Poster for the “Four Artists Many Wednesdays” exhibition (1987)
Topic: bono
Mr Pussy’s Cafe De Luxe
Mr Pussy’s Cafe De Luxe on 21 Suffolk Street, Dublin was a cafe and restaurant dreamed up by Jim Sheridan, Gavin Friday, and Bono and hosted by old-school female impersonator Mr Pussy (Alan Amsby).
It opened in May 1994 in the same spot where Bono’s brother, Norman Hewson, had previously run Dillon’s restaurant. Restaurant by day, Mr Pussy’s Cafe stayed open late and became “the night club that broke all rules”.
There was a police raid in the first week of opening, for serving alcohol after hours and having (male) nude entertainment. Dublin wasn’t quite ready for the experience.
At one point, a ‘customer’ entered the restaurant with a tiger on a lead. He had been hired by the owners to perform.
Norman Hewson: “It was madness, totally off the wall. I can’t see myself ever having as much fun as the two years with Mr Pussy’s.”
The TV was on all the time, showing highlights of the Oscar ceremonies, The Wizard of Oz and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Chips and eggs and sausages, Pussy Pies and Pints of Pussy (a glass of milk) were on the menu and the restaurateurs cheekily served alcohol from tea pots in a decor that was a cross between greasy spoon and bordello. There was a stage and a ‘royal box’ for special guests. Naomi Campbell’s knickers and other kitschy memorabilia were on display in a glass case while the stairs down to the toilets were lined with pink fur penises.
In Gavin’s words: “Mr Pussy’s story became a song and the song became a cafe”.
The cafe quickly became the place to go for late night revellers and hosted record launches and after show parties for the likes of Van Morrison, Ronnie Wood, Christy Turlington, Mel Gibson, Michael Stipe and Jean Kennedy Smith.
While Mr Pussy’s was popular at night, the ‘night club’ stamp the press had given it meant it was unable to draw enough customers in the day time. Unable to obtain a drink license, Mr Pussy’s Cafe De Luxe eventually closed in April ’95.
Four Artists, Many Wednesdays
In 1987, after the demise of Virgin Prunes, Gavin devoted himself to painting for a while, sharing a studio with Bono, Guggi and Charlie Whisker. The four friends would meet Wednesday evenings in Danesmoate, a mansion at the foot of the Dublin mountains. They had little in common when it comes to painting but found the same things funny and, in Charlie’s words: “We all seemed to enjoy being on two wheels.”
The sessions resulted in the exhibition called “Four Artists, Many Wednesdays” at Dublin’s Hendricks Gallery in 1988. Gavin, Guggi and Charlie Whisker showed their paintings, while Bono opted to exhibit photos he had taken in Ethiopia. Gavin titled his series of paintings “I didn’t come up the Liffey in a bubble”, an expression often used by his father. He says: “It was crazy, I made more money out of painting than out of six years with Rough Trade!”
Originally, the plan had been to research various characters and situations around Dublin, particularly street characters and religious soap-boxes. But in the end each worked on individual themes, though Gavin seems to have stuck close to the original idea: two of the paintings, “Sin E An La” and “Lady of the Flower”, were inspired by a woman, ‘a bit of a religious nut’ and a fan of Pope John Paul III, who used to frequent O’Connell Street announcing “the end of the world is nigh”.
Gavin: “That’s me being visually violent, not verbally or musically. It’s all about Dublinisms. I love this city…”
Box set: Peter & The Wolf – CD and Book
Fully illustrated 64-page clothbound book and enhanced CD recording of Peter and the Wolf, with music by Sergei Prokoviev interpreted by Gavin Friday and the Friday/Seezer Ensemble, with a behind the scenes documentary, photographs and original paintings by Bono, with help from Jordan and Eve Hewson. Royalties from the project benefit the Irish Hospice Foundation who work to provide better care for people with terminal illness.
- Enhanced CD including a documentary of the making of Peter & The Wolf
- Produced and arranged by Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer
- Narrated by Gavin Friday
- The Friday-Seezer Ensemble are: Gavin Friday, Maurice Seezer, Renaud Pion, Michael Blair, Julia Palmer, Gareth Hughes, Des Moore, Catriona Ryan
- Length 27 minutes
- Book: 200 x 124mm/ 4 7/8″ x 7 7/8″
- Illustrated by Bono with daughters Jordan and Eve
- Full colour with colour cloth case
- 64 pages
Single: In The Name Of The Father – Gavin Friday and Bono
First single from the soundtrack to Jim Sheridan’s In The Name Of The Father, nominated for an Ivor Novello Award.
