Have You Heard The Hooligans

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I heard a band of Hooligans had lifted the roof off some of the
Irish pubs in Melbourne and decided to check things out for myself
.
As it turned out The Hooligans who were originally known as Irish
Heartbeat have been having a huge party all over the place . The front
man is a Dublin man by the name of Ben Flood . He plays guitar, banjo,
fiddle, Mandola ,Mandolin, Whistle and Saxophone . Ben is supported by
a number of people in the band . Linzee Prior the only female member
writes the lyrics of the songs and also manages the tours . Coming from
a business background Linzee is a great organizer . She is well
organized and very focused on the business side of things . Nominated
in Victoria as business woman of the year Linzee has an Irish heritage
and recalls hearing Irish music in her grand parents house . Linzee
plays Bodhran , Bass Guitar and also acoustic guitar . The other
members of the band are Quentin Lydall who speaks Zulu and grew up in a
large Irish family in South Africa where he went to a Catholic school
and was taught by Irish priests . Another Hooligan is Dave Walkler who
was one of the youngest editors of a country newspaper in Victoria .
Dave has worked with many bands previously and they all had Cektic
influences . He plays the keyboards , Electric guitar and supplies
backing vocals . Another Hooligan is Francie Cleary who originally was
the sound engineer but after their previous sound engineer decided to
stay on in Galway on the bands last trip Francie stepped in to the
breach . He plays a special instrument called the Didgeridoo and that
sound add a lot of feeling to the overall mix .
When I spoke with Ben Flood I was very impressed with the quick wit and
the wicked sense of humour he used . His personality exploded with a
warmth and friendliness such as can only come from Dublin . Originally
from a huge housing estate in Ballyfermot which also just happens to be
the hometown of The Fureys . Ben emigrated to Australia in 1984 where
he founded a band called The Celts who were one of the top bands in
Melbourne . I got to speak with him about the effects of his background
on the music the Hooligans play . Here is a little of what was said
.
"Tell me Ben, what was Ballyfermot like as far as the music scene goes
?"
"In the early days in Ballyfermot there was a few ballad sessions where
you would go to some hall or other . I was about 15 then and played a
bit of guitar and the things I'd sing then were songs from Bob Dylan or
maybe Simon &; Garfunkel . Later on I became more aware of my Irish
heritage when I moved to Clare and it was after that when I discovered
Irish Music and fell in love with it ."
"Ben back in the sixties when Irish music was taking new directions
with bands like Horslips and Planxty and more to the fore Thin Lizzy
what was your appreciation of this new sound on the scene ?"
"A lot of the traditional people bagged Horslips . They said they were
shocking but I loved them . When Horslips came on the scene they were
brilliant and they made Irish music stand up and become acceptable to
the city boys . I was a city boy and when we first heard Horslips we
said my God that's our heritage and we started playing Irish music very
serious . Thin Lizzy took Irish music out of the cupboard as did
Planxty ,but do you know the first Irish band who made Irish music
known internationally . It was The Dubliners with a song called Seven
Drunken Nights . Back then a pirate radio station called Radio Caroline
played the song to death and suddenly a bunch of bearded fella from
Dublin became famous in the world .

"There is a strong mix of Irish Rock and culture in your band The
Hooligans . What kind of audiences are you playing to ?"
"Basically its horses for courses . On Friday nights we play at
Melbournes most famous pub which is Molly Blooms . The crowd there are
the younger set who are drinking hard and want to party hard and so we
play loud and fast with our own stuff mixed with material from The
Pogues . On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays we play at one of the new
chain of Irish pubs which is Bridie O'Riellys in Little Collins Street
. People there bring their kids along so its mostly covers we play with
some Christy Moore material and Irish Culture music all day .We're
lucky that we've got four lead singers in the band and we all have
about one hundred songs that each of us can do and so whatever song the
audience asks for there is a good chance that we probably know it
."

"You're all a bit like walking jukeboxes ?"
"A bit like that . Ha Ha "
"Thanks for the chat Ben . "
"Not a problem Paul . All the best "
"Slante ."
Immediately after talking with Ben the band were preparing for a tour
around Ireland where they had been booked into several music festivals
. The Hooligans are one of the hardest working bands in Victoria where
they play five nights a week . On their way to Ireland they were booked
to play at Muddy Murphys in Singapore and at Delaneys in Kuala Lumpur
.
The Hooligans are a rare breed ,a band of exiles bringing their music
around the world . They played before the Albert Reynolds when he was
prime minister . By the sounds of it The Hooligans are throwing a huge
party and everyone's invited .

By Paul McCann

THE END