Dublin’s Hope Collective is proud to announce their new book, a collection of almost 200 gig memories from members of the punk community and their friends. All proceeds from the book go to the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 appeal.
Dublin’s do-it-yourself, not-for-profit, Hope Collective have been active in the punk scene since the 1980s when they arranged gigs in Ireland for bands including Fugazi, Chumbawamba, Green Day, The Membranes, Therapy? and Babes in Toyland. More recently they have released books in support of worthy causes. The 2017 book, In Concert: Favourite Gigs of Ireland’s Music Community, raised over €5,000 for the Irish Red Cross Syrian Refugee appeal.
Comments the collective: “The new book is a response to the Covid-19 crisis and includes memories of outstanding gigs written by members of The Cure, Fugazi, The Adverts, New Model Army, The Fall, Teardrop Explodes, Gang of Four, The Ruts, Chumbawamba, CRASS, The Members, The Membranes, UK Subs, Black Flag, Babes in Toyland, L7, D.O.A. and The Levellers amongst others.
We also reached out to the punk scene on this island and so many people have been generous with their time. In what would nearly be a definitive punk rock compilation on this island members of Stiff Little Fingers, The Outcasts, Paranoid Visions, Radiators from Space, The Vulpynes, Female Hercules, Protex, The Golden Horde, Ruefrex, Microdisney and a legion of others all responded positively to our request and wrote pieces.
It was compiled by Michael Murphy and Niall McGuirk who describe it as ‘our record collections talking about gigs that inspired them’.
The book celebrates creativity, community, hope and the power of live music. It exists because of the generosity and responsiveness of the contributors.”
The Hope Collective has been championing the “do it yourself” philosophy since getting the Membranes over to Ireland in 1987.
Between that year and 1999 they put on over 200 bands in Dublin including the likes of Therapy? Fugazi, Chumbawamba, Green Day and Neurosis. They also released a compilation record championing bands of the scene in the early 90s as well as previously publishing two books – “Document: a story of hope” (subsequently published in the states as Please Feed Me) and the more recent “In Concert : favourite gigs of Irish music community” which has raised €5.000 for the Irish Red Cross so far. Their basic philosophy “if you’ve got something to complain about you’ve got something to change” rings as true now’ as it did when putting on D.I.Y. and independent shows three decades ago.
