THE DEBONAIRES
KATY DALY’S, BELFAST

Northern Ireland needs a hit. A no-holds-barred, top ten anthem you could set your watch to, a tune that'll be sung by drunken students across the land. A song that'll demand people pay attention, that'll throw down the gauntlet for the half dozen great bands floating about aimlessly in this tiny little country.

And The Debonaires could well be the band for the job. Seriously, they've at least three tunes that would more than suffice. They may not drip cool onstage or reel out wonderful soundbites between songs, and they don't adhere to or threaten to provoke any kind of a scene. But armed with the likes of ‘Waiting for Something To Happen’ and ‘All These Battles’ they're still totally unmissable. You need them in your life.

[ SNIP ]

[ Vapour Lounge ]'re no Debonaires though. From the outset it’s obvious the Deb's aren't firing on all cylinders: there's a few sound problems (mostly because singer Dave won't stop swinging his mike, the rascal), one too many new tunes, and a bizarre, if memorable Talking Heads cover version. But you see way past the hiccups to a hugely talented quintet of musicians armed with choruses sent from heaven.

Let’s face it though. Unless someone takes the plunge with this lot soon, chances are they'll vanish from the scene taking a handful of lost classics with them.

Which would be nothing shy of an utter travesty.

David O’ Reilly

Images by David O’ Reilly

‘Across the line’, BBC Northern Ireland 18.06.03