First Introductions?

 

Just wondering how you first heard of the Grove?

I heard about it from my older bother. EVERY Sat, Sun (and Wed????) he disappeared in his duffle coat to the mysterious "Grove". I always wanted to go to see what it was all about, but at age 7 I was a bit young ;o).

However my musical "education" was no doubt indirectly down to Cecil, my brother introduced me to Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Skynard, Rush, Lizzy etc I was never sure if he really was interested in my musical education or was just fed up listening to MJ, Thriller over and over

p.s Was the Grove on Weds too or was he fibbing to get out late on a "school" night?

I heard about it through lads in my class at school (Belcamp). We used to have a school disco for the 5th and 6th years that I always went to and it was like a mini Grove...and a lot of the guys used to go to the Grove too...in fact...as my memory is failing me these days, could well have been already going to the Grove before we even started that. Either ways...they played a lot of Grove music. We used to invite the girls from Our Lady of Mercy's or whatever the correct name was, to add a little bit of non musical interest...

Either ways..when I eventually found the Grove was like a bolt of lightening...yeeeesss...this is more like it

 

I heard about the Grove in July 1972.

Myself and a few friends hung around together on motorbikes.

One of the guys went to the Grove and reported back to the rest of us that we gotta go there. The music he said was brill.

So on a summer's evening in July 1972 myself and my pal Joe headed down Mount Prospect, turned left into the entrance for the Grove, rode up to the Grove itself and presented ourselves to the bouncers.

After passing the test we both got in and got our membership cards some time later.

Still remember "Take It Easy" by The Eagles was playing when we were being quizzed on that first night.

We went regularly for 3 years after that. Great memories and some sad ones as well.   

 

Well myself and my friends grew up on the Navan Road...great place to live if you were under 12yrs and over 50yrs but for the in between forget it....nothing to do  so we heard about the grove from our older brothers and had to beg and beg our parents to let us go...(we were only 16yrs) We had to get two buses to get there and a taxi back home....but it was worth it and during the summer hols we would also attend on a wednesday too. We found some very good friends in the grove and from this site we are still finding some very good friends...

Esthalon wrote: Wow Pat. That's some memory, knowing what was playing when you first arrived....That deserves a whole new thread (if it hasn't been done before that's the problem with being a newbie - you never know if you're just covering old ground).

Don't know about a new thread as most people may not remember their first song.

Funny how things stick with you.

Besides the Eagles memory.

If you saw the documentary you'll have seen me play a 45" single called "Good Time Coming" by "Bitch".

I heard that song back in '72/'73 and it stuck in my head and as stated in the documentray it took me 30 years to actually get the 45" single. But I have it now and I thought it right to play that one when making the doc.

I guess with age you remember the things furthest back and not the current things.

Now what was I saying

It was just a coming of age thing in St Pauls
where I was in '78-'84.

I think my parents reluctantly agreed that it
was OK for me to go along once I reached 16
under strict condition that I'd never venture
to the Summit in Howth which in those days
had a bit of a reputation as a herbal supply
store and having been famously raided on a few
occasions.

My wife is from the West and a lot of her
formative years socialising at the Warwick Hotel
in Salthill Galway. They had a somewhat similar
genre of music playing there and the fact
we got on together was initially in no small
part to the fact that our musical tastes were
broadly similar. She heard about the Grove from
a bunch of lads/girls who worked out in Germany
around summer of '85. She saw the documentary
last week and was very touched by the whole
Cecil phenomenon. The Warwick in Galway was
an institution but what was unique about the
Grove was the continuity of a single visionary
DJ/compere that is Cecil Nolan. It was clear
to her how unique that was and I think now
she understood why the Grove was talked about
with such reverence !!!

--Ian