Courtney Love’s introduction to the Virgin Prunes
Courtney Love introduced the Virgin Prunes at the ‘Gavin Friday and Friends’ event in Carnegie Hall on October 4th. She did so eloquently and passionately, explaining how she came to know of them and what they meant to her life. What follows is a close approximation of what she said and it includes a brief introduction by U2′s manager Paul McGuinness:
Paul McGuinness
Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I’ve known Gavin and his band the Virgin Prunes for as long as I’ve known U2 and for quite a while in the early days the Virgin Prunes were the obligatory opening act for U2, so I saw them many times. Perhaps more often than I liked. And on one occasion… the Virgin Prunes had some extreme theories: Dada, Theatre of Cruelty, things like that, which didn’t always mix with the… the rock and roll. But on one occasion I do remember after the performance, excellent performance, given by the Virgin Prunes, Bono arrived in time for the U2 gig and he said to me: Why are the audience in such a bad mood? And I said: Well, Bono, it might have something to do with the fact that your friend Gavin has just been throwing pigs entrails over them. They were a very unusual band and one of their earliest fans was Ms Courtney Love…
Courtney Love
Hi. I’ve never actually even been inside Carnegie Hall. I wasn’t asked to do this show, I demanded to do this show.
I didn’t expect the task of introducing one of the most important precious figures and bands and siren call that framed my rock and roll life for better or for worse. Nor do I have any idea of who I am speaking to, so I will just simply speak my truth about Virgin Prunes and about Gavin Friday.
Gavin Friday and Friends – setlist
This is the setlist of ‘Gavin Friday and Friends’ as performed at Carnegie Hall.
Act 1
- Apologia – Gavin
- Children Of the Revolution – Gavin, Flo & Eddie, Bono, The Edge, Herb Macken
- I Want To Live – Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton, Flo & Eddie, Maurice Seezer
- He Got What He Wanted – Gavin, Antony, Maurice Seezer
- Paul McGuinness memories of the Virgin Prunes
- Courtney Love memories of the Virgin Prunes
- Sweethome Under White Clouds – Gavin, Guggi, Dik, JG Thirlwell, Herb Macken (piano), Maurice Seezer (on drums!)
- Caucasian Walk – Gavin, Guggi, Dik, JG Thirlwell, Herb Macken (piano), Maurice Seezer (drums)
- Thief Of Your Heart – Martha Wainwright, Maurice Seezer
- Ballad Of Immoral Earnings – Gavin & Maria McKee, Maurice Seezer
- The Light Pours Out Of Me – Gavin & Courtney Love
- Mr Pussy – Gavin, Scarlet Johansson & Rufus Wainwright
- Benares Song – Gavin & Rufus Wainwright
- A Rainy Night In Soho – Shane MacGowan, Maurice Seezer
- Falling Off The Edge Of The World – Gavin, Maria McKee, Joseph Arthur, Jenni Muldaur, Flo & Eddie
Act 2
- Cabaret / Money – Joel Grey
- Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves – Gavin & Joseph Arthur, Jenni Muldaur
- You Take Away The Sun – Gavin
- Patrick McCabe reading from first chapter of Breakfast On Pluto
- King Of Trash / 21st Century Boy – Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton and Flo & Eddie
- Knives In The Drain – Lydia Lunch
- Caruso – Gavin & Eric Mingus, Maurice Seezer
- ‘Red’ ( a Poker Face improv) – Lady Gaga
- Angel – Gavin, Antony and Flo & Eddie
- Love Is Just A Word – Gavin, Chloe Webb and Flo & Eddie
- Another Blow On The Bruise – Gavin & Edge
- Time Enough For Tears – Andrea Corr, Gavin
- The Last Song I’ll Ever Sing – Bono, Maurice Seezer
- Improv – Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, John Zorn
- Sonnet 40 – Gavin, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, John Zorn, Larry Mullen, Edge, Shane MacGowan
- Sweet Jane – Gavin, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, The Edge, John Zorn, Larry Mullen, Edge, Shane MacGowan, Bono, Flo & Eddie, Maurice Seezer
- Jean Genie – Gavin, The Edge, Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Eric Mingus, Courtney Love, Jenni Muldaur, Flo & Eddie, Andrea Corr, Herb Macken, Shane MacGowan (playing Bill Frisell’s guitar upside down) etc, etc
The band:
Doug Weