Kaught at the Kampus
Kaught at the Kampus is a live compilation 12 inch EP conceived and organised by Irish promoter Elvera Butler, and released in 1981 on her Reekus Records label. A showcase of then emerging Cork city punk and post-punk bands tracks it contains tracks by Nun Attax (later known as Five Go Down to the Sea?), Mean Features (featuring Mick Lynch (vocals) and Liam Heffernan (guitar)), Urban Blitz (who later became Cypress, Mine!) and Microdisney (whose members Cathal Coughlan and Sean O'Hagan later formed The Fatima Mansions and the The High Llamas respectively.)
| Kaught at the Kampus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Live album by various | |
| Released | 1981 |
| Recorded | August 30th 1980 |
| Genre | Post-punk |
| Label | Reekus Records |
The album was recorded live at the Arcadia Ballroom (commonly known as the Arc), Cork, Ireland, on 30 August 1980.[1] Nun Attax were at the time scene leaders, and given three tracks on side one. Microdisney went on to international recognition with their 1985 album The Clock Comes Down The Stairs.[2]
Background
The Arcadia was run by Thurles native Elvera Butler and her partner Andy Foster,[3] and was one of the few places in Cork city that would host punk bands.[4] Butler had been the entertainments officer at University College Cork, and so the venue, which did not serve alcohol, became known as the 'Downtown Kampus'.[1][5] Nun Attax drummer Keith "Smelly" O'Connell recalls the mid 1970s Cork scene being "very tame. When we came first, there was nothing like us around. It was all rock 'n' roll really, and Hot Guitars and band's like that. It was all just rock 'n' roll and the long hair and the beards."[3]
The punk scene that developed in the late at the Arc was an important turning point for emerging Cork punk music; until then live music in the city had consisted mostly of Blues and pub rock bands.[6][7] According to Mean Features guitarist Liam Heffernan, "the [emerging post-punk] scene was amazing....there was nothing else really in late Seventies and early Eighties Cork. Heavy industry was whacked. Elvera Butler brought some fantastic music to Cork. That woke us all up."[6]
Recording
The live even were held on the 30th August 1980, using a mobile studio Butler borrowed from an outfit Belfast. Although it has earlier been used to record tracks by the Rolling Stones, there was surprise and disappointment when it arrived at the Arc in Cork, as it consisted of little more than a mixing desk in a caravan.[6]
Legacy
The 40th anniversary of the album's recording was commemorated in August 2020 by the placement of two large murals on Cork's Grand Parade. The installation is a collaboration with between Cork City Libraries and Cork City Council to mark the 40th anniversary of the recording of "Kaught at the Kampus". The artwork was produced by Fiona O'Mahony and Siobhan Bardsley, and consists of a panel containing a reproduction of the album cover, and a panel showing a full sized photograph of Five Goes Down to the Sea? as well as a reprint of a fanzine interview with that band.[8][9] Writing for the Irish Examiner, Mike McGrath-Bryan said that the mural recognises a "record has come to be regarded as a document of the Cork music scene at an important juncture, helping to set the tone for the city's subsequent musical reputation, with many of the musicians and personalities involved becoming cult figures in their own right."[9]
The album was re-release in 2020, concurrent with a "Kaught at the Kampus" night at Cork City Library on 18th September of that year.[10]
Track listing
Side one
- Nun Attax - White Cortina
- Nun Attax - Reekus Sunfare
- Nun Attax - Eyeballs
Side two
- Mean Features - Summer Holidays
- Urban Blitz - Breakaway
- Microdisney - National Anthem
References
- McDermott 2020.
- McDermott 2001.
- McAvoy 2016, p. 52.
- O'Callaghan, Colm. "U2's Arcadian Dream - how one Cork music venue changed music forever". RTÉ, 23 January 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2020
- McCarthy, Tony. "U2 Agus An Arc". RTÉ One documentary, 20 July 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2020
- Power, Ed. "B-Side the Leeside: Kaught at the Kampus". Irish Examiner, 29 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020
- Colm O Hare (12 January 2012). "Reekus in the years". Hotpress.com. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- O'Dwyer 2020.
- McGrath-Bryan 2020.
- Power, Ed. "Nun Attax on Grand Parade jacks". Irish Examiner, 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020
Sources
- McAvoy, Mark (2016). Cork Rock: From Rory Gallagher to the Sultans of Ping. Cork: Mercier Press. ISBN 978-0-9956-1760-5.
- McDermott, Paul (25 April 2020). "The sounds of Finbarr Donnelly - Cork's cult hero remembered". RTÉ. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- McDermott, Paul (2001). Get That Monster Off The Stage (audio documentary). Raidió Teilifís Éireann.
- McGrath-Bryan, Mike (25 August 2020). "'Kaught at the Kampus' gig remembered 40 years later with Grand Parade mural". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- O'Dwyer, Sarah (26 August 2020). "Artwork marks Cork's post-punk scene". The Echo. Retrieved 27 August 2020.