all dead, with years of births and deaths specified. Couse had frequently used the list format, beginning with the song "I Want Too Much".

A House faced criticism because all of the artists mentioned in the original "Bingo" release of the song were men,[4] although they countered that they had thought that Joan Miró was a woman,[9] The band tried to make amends by providing "More Endless Art", a second version of the song[6] listing only female artists, as the B-side of the single version.[4] The 12" single included two other tracks, "Freak Show" and "Charity", which had been recorded for the band's second John Peel session early in 1992.[10]

I Am the Greatest

The Parlophone distribution of "Endless Art" was the flagship single from A House's new album, I Am the Greatest (1991). For the album, Parolophone again taking control of distribution from Setanta.[6] The album represented a musical expansion for A House. Along with new drummer Dave Dawson, the recording introduced two other new members to the band. Susan Kavanagh, who had sung with a Dublin band named Giant[11] and had been working on the TV show Jo Maxi, contributed backing vocals, and David Morrissey was added on keyboards. This new trio remained with A House until it dissolved. although they were less involved in the creative process than were the remaining original trio.[2] However, their presence enabled A House to embrace a broader musical palette. This was enabled further on "I Am the Greatest" by Collins's production work and extra contributions by Susie Honeyman on the violin.

Lyrically, the songs on the record addressed themes running from satire of societal and religious pieties, through excruciating examinations of personal fears, to the title track, on which the three core band members ruminate in spoken-word fashion on their lives, regrets, jealousies and the state of music in the 1990s.[citation needed] The cover artwork was created by Fergal Bunbury with an image by Irish photographer Amelia Stein.[12] A second single from the album, "Take It Easy on Me", was released in 1992.

Wide-Eyed and Ignorant and No More Apologies

I Am the Greatest is perhaps A House's most significant legacy, and is cited by many as one of the best ever released by an Irish band.[13] It was followed by two more albums on Setanta. Wide-Eyed and Ignorant was released in 1994 to little notice outside of the band's fanbase,[6] although the single "Here Come the Good Times" was A House's only UK Top 40 chart placing, reaching number 37.[14] In 2002 the song experienced a second life on the Irish charts when it was chosen by popular vote on national radio to be rerecorded, with new lyrics, as a team anthem and charity single by the Irish soccer squad leading to the 2002 World Cup.

The band's fifth and final album, No More Apologies, was released in 1996. It was already known that A House would soon disband, but No More Apologies was described as a collection of "twisted beauties" and "disturbing melodies reflecting the world as seen through their own, strangely coloured, spectacles".[2]

Breakup

A House disbanded in 1997.[4] The demise was marked by an emotional concert in Dublin on 28 February,[15] attended by the band members' families and filling the Olympia Theatre.[16]

Critique

On the release of a best-of album in 2002, The Way We Were, one British reviewer wondered whether A House were one of the great lost bands of all time or if most of the world had been right to ignore their "Gaelic charms", concluding that the answer was "a bit of both".[17] Some critics writing around the time of A House's demise claimed that there were ways in which "A House is far more important than U2",[18] and that "their passing also arguably [drew] the safety curtain on the first and last great pop movement this country has either seen or heard".[19]

More than ten years after A House's breakup, many critics still held A House in high esteem. In 2008. the Irish Times rock critics voted I Am the Greatest the third-best Irish album of all time (jointly with Ghostown by the Radiators), behind only Loveless by My Bloody Valentine and Achtung Baby by U2.[13]

After A House

Following the breakup of A House, Couse and Bunbury started a new project under the moniker Lokomotiv and recorded an album that was never released. Lokomotiv only released one single, "Next Time Round", in 2000.[2] Couse embarked on a solo career and, beginning with Genes in 2003, has released three albums, two under his own name and one billed as by Couse and the Impossible. Bunbury continues as Couse's frequent musical collaborator and live accompanist. Couse hosts a weekly music show on Irish national radio station Today FM.

Martin Healy also began several projects, including the electro-rock band Petrol with French musician Julie Peel.[20] A more substantial effort was known as AV8 (sometimes billed as Aviate), begun in 1998 when Healy and Niamh McDonald began a writing and performing partnership, to be joined one year later by French guitarist Morgan Pincot.[21] AV8 recorded an album called Tremor and later changed their name to Sweet Hereafter.[8]

Since 2020, Fergal Bunbury has been issuing new recordings on Bandcamp under the name FBU62 (effboosicksteetoo).[22]

Discography

Albums

Year Album UK[14] US Ireland
1988 On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round - - -
1990 I Want Too Much - - -
1991 I Am the Greatest - - -
1994 Wide-Eyed and Ignorant - - -
1996 No More Apologies - - -
1998 A House: Live in Concert (live recordings from 1990 and 1992) - - -
2002 The Way We Were - - 10[23]
2014 A House: Access All Areas (CD and DVD of 1992 concert) - - -

EPs

Year EP UK[14] US Ireland
1987 Street Carnival Rock - - -
1990 Doodle - - -
1990 Bingo - - -
1991 Zop - - -
1994 360 North Rockingham - - -
1994 A Reintroduction

