Bogey Boys' two London dates
Navan Rockers, The Bogey Boys,are set to rock London with two select dates at The Gipsy Hill Tavern on 19th and 20th April. The band once had an up and coming band (called U2!) as their support act, way back in 1980!
After the huge success of the band's reunion after 30 years last year, with gigs in Dublin,Waterford and Navan, this time it's London calling with their first gigs there since their concerts at The Hope and Anchor in Islington,The Marquee and The Rock Garden.The three-piece features Jimmy Smyth on lead guitar, Dosh Nagle(ex-Phil Lynott's Grand Slam) on bass and Tony Smyth on drums.
Lead guitarist, Jimmy Smyth, is rated amongst the best guitarists Ireland has ever produced and once turned down Phil Lynott's invitation to join Thin Lizzy. Jimmy was Musical Director for Van Morrison in 2002 and plays guitar on Gilbert O’Sullivan’s British tours. He also performed and was nominated with Toni Childs at the Grammy Awards in 1988 and 1996. Jimmy's brother Tony played drums with Paul Cleary and The Partisans and The Donal Kirk Band in Dublin while bass player Nagle is renowned for playing and touring alongside Phil Lynott, in Lynott’s solo tours and also with Grand Slam, the band that replaced Thin Lizzy in 1984 .
The Swan Lane venue in Navan was the setting for an epic night on 4th May 2012 and a scintillating return of The Bogeys, thrilling the local audience with a combination of their own originals from the 1980s,along with classic blues numbers from Wilko Johnson and Grand Slam songs written by bass player Doish and Phil Lynott. Their recent promotional video has proved to be a huge hit amongst rock fans on You Tube with almost 4000 hits since they reformed.
Back in the '80s, The Bogeys were widely regarded as a blistering live act and toured with major acts such as The Kinks, Alvin Lee, Dr Feelgood, Wilko Johnson, Rory Gallagher, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.They recorded their debut album 'Friday Night' in Windmill Lane in Dublin which spawned the eponymous radio hit single. The band, after signing to Chrysalis Records, relocated to London, where they had some famous residencies in the best Rock venues of that era,The Marquee, Rock Garden and the legendary Hope and Anchor in Islington. They were also included in the seminal 'London R'n'B sessions' album .
The Bogey Boys recorded their second album, 'Jimmy Did it' in Rory Gallagher's private studios (they had opened for Rory's National Stadium gigs , and made such an impression that Rory insisted on them using his own studios) with Rory's producer Alan O'Duffy at the helm. Jimmy used the famous Rory strat on a track or two! Easily spotted!
The band continued to be a huge draw in Ireland, playing clubs, pubs, theatres and big open air festivals like Dalymount with The Pretenders, Madness, Judas Priest, Rockpile, The Undertones, Status Quo, all the while releasing singles that weren't on the albums ( a policy inspired by Punk Rock) and had top ten hits with the singles 'Death of a Clown', 'No Rock and Roll Tonight' and 'Obituary'.
Fans of the band can avail of an excellent offer to see them play in London for the first time since the 1980s. For €160 pps,you can fly to London, be transferred to 3* Euro Queens Hotel(www.euroqueenshotel.com) in Crystal Palace and stay two nights B& B in the hotel, close to the venue ,The Gipsy Hill Tavern (www.gipsyhilltavern.com). Or alternatively €130 pps for one night. Bookings can be made through John Hendrick on 086 1795070.
by Paul Holland