Hothouse Flowers seem like a band from a different time now, over thirty years on from their monumental début album. They combined folk, rock, soul, gospel, and, in this sense, fit well into the Irish tradition of pop music. After all, this is the island that gave us both Van Morrison and The Commitments. But there was also something earthy, genuine, and pure about them. They lacked pretence, they lacked irony. And in that sense, they were the antidote to the Great Irish Rock Band, U2. The Flowers originated as a busker act on Dublin’s streets in 1985, calling themselves the Incomparable Benzini Brothers (and here they were tied into another romantic trope of Dublin/Irish culture, the street busker; see, for, example, the film Once). In a lot of ways, Ireland is a small country, and Dublin is even smaller (its population is only slightly larger than Rhode Island’s). And thus, The Incomparable Benzini Brothers were re-christened Hothouse Flowers by Maria Doyle Kennedy, the now-very-famous Irish actor. And then they got their first big break when no less a personage than Bono Vox saw them on TV and offered them a quickie deal with U2’s then-record label, Mother, which led to a 1987 single, ‘Love Don’t Work This Way.’
Mother was a conscious decision by U2 to aid up-and-coming Irish bands, and they spared no expense in cutting ‘Love Don’t Work This Way,’ which was backed with ‘Don’t Go.’ It was recorded at the legendary Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, with Flood behind the boards. This, along with their energetic gigs in Dublin and around Ireland, as well as opening for U2 led to record labels chasing them. They eventually signed with London Records. And then they and their record label had endless, circular discussions about producers for their début album. After a gig with U2 in Dublin in late 1987, and after it, Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, two very experienced English producers/engineers (Madness, Generation X, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Teardrop Explodes, Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Morrissey, Bush) approached them, wanting to work with the Flowers. And thus, there were now producers, and so in early 1988, they headed across the Irish Sea to the Big City to cut the album.
Frontman Liam Ó Maonlai, who was one of the core songwriters as well, recalls:
We felt good in Townhouse with their selections of pianos/organs/ercussions/vibes/marimbas, etc. It was a very soulful session meeting the various people involved like the Jimmy’s (Helms/Chambers) who did some backing vocals, Luis Jardin with his big fat cigars who played percussion and Claudia Fontaine who’s voice changed the shape of the album so
wonderfully. We ate a lot of Indian food and drank a lot of beer, wine and whiskey.There was a lot of coming and going on behind the scenes with a whole sub committee making the album, too. I remember Clive was on the phone a lot. We eventually mixed in Westside, we had the company of people in Archies bar, while Alan Winstanley did the mixing on the album which came to be called ‘People’.
And so just like that, Hothouse Flowers had their début album. And what an album it was. Centred by Ó Maonlai’s powerful voice, the Flowers created something special and beautiful. Hothouse Flowers were and are a band, not a guy with backing musicians. And, so the line-up at the time:
Liam Ó Maonlai, vocals, keyboards, guitars
Fiachna Ó Braonáin, guitar, vocals
Peter O’Toole, bass
Leo Barnes, saxophone
Jerry Fehily, drums
People was released in May 1988, on both sides of the Atlantic. The album was preceded by the single, ‘Don’t Go,’ which is a devastating track. It gave me chills the first time I heard it, it still evokes deep emotion in me, as Ó Maonlai sings of the perfect day, imploring his friends/lovers, whomever, not to leave him in such a beautiful time. This song caught me, it stunned me. It was this beautiful, sun-shiney track. The late 80s was not a period for such optimism, as with our current times, things were dark, we were pessimistic after a decade of Reagan-Thatcher-Mulroney, the staggering on of the Cold War, the realization the environment was screwed and a struggling economy. And here were these Irish hippies with this shot of optimism in the dark.
- Marketed By – Barclay
- Marketed By – Metronome Musik GmbH
- Recorded By – FFRR Records Ltd.
- Phonographic Copyright (p) – FFRR Records Ltd.
- Copyright (c) – FFRR Records Ltd.
- Published By – Warner Bros. Music Ltd.
- Published By – Mother Music Ltd.
- Lacquer Cut At – PRS Baarn
- Designed At – Works Associates
- Copyright (c) – Warner Bros. Music
- Copyright (c) – Mother Music Ltd.
- Recorded At – Windmill Lane Studios
- Recorded At – Townhouse 3
- Recorded At – Westside Studios
- Mixed At – Westside Studios
- Bass Guitar, Mandolin, Bouzouki, Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals – Peter O'Toole
- Brass [Additional] – Gary Barnacle, John Thirkell, Peter Thoms
- Design – Stephen Averill
- Drums, Percussion – Jerry Fehily
- Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Sitar [Electric], Backing Vocals – Fiachna O'Braonain
- Management – Robbie Wootton
- Management [Agency/Publicity] – Asgard, Headline
- Percussion – Luis Jardim
- Photography By [Cover] – Amelia Stein
- Producer, Engineer – Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley
- Saxophone, Backing Vocals – Leo Barnes
- Vocals, Piano, Bodhrán, Harmonica, Organ [Hammond], Vibraphone [Vibes], Marimba – Liam Ó Maonlaí
- Written-By – ÓBraonáin (tracks: A1 to B2, B4, B5), ÓMaonlaí (tracks: A1 to B2, B4, B5), O'Toole (tracks: A1 to B2, B4, B5)
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