A House

Beginnings Formed in Dublin in 1985 by former members of the band Last Chance, vocalist Dave Couse, guitarist Fergal Bunbury and drummer Dermot Wylie were joined by bassist Martin Healy (who had all been friends at Templeogue College), formed as A House. The band honed their live skills in the pubs of Dublin, performing in McGonagle's club (where U2 performed in the late 1970s), at free gigs in the Phoenix Park and turns on RTÉ's TV GaGa and Dave Fanning's radio sessions. The band's earliest recorded appearance was on a charity compilation called ''Blackrock Youth Aid '85'', assembled at Newpark School. This was followed by tracks on two compilations. "On Your Bike Wench, and Let's Have the Back of You" appeared on the EP Live at the Underground (1986) and "What a Nice Evening to Take the Girls Up the Mountains" appeared on the Street Carnival Rock EP (1987). Two self-released singles, "Kick Me Again Jesus" and "Snowball Down", followed, released on the label RIP Records. On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round and I Want Too Much Recording a John Peel session for BBC radio in the United Kingdom, and gaining regional popularity, the band signed with Blanco y Negro, which released the singles "Heart Happy" and "Call Me Blue" in Ireland and the UK. "Endless Art" also benefitted from an accompanying stop-motion animation video that gained significant airplay on MTV in Europe, but the record failed to sell well. Nevertheless, "Endless Art" became A House's signature for many, replacing "Call Me Blue". The song, somewhat unusual in its musical approach and lyrics, begins with a quotation by Oscar Wilde and lists an extensive roster of famous artists from various forms of art, all dead, with years of births and deaths specified. Couse had frequently used the list format, beginning with the song "I Want Too Much". A House faced criticism because all of the artists mentioned in the original "Bingo" release of the song were men, The band tried to make amends by providing "More Endless Art", a second version of the song I Am the Greatest The Parlophone distribution of "Endless Art" was the flagship single from A House's new album, I Am the Greatest (1991). For the album, Parolophone again taking control of distribution from Setanta. and had been working on the TV show Jo Maxi, contributed backing vocals, and David Morrissey was added on keyboards. This new trio remained with A House until it dissolved. although they were less involved in the creative process than were the remaining original trio. However, their presence enabled A House to embrace a broader musical palette. This was enabled further on "I Am the Greatest" by Collins's production work and extra contributions by Susie Honeyman on the violin. Lyrically, the songs on the record addressed themes running from satire of societal and religious pieties, through excruciating examinations of personal fears, to the title track, on which the three core band members ruminate in spoken-word fashion on their lives, regrets, jealousies and the state of music in the 1990s. The cover artwork was created by Fergal Bunbury with an image by Irish photographer Amelia Stein. A second single from the album, "Take It Easy on Me", was released in 1992. Wide-Eyed and Ignorant and No More Apologies I Am the Greatest is perhaps A House's most significant legacy, and is cited by many as one of the best ever released by an Irish band. attended by the band members' families and filling the Olympia Theatre. ==Critique==

On the release of a best-of album in 2002, The Way We Were, one British reviewer wondered whether A House were one of the great lost bands of all time or if most of the world had been right to ignore their "Gaelic charms", concluding that the answer was "a bit of both". Some critics writing around the time of A House's demise claimed that there were ways in which "A House is far more important than U2", and that "their passing also arguably [drew] the safety curtain on the first and last great pop movement this country has either seen or heard". More than ten years after A House's breakup, many critics still held A House in high esteem. In 2008. the Irish Times rock critics voted I Am the Greatest the third-best Irish album of all time (jointly with Ghostown by the Radiators), behind only Loveless by My Bloody Valentine and Achtung Baby by U2. ==After A House==

Following the breakup of A House, Couse and Bunbury started a new project under the moniker Lokomotiv and recorded an album that was never released. Lokomotiv only released one single, "Next Time Round", in 2000. A more substantial effort was known as AV8 (sometimes billed as Aviate), begun in 1998 when Healy and Niamh McDonald began a writing and performing partnership, to be joined one year later by French guitarist Morgan Pincot. AV8 recorded an album called Tremor and later changed their name to Sweet Hereafter. ==Discography==

Albums EPs Compilation appearances Singles • 1 - Though failing to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the song managed to chart at No. 9 on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. • 2 - Also failed to chart on the U.S. Hot 100, but the song nearly reached the Radio & Records Top 50 pop chart. John Peel sessions • 25 January 1987, produced by Dale Griffin: • "Call Me Blue" / "Y.O.U." / "Hit Me over the Head with Your Handbag Dear" / "Heart Happy" • 2 February 1992 at Maida Vale Studio, produced by Dale Griffin: • "Endless Art" / "Charity" / "Freakshow" / "Force Feed" ==References==