Power of Dreams
Encyclopedia
Power of Dreams are a Dublin, Ireland
based pop
/rock
band
, built around the vocals and songwriting of Craig Walker.
"A Little Piece of God" on Keith Cullen
's London-based Setanta Records
in 1989. Following a six-figure bidding war between rival record labels, Power of Dreams then signed a deal with Polygram
. In December 1989, the British music magazine, NME
reported that Power of Dreams, along with others such as Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine and The Charlatans, were their pick as 'stars of tomorrow'.
Their first album, Immigrants, Emigrants and Me
, received glowing reviews worldwide, and the band embarked on a global tour, taking in more than 30 countries, including Japan and North America. The album sold well in France, Japan, the UK and Ireland.
Their second album, 2 Hell With Common Sense
, was produced by Dave Meegan
and featured a more powerful sounding band, helped by the addition of Ian Olney (ex-Cypress, Mine!) on guitar. Positivity followed, and further developed the soundscape introduced on their previous record. Power of Dreams then released their last album, Become Yourself.
Power Of Dreams disbanded after Become Yourself - Craig Walker and Ian Olney then formed Pharmacy with Chris Pierce and Morty McCarthy (from The Sultans of Ping FC
). Pharmacy released one single called "Shine". Subsequently, Craig Walker recorded three albums with Archive
before releasing his debut album, Siamese, in 2009. Keith Walker currently sings and plays rhythm guitar
with The Bollox.
Ian Olney has been playing bass for Sultans of Ping since 2005, and guitar for Red Atlas since 2007.
In November 2009, Power Of Dreams announced a reformation and tour to promote the 20th anniversary re-release of their first album (on 100% Music) in March 2010. Dates included London, Guildford, Oxford, Birmingham, Dundalk, Dublin and Cork.
In December 2010, a further tour of Ireland took place with Sultans of Ping and The Frank and Walters
. Dates included Dublin, Cork and Limerick. This supported the release of a compilation album, 1989: The Best Of Power Of Dreams, which included a new track.
In March 2011, Keith Walker announced an amicable departure from Power Of Dreams, while the band was confirmed via their website to have started work on a new album.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
based pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, built around the vocals and songwriting of Craig Walker.
Career
They released their critically acclaimed debut EPExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
"A Little Piece of God" on Keith Cullen
Keith Cullen (author)
Keith Cullen , is the founder of Setanta Records, an artist manager and the author of the novel God Save The Village Green.-History:...
's London-based Setanta Records
Setanta Records
Setanta Records is a UK Independent record label. The label was at the forefront of the indie Irish music scene in the late eighties and nineties as itchampioned young Irish groups.-History:...
in 1989. Following a six-figure bidding war between rival record labels, Power of Dreams then signed a deal with Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
. In December 1989, the British music magazine, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reported that Power of Dreams, along with others such as Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine and The Charlatans, were their pick as 'stars of tomorrow'.
Their first album, Immigrants, Emigrants and Me
Immigrants, Emigrants and Me
Immigrants, Emigrants & Me is the 1990 Debut Album by Irish Band Power of Dreams[edit]- Track listing :# The Joke's On Me# Talk# Does It Matter# Much Too Much# Had You Listened# Stay# Never Told You# Bring You Down# Never Been To Texas...
, received glowing reviews worldwide, and the band embarked on a global tour, taking in more than 30 countries, including Japan and North America. The album sold well in France, Japan, the UK and Ireland.
Their second album, 2 Hell With Common Sense
2 Hell with Common Sense
2 Hell With Common Sense is a 1992 album by Power of Dreams.-Track listing:#Raindown#There I Go Again#On and On#She's Gone#Untitled#You Bring Me Flowers#Understand#Slowdown#100 Seconds#Happy Game#Metalscape#Blue Note#Fall#Cancer...
