Bandana were formed in the very early eighties from remnants of local Downpatrick bands, including Raine whose guitarist joined punk band Victim to record the legendary single Why Are Fire Engines Red.
Bandana latched on to the Belfast student scene, and played countless gigs in Queens University and the Ulster Polytechnic, almost always sharing the bill with the iconic Marty Lundy and the marvelous Katmandu.
Battle of the bands in The Errigle, Belfast, brought the band to the attention of Jimble-Shaw and his sidekick, Jeremy, who became the management team. Shared concert billing with Phil Lynott, In Tua Nua followed (in a very small font of course), and Johnny Fean of Horslips once asked, "Can I borrow your gear lads?" Of course the lads were obliging, and while they were at it, suggested he added a bit more echo to his vocals.
When Irish band The Moving Hearts got a death threat and pulled out of a concert in Belfast, Bandana stepped in, probably annoying the fuck out of the punters who had paid to hear rocked up fiddledy-dee, and had to make do with, She’s a maniac, maniac, on the floor.
While they could have been troublemaking, they spent the summer weekends of 1985 in the Ards Peninsula, Northern Ireland, making their first single. It probably equates to six long days cutting two songs. In the sixties, bands made whole albums in less, but with the climate of over production in the 80's, a la Trevor Horn, they threw everything in, including the kitchen sink and some milk bottles. Chinese food was consumed by the wokload and when it was a wrap, an old ancient abbey in Downpatrick was used for the promo shot and the band went to the Lobbies pub in makeup afterwards to see if it was all worth a free pint.
They even once had their picture in The Down Recorder newspaper. Ack sure!
(Bandana L-R: Paul Trainor, Jim Cass, Mickey Fitz, Danny Skeffington and Kenny Moore.
Former members: Paul Stitt, Robbie Magee, Josephine Mulvenna and Stevie Rice.
Crew: Joe 'Joe Echo' Gordon, Brian McCoubrey, Paul Felix McCann)
(drop me a line if you have any corrections or updates)