Compilation appearances

Year Albums UK[14] US
1985 Blackrock Youth Aid '85 - -
1986 Live at the Underground - -
1986 Street Carnival Rock EP - -
1987 Heads over Ears: A Debris Compilation - -
1994 A Flavour of the Label (Parlophone promo) - -
1988 Just Say Yo - -
1997 The Sunday Times Music Collection: The Best of Indie - -
2004 The Definitive Irish Rock Album - -
2005 The Definitive Irish Rock Album II - -
2005 Fanning's Fab 50 - -

Singles

Year Song UK Indie[24] UK[14] US Ireland
1987 "Kick Me Again Jesus" 24 - - -
1987 "Snowball Down" 8 - - -
1987 "Heart Happy" - - - -
1987 "Call Me Blue" - 194 - 1 28
1988 "I'll Always Be Grateful" - - - 22
1988 "I Want to Kill Something" - - - -
1990 "I Think I'm Going Mad" - - - 22
1991 "You're Too Young" - - - -
1991 "I Don't Care" - - - -
1991 "Second Wind" - - - -
1992 "Endless Art" - 46 - -
1992 "Take It Easy on Me" - 55 - -
1992 "Everything's Gone" - - - -
1992 "Slang" - - - -
1992 "Santamental" - - - -
1994 "I Will Never Forgive You" - - - -
1994 "Why Me?" - 52 - 20
1994 "Here Come the Good Times (Part 1)" - 37 - 21
1995 "The Strong and the Silent"[25] - - -2 -
1997 "Without Dreams" - - - -
  • 1 - Though failing to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the song managed to chart at No. 9 on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
  • 2 - Also failed to chart on the U.S. Hot 100, but the song nearly reached the Radio & Records Top 50 pop chart.

John Peel sessions

  • 25 January 1987, produced by Dale Griffin:[7]
    • "Call Me Blue" / "Y.O.U." / "Hit Me over the Head with Your Handbag Dear" / "Heart Happy"
  • 2 February 1992 at Maida Vale Studio, produced by Dale Griffin:[10]
    • "Endless Art" / "Charity" / "Freakshow" / "Force Feed"

References

  1. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/artist/a-house-mn0000919590
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Grant, Matthew (2003), "A House", in Peter Buckley (ed.), The Rough Guide to Rock (3 ed.), London: Rough Guides Ltd., p. 2, ISBN 1-85828-457-0
  3. ↑ "A House Fans At Virgin Megastore, Dublin City, Ireland 1987". 19 March 2023 – via YouTube.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, pp. 195–6
  5. ↑ A House discography in the Irish Punk and New Wave Discography at IrishRock.org.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Colin Larkin, ed. (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 5. ISBN 0-7535-0427-8.
  7. 1 2 Information about 1987 A House John Peel Session, BBC, 25 January 1987, retrieved 2 April 2010
  8. 1 2 Magee, Matthew (28 July 2002), The House That They Built, Sunday Tribune, retrieved 4 April 2010[permanent dead link]
  9. ↑ Couse makes this joke in one of the interview segments on the A House: Access All Areas DVD. He also notes that, given the song includes about 100 artist names, it is quite remarkable that he failed to include a single woman even by chance.
  10. 1 2 Information about 1992 A House John Peel Session, BBC, 2 February 1992, retrieved 2 April 2010
  11. ↑ Irish Rock Discographies - Incomplete Entries: Punk and New Wave, irishrock.org, retrieved 20 April 2010
  12. ↑ I Am The Greatest sleeve notes
  13. 1 2 Boyd, Brian; Carroll, Jim; Clayton-Lea, Tony; Courtney, Kevin (28 February 2008), "The Ticket's Top 40 Irish Albums of All Time", Irish Times
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 260. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  15. ↑ A House at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, SetantaRecords.com, 28 February 1997, archived from the original on 16 July 2011, retrieved 3 April 2010
  16. ↑  • "Breaking up is indeed hard to do, as A House found out last Friday night when they played an emotionally charged farewell gig in their home town. The band has always enjoyed a passionate following, and the mood of celebration at the Olympia was tempered by a sense of sadness that grew more pronounced as the show wore on, leaving grown men and women in tears by the time the final curtain came down." - Nick Kelly, "Sadly Giving Back the Keys", Times of London, 1997-03-05. • "When ... A House finally called it a night in the Olympica Theatre in 1997 it was a pretty emotional night. I know because I was there." - John Kelly, Introduction to performance by Dave Couse, The View, RTÉ One Television, RTÉ, April 2003. At beginning of video Archived May 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine linked to from RTÉ's Other Voices, Songs from a Room here Archived 2009-04-29 at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ↑ Murphy, John, Review of A House: The Way We Were – Best Of, musicOMH.com, archived from the original on 29 June 2011, retrieved 2 April 2010
  18. ↑ Jackson, Joe (13 December 1996). "A House Falls: The Joe Jackson Interview - Dave Couse of A House". Irish Times.
  19. ↑ O'Callaghan, Colm (1997). "That's A-House That Was". Irish Examiner.
  20. ↑ Campbell, John (13 September 2009), Julie Peel and her new album, Near the Sun, Independents Uncovered
  21. ↑ A House navigator, IrishMusicDB, retrieved 4 April 2010
  22. ↑ "FBU62". FBU62. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  23. ↑ "IrishCharts.com listing for The Way We Were". Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  24. ↑ Lazell, Barry (1997) Indie Hits 1980–1989, Cherry Red Books, ISBN 0-9517206-9-4, p. 1
  25. ↑ "R&R" (PDF).