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The Virgin Prunes were bottled off stage

12 October 1978:

The Virgin Prunes were bottled off stage while supporting The Clash at the Top Hat, Dun Laoghaire.

It was their second gig.

Gavin Friday remembers:

We came on (with) Guggi wearing a tiny skirt and I had a plastic suit made out of raincoats, no jocks underneath, and pair of Docs. We'd only played two little gigs before that. Steve Averill from The Radiators From Space played synthesizer with us.

The crowd just went apeshit. They thought Guggi was a chick. The adrenaline of all these people pogoing kicked in and I started jumping around, the next thing this plastic suit that me ma had made me split completely.

I was standing there totally bollock naked, except for a pair of Doc Martins. I turned around and Guggi's skirt had come off and you could see that he was a bloke.

All hell broke loose, there were bottles flying, they were setting the curtains on fire. We were reefed off the stage by The Clash's tour manager and fucked out the door. We had no money and had to walk with all out gear, back from Dun Laoghaire to Ballymun.

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The Virgin Prunes supporting The Clash at Top Hat...
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The Virgin Prunes supporting The Clash at Top Hat...
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Top Hat, Dunlaoghaire

From its opening night with a splendid orchestra in 1953 until its final major gig in 1991 (Sonic Youth/Nirvana), the venue presented a variety of music genres to audiences. In fact, it is possible to trace the history of popular music in Ireland by examining the archives of the Top Hat.

The Top Hat hosted The Clash, The Jam, The Stranglers and The Damned as well as up and coming Irish bands who opened for them: U2, Virgin Prunes, The Vipers and The Golden Horde.

Later the Top Hat played a vital role in Dublin's thriving skateboard culture, and even hosted the legendary Tony Hawk. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, .

In this exhibition, you can explore not only the music of the Top Hat but also the business minds behind it. Most importantly it celebrates the people who made the Top Hat what it was - the dancers, the staff and concert-goers.

Members of the IADT community have also shared their memories of the Top Hat, which you can read alongside images of the different eras.

Link: https://iadt.libguides.com/tophat

Top_Hat_1970s_courtesy__Classic_Dublin_Gigs_687_331_85

Top Hat, Dunlaoghaire

Dublin City Tours - https://www.facebook.com - and Singing Streets

The Top Hat music venue in Dun Laoghaire was once a centre of culture just south of the city centre. 

The venue itself was located just down from where the Putty Kitchen stands today.

In the 1950s and 60s the venue was host to the thriving showbands scene in Ireland. However the 1970s and 80s would see the hall turned into roller disco and would later become well known with the punk scene in Ireland.

As the Showbands went out of fashion, the bands playing The Top Hat took reflected this.

Autumn of 1978 saw some notable up and coming Irish bands support more established acts from across the water.

U2 had to dodge items being thrown from the crowd when they opened for The Stranglers on 9 September 1978.

The Clash played here on 12 October 1978, supported by The Virgin Prunes, while The Vipers opened for The Jam the following week. Author Joseph O'Connor later wrote "When the Jam came to play the Top Hat in 1978 we rejoiced to see the town's old days put to death."

The Pogues finished their European Tour at The Top Hat on 21 December 1986, when they were joined on stage by The Dubliners for three songs.

The Top Hat was also used as roller skating disco, featuring in a scene in The Commitments, and held skateboarding events, where Tony Hawk once appeared.

The venue would close its doors later in the 1990s and would be demolished to make way for the apartments that stand there today.

Follow the link below for an excellent project by the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) on the history of the Top Hat.

Top Hat Dún Laoghaire - A Music Venue Through The Eras - IADT

Photo by Alan Hennessy When he was DJing at the Top Hat Venue

Top Hat today

Dún Laoghaire Calling – The Clash in the Top Hat

Tales from the East Pier

Swench - December 20, 2017 - Uncategorized

When I wrote about the historic Sonic Youth and Nirvana gig in the old Top Hat – on its 25th anniversary in August 2016 – I felt absolutely ancient, even though I wasn’t there.

That mythical gig has become the Dublin indie kid equivalent of being in the GPO in 1916.

On October 12, 1978, The Clash played the old ballroom on Longford Place, which later became the Fun Factory, and subsequently demolished to build a block of apartments called De Vesci House. Tickets were £2.50.

The support act that October evening were the Virgin Prunes; an Irish avant garde post-punk band featuring Gavin Friday, who gave this hilarious recollection of the night to State magazine:

Read the full article online

Archived PDF or text

Dublin Were you there?

The Clash | Facebook - https://www.facebook.com

The Clash - Were you there?

What a night never forget it

Julian West - I was there, both shows. They complained that we couldn't keep the audience from getting on stage for the first show, so we brought barriers for the second one. Then they complained that the barriers were separating them from their fans. The gobbing was pretty bad, but it was the singer of the Count Bishops who actually got hepatitis.

Michael Miles - Exeter great hall 79 I think what a night never forget it it was buzzing

Probably the best gig I ever saw

Andrea Corr - https://www.hotpress.com/ - Probably the best gig I ever saw was The Clash in the Top Hat (Dun Laoghaire).

Apart from that, I always remember the Dandelion Market in Dublin. I did see The Clash in Trinity College that year and absolutely hated it, you’re supposed to say you loved it but I thought the hall it was in was appalling. It was probably very punk in that you couldn’t hear it! But I loved the album and later on probably the best gig I ever saw was The Clash in the Top Hat (Dun Laoghaire).

Joe Morris - Some of us were invited backstage after the Clash gig in the Top Hat, Dunlaoghaire, Dublin, Ireland on October 14 1978. I was 16. Got to speak with Joe for what seems like ages. Lovely man. R.I.P.

John Byrne - They played Dublin a few weeks b4 that gig, no seats to rip up, good dance floor instead...one of the greatest gigs ever.

Theresa Cronly - I saw the Clash there think it was 1978

Johnny Gleeson - I was at the Clash supported by the Virgin Prunes - so long ago. The support were dreadful.

Brilliant gig

Gordon Owen - Brilliant gig

David Lynn - My first ever concert!

Gene Turbett - At one of my earliest gigs, they set the bar high, Ramones came close,

The energy off Mick Jones! F*** me! It was just brilliant!

Dave Fanning - https://www.rte.ie/ - At 64, Fanning still has the enthusiasm and excitement of a 16-year-old gig-going novice and when it comes to picking his own favourite gig of all time, he doesn’t hesitate.

"Everything coming together at one point, I’d seen them live before but then I saw them at a venue which became a children’s play place and now it’s a block of flats and it was The Clash at the Top Hat in Dun Laoghaire.

"I’ll just never forget. This was a band in their moment, firing on all cylinders. They’re not just punk. They really have something else here and the energy off Mick Jones! F*** me! It was just brilliant!"

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Photos - Dublin, Dun Laoghaire - Top Hat club

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Photos: James Mahon. – @capital-radio-three on Tumblr

The Clash - Top Hat Ballroom, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, October 12th 1978. Photos: James Mahon.

See also: Clash City Collectors | Jumping to 1978 | Facebook
Cheers to Neil Horgan for taking the time to photograph & share

Virgin Prunes supporting The Clash at Top Hat Ballroom on October, 12th 1978

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