, was produced by Dave Meegan
Dave Meegan
Dave Meegan is a record producer. He trained under Trevor Horn and is best known for his work with the band Marillion. He is also heavily associated with the band U2 and worked with the band as an engineer during the sessions for The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum.With Marillion he notably produced...
and featured a more powerful sounding band, helped by the addition of Ian Olney (ex-Cypress, Mine!) on guitar. Positivity followed, and further developed the soundscape introduced on their previous record. Power of Dreams then released their last album, Become Yourself.
Power Of Dreams disbanded after Become Yourself - Craig Walker and Ian Olney then formed Pharmacy with Chris Pierce and Morty McCarthy (from The Sultans of Ping FC
The Sultans Of Ping FC
The Sultans of Ping FC are an Irish band formed in 1988 by Niall O'Flaherty, Pat O'Connell, Paul Fennelly and Ger Lyons. The band's name is a play on the Dire Straits song "Sultans Of Swing", dating from a time when "it was sacrilege to say anything whatsoever funny or nasty about Dire...
). Pharmacy released one single called "Shine". Subsequently, Craig Walker recorded three albums with Archive
Archive (band)
Archive is a musical group based in London, England, whose music spans electronic, trip-hop, avant-garde, post-rock and progressive rock. Over their sixteen-year history, the band has released eight studio albums and enjoyed established success throughout Europe, while remaining little-known in...
before releasing his debut album, Siamese, in 2009. Keith Walker currently sings and plays rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
with The Bollox.
Ian Olney has been playing bass for Sultans of Ping since 2005, and guitar for Red Atlas since 2007.
In November 2009, Power Of Dreams announced a reformation and tour to promote the 20th anniversary re-release of their first album (on 100% Music) in March 2010. Dates included London, Guildford, Oxford, Birmingham, Dundalk, Dublin and Cork.
In December 2010, a further tour of Ireland took place with Sultans of Ping and The Frank and Walters
The Frank and Walters
The Frank and Walters are an alternative rock band from Cork city in Ireland. The band was founded in 1990 by Paul Linehan , his brother Niall Linehan , who was replaced by Kevin Pedreschi in 2004, and Ashley Keating . They took the band name in honour of two eccentric Cork characters...
. Dates included Dublin, Cork and Limerick. This supported the release of a compilation album, 1989: The Best Of Power Of Dreams, which included a new track.
In March 2011, Keith Walker announced an amicable departure from Power Of Dreams, while the band was confirmed via their website to have started work on a new album.
Albums
- Immigrants, Emigrants and MeImmigrants, Emigrants and MeImmigrants, Emigrants & Me is the 1990 Debut Album by Irish Band Power of Dreams[edit]- Track listing :# The Joke's On Me# Talk# Does It Matter# Much Too Much# Had You Listened# Stay# Never Told You# Bring You Down# Never Been To Texas...
(1990) - 2 Hell with Common Sense2 Hell with Common Sense2 Hell With Common Sense is a 1992 album by Power of Dreams.-Track listing:#Raindown#There I Go Again#On and On#She's Gone#Untitled#You Bring Me Flowers#Understand#Slowdown#100 Seconds#Happy Game#Metalscape#Blue Note#Fall#Cancer...
(1992) - Positivity (1993)
- Become Yourself (1994)
- Immigrants, Emigrants and Me - 20th Anniversary Double CD Remaster (2010) (#10 Ireland Charts)
- 1989: The Best Of Power Of Dreams (2010)
Singles
- "A Little Piece Of God" (1989)
- "100 Ways To Kill A Love" (1990) (#20 Ireland Charts)
- "Never Been To Texas" (1990)
- "The Jokes on Me" (1990)
- "Stay" (1990)
- "American Dream" (1991) (#22 Ireland Charts, #74 UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
) - "Slowdown" (1992) (#22 Ireland Charts)
- "There I Go Again" (1992) (#21 Ireland Charts, #65 UK)
- "Second Son EP" (1992)