Biography
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Years Active
1989 – 1991 (2 years)
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Members
- Aidin O'Reilly
- Eamonn Finnegan
- Julie McDonnell
- Mattie Finnegan
- Pascal Smith
Wonderful indie pop band from Ireland formed in early 1989 by the three Finnegan brothers, evolving from their earlier band The Nobody's. Another brother James Finnegan managed the band, and footed the bill for the recording and for the first pressing of 250 copies of their debut single, released by Danceline Records. This single was famously championed by John Peel (reached number 12 in that years Festive 50).
17 year old singer Julie McDonnell left the band shortly afterwards, replaced by Eileen Gogan before breaking up in 1991.
In the nineties, The Would Be’s infamously turned down 14 major labels to follow up their John Peel and Morrissey acclaimed debut single ‘I’m Hardly Ever Wrong’.
Standing by some admirable indie ethics, the band chose the most obscure label they were courted by, but the decision would ultimately cost them as Decoy Records couldn’t bring The Would Be’s to the next level.
Their legacy, however, was one that burned very brightly but all too quickly. John Peel, Morrissey, Steve Lemaq, Tony Clayton Lea, Ian Dempsey, Jim Carroll, BP Fallon, Rodney Binginhimer and Stuart Bailey fell for songs like ‘I’m Hardly Ever Wrong’, ‘My Radio Sounds Different in The Dark’ and ‘Funny Ha Ha’.
Hailing from the borders of Cavan, Meath and Louth, the band was formed by the Finnegan brothers (Mattie and Paul) and had an average age of 17 when the first single was released. Only 250 copies were pressed but it was enough to turn the heads of some very influential people. In his book ‘101 Irish Records (You Must Hear Before You Die)’, Irish rock journalist Tony Clayton Lea said: “It is rightly regarded as the best Irish indie pop single every re-leased”.
On first hearing the single, BBC’s champion of good music, John Peel, fell for it and played it repeatedly on his Radio 1 and World Service shows. The band were brought to the UK for a fantastic Peel Session (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okrcgTXJmEY) and within days of being aired, an A&R scramble ensued as the band were tracked down to their very schools in rural Ireland.
Dublin’s legendary Underground venue on Dame St was the scene of the A&R buzz at its most intense, when repre-sentatives from almost 20 labels turned up to see the band play. Julie (vocals), Aidine (trombone and saxophone) and Paul (drums) made the bold move of leaving secondary school a year early to pursue their dream, with the next few months a whirlwind as the band toured the UK and eventually made the ill-fated decision to sign with Decoy Records from London.
Things went a bit too quickly for Julie and she left the band and new vocalist Eileen Grogan was brought in before they went on the ‘Kill Uncle’ tour with Morrissey. Acclaimed producer Stephen Street put the shine on the ‘Silly Songs for Cynical People’ EP and the band went on to score a number of ‘Single of the Week’ gongs with NME.
Things came to a head with the label however and after just 18 months, The Would Be’s acrimoniously parted ways with Decoy Records with a large sense of unfinished business. This sense was re-awoken with the recent publishing of Clayton Lea’s book and an invitation from other 90s indie heroes, The Frank & Walters, to join them at a gig in Dublin was accepted.
The band are currently in studio recording a long-awaited album set for release in 2013.
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