Toasted Heretic
Encyclopedia
Toasted Heretic was an Irish
rock group who attracted a cult following
in the late 1980s and 1990s.
in the mid-1980s and came to national attention with a self-published album, Songs for Swinging Celibates
(an allusion to the Frank Sinatra
album Songs for Swingin' Lovers
), in 1988. With resources tight, the album was recorded on cassette tape via a TASCAM
Portastudio
in drummer and producer Neil Farrell's home, and distributed only on cassette. Their characteristic style was immediately distinguished by their unorthodox lyrics, the virtuosity of guitarist Declan Collins, and the eccentric showmanship of frontman (and Nenagh
native) Julian Gough
.
A second album, Charm and Arrogance
, was released in the same format in 1989, with its inlay card designed to resemble an addressed envelope, including a real (low value) Irish postage stamp
.
By the 1990 release of The Smug E.P.
, the "Toasties" had attracted a small but ardent following, including some DJ
s in RTÉ and internationally. Their live shows were popular and gave them the opportunity to play in larger venues and record more professionally. A positive review in Q magazine and a contract with Liquid Records, a small Independent record label
, followed. Liquid Records released the full-length album Another Day, Another Riot
(1992), the titular single, and the song Galway and Los Angeles, which reached #9 in the Irish music charts.
Toasted Heretic returned to their independent "Bananafish" label for their latest original album, 1993's Mindless Optimism
.
Without formally breaking up, the band went on hiatus throughout the 1990s, performing sporadically while its members pursued other interests—Farrell producing music; rhythm guitarist Aengus McMahon taking and publishing photographs; Gough writing a debut novel
, Juno & Juliet (ISBN 0-385-72161-7).
In 2005, a double CD
, Now in New Nostalgia Flavour, combined the first two cassette-only albums and featured an update of the Tayto
package parody from the cover of Songs for Swinging Celibates. The band reunited for several public bookings to promote the release. Following the appearance of the new album and the attendant publicity, Tayto took legal action against the band in 2006, demanding that all copies of the new double CD be destroyed, claiming that the Tayto Man imagery "dilutes and tarnishes [Tayto's] valuable Trade Marks".
and Stephen Spender
, the band found Frank Zappa
, Camper Van Beethoven
and Rabelais just as influential. In perhaps the band's best-known song Galway Bay, Gough sings:
The sun goes down on Galway Bay
The daughter goes down on me
Her dad's not due till one or maybe two
And I'm as happy as I'll ever be.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
rock group who attracted a cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
in the late 1980s and 1990s.
History
The band was formed in GalwayGalway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
in the mid-1980s and came to national attention with a self-published album, Songs for Swinging Celibates
Songs for Swinging Celibates
Songs for Swinging Celibates was the debut album from Irish alternative band Toasted Heretic. The name of the album refers to Frank Sinatra's Songs For Swingin' Lovers.-Track listing:# Sodom Tonight# Very Naughty Party# Galway Bay...
(an allusion to the Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
album Songs for Swingin' Lovers
Songs for Swingin' Lovers
Songs for Swingin' Lovers! is the eighth studio album recorded by the American singer Frank Sinatra for Capitol Records, it was arranged by Nelson Riddle and released in March 1956....
), in 1988. With resources tight, the album was recorded on cassette tape via a TASCAM
TASCAM
TASCAM is the professional audio division of TEAC Corporation, headquartered in Montebello, California. Tascam is credited as the inventor of the Portastudio, the first cassette-based multi-track home studio recorders. Tascam also introduced the first low-cost mass produced multitrack recorders...
Portastudio
Portastudio
The TASCAM Portastudio was the world's first four track recorder based on a standard compact audio cassette tape.When the original Portastudio 144 made its debut in 1979 it was a revolutionary creative tool...
in drummer and producer Neil Farrell's home, and distributed only on cassette. Their characteristic style was immediately distinguished by their unorthodox lyrics, the virtuosity of guitarist Declan Collins, and the eccentric showmanship of frontman (and Nenagh
Nenagh
Nenagh is the county town of North Tipperary in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of North Tipperary and in 2011 it had a recorded population of 7,995. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Ormond Lower...
native) Julian Gough
Julian Gough
Julian Gough is an Irish novelist currently living in Berlin.His first novel, Juno & Juliet, was published in 2001 by Flamingo, almost a decade after Gough sung and wrote lyrics for the Irish 1980s cult group Toasted Heretic...
.
A second album, Charm and Arrogance
Charm and Arrogance
Charm and Arrogance was the second album from Irish alternative band Toasted Heretic.-Track listing:# You Make Girls Unhappy# Abandon the Galleries# Stay Tonight# Some Drugs# Here Comes the New Year# Lost and Found# LSD...
, was released in the same format in 1989, with its inlay card designed to resemble an addressed envelope, including a real (low value) Irish postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
.
By the 1990 release of The Smug E.P.
The Smug E.P.
The Smug E.P. was the third album from Irish alternative band Toasted Heretic. It still hasn't been released on CD, despite a number of requests. When asked, Julian Gough pulls a face and says they just haven't got round to it yet....
, the "Toasties" had attracted a small but ardent following, including some DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
s in RTÉ and internationally. Their live shows were popular and gave them the opportunity to play in larger venues and record more professionally. A positive review in Q magazine and a contract with Liquid Records, a small Independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
, followed. Liquid Records released the full-length album Another Day, Another Riot
Another Day, Another Riot
Another Day, Another Riot was the fourth album from Irish alternative band Toasted Heretic.-Track listing:# Unrealistic# Another Day, Another Riot# Going Public# Don't Scuff My Tan# Money Loves You# Song of the Beggar King# Tarty Girls# Forgotten...
(1992), the titular single, and the song Galway and Los Angeles, which reached #9 in the Irish music charts.
Toasted Heretic returned to their independent "Bananafish" label for their latest original album, 1993's Mindless Optimism
Mindless Optimism
Mindless Optimism was the fifth album from Irish alternative band Toasted Heretic.-Track listing:# Maybe We Should Talk# Passenger Jets# Anglepoise Park# Lightning# It's All Over# Here Comes the New Year# Heart Attack# Mummy Are We There Yet...
.
Without formally breaking up, the band went on hiatus throughout the 1990s, performing sporadically while its members pursued other interests—Farrell producing music; rhythm guitarist Aengus McMahon taking and publishing photographs; Gough writing a debut novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, Juno & Juliet (ISBN 0-385-72161-7).
In 2005, a double CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, Now in New Nostalgia Flavour, combined the first two cassette-only albums and featured an update of the Tayto
Tayto
Tayto is a major Irish crisps and popcorn manufacturer, founded by Joe Murphy in 1954. Tayto invented the first Cheese & Onion crisps as well as the process of the seasoned potato chip/crisps. Tayto crisps are a cultural phenomenon in Ireland, and "Tayto" is sometimes used in Ireland as a synonym...
package parody from the cover of Songs for Swinging Celibates. The band reunited for several public bookings to promote the release. Following the appearance of the new album and the attendant publicity, Tayto took legal action against the band in 2006, demanding that all copies of the new double CD be destroyed, claiming that the Tayto Man imagery "dilutes and tarnishes [Tayto's] valuable Trade Marks".
The music
Toasted Heretic's songs were decidedly outside the mainstream: comedic, obscene, irreverent, anti-corporate, intellectual, and absurd. Gough's flamboyant showmanship contributed to the image. While effortlessly borrowing from Vladimir NabokovVladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
and Stephen Spender
Stephen Spender
Sir Stephen Harold Spender CBE was an English poet, novelist and essayist who concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle in his work...
, the band found Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven is an American alternative rock group formed in Redlands, California in 1983.An eclectic band, Camper Van Beethoven mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk and alternative country, as well as various types of world music. Their aggressive musical pluralism created a...
and Rabelais just as influential. In perhaps the band's best-known song Galway Bay, Gough sings:
The sun goes down on Galway Bay
Galway Bay
Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city is located on the northeast side of the bay. It is about long and from to in breadth...
The daughter goes down on me
Her dad's not due till one or maybe two
And I'm as happy as I'll ever be.