Finbarr Donnelly | |
|---|---|
 Donnelly in the late 1980s | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Finbarr Donnelly |
| Born | 25 April 1962 Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Died | 18 June 1989 (aged 27) Hyde Park, London |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | vocalist |
| Years active | 1978–1989 |
| Labels | Reekus Records Abstract Sounds Kabuki Records Creation Records Setanta Records |
Finbarr Donnelly (25 April 1962 – 18 June 1989) was a singer and songwriter from Northern Ireland, who moved to Cork city at a young age. He is best known as the vocalist with the post-punk band Five Go Down to the Sea? (earlier known as Nun Attax, later as Beethoven Fucking Beethoven).[1] Known for his striking stage presence and absurdist, surreal lyrics, he and the band were hugely influential on later generations of Irish musicians.[2] Mark McAvoy, author of "Cork Rock: From Rory Gallagher to the Sultans of Ping", said in a 2017 interview that "Donnelly probably would have been the most influential musician and songwriter in...the Cork music scene and the bands that stemmed from it."[2]
Their most widely regarded work, the EP Knot a Fish, was released in 1983. Donnelly's career peaked again in June 1989 when the EP Him Goolie Goolie Man, Dem was named "Single of the Week" by the NME.[3] Before he could build on this success, he drowned in a swimming accident on 18 June 1989 in Hyde Park's Serpentine Pond, aged 27.[2][4]
- ^ McAvoy 2009, p. 57.
- ^ a b c Roy, David. "A real Corker: Author Mark McAvoy on his Cork Rock music bible". The Irish News, 10 February 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ O'Neill, Ryan. "Cork remembers post-punk icon Finbarr Donnelly Archived 8 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Cork Independent, 12 June 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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