Shock Treatment (band)

Taking as inspiration bands such as The Ramones, the band started to play at Belfast punk venue The Harp Bar and were picked up by local impresario and label-owner Terri Hooley. Hooley had them record two tracks, Belfast Telegraph and I Like It Like That for a proposed 7' single release on his Good Vibrations label but which, due to financial pressures on the label's budget, did not appear. (Good Vibrations later added both sides of the aborted Shock Treatment single to the tracklisting for the compilation album Ulster on a Thin Wire scheduled in 1980 but also aborted.) Their second release came on the D.A.B. Record label set up by the band's management Davy and Alan Brown. Big Check Shirts c/w Mystery Man received airplay on national radio in Ireland and the UK. == Dissolution and rebirth ==

The departure in 1982 of vocalist Barry McIlheney to what would become a successful career in music journalism brought an end to the band. McIlheney wrote for and edited Melody Maker and Smash Hits among others, later founding Empire magazine and moving further into publishing. Guitarist Davy McLarnon then formed a songwriting partnership with the bassist of similarly-defunct Guilty Achievements. This led to their formation of the band Five Boys (1983–86), later Big Electric PLC (1986–88), for which they wrote and performed material before McLarnon joined Peace Frog in the 90's. In 2011, this songwriting partnership recorded or re-recorded Shock Treatment and Five Boys songs for a studio project. These tracks were released in 2014 on the debut album by Shock Treatment 21, a fresh incarnation of the band with McLarnon as a sole original member alongside John Rossi and Keith McVeigh from his subsequent band, Peace Frog. Reviving the Shock Treatment fan-base and interest in the earlier band's legacy, Shock Treatment 21 has since become one of Northern Ireland's popular live acts, sharing bills with the likes of 999, The Lurkers, John Otway and Alabama 3. Dropping the '21' from their name, Shock Treatment, released their second album, 'Exclusive Photos', featuring Barry McIlheney once again on lead vocals, in early 2024. == Discography ==

• 1980 Room To Move 7-inch EP (feat. Belfast Telegraph), Energy Records (NRG1) • 1981 Big Check Shirts c/w Mystery Man, 7-inch single, D.A.B. Records (DAB001) • 2014 The Days of the Buckshee Bounce are Nearly Over, album, Spit Records (GOB5) • 2024 Exclusive Photos, album, Spit Records (GOB34) ==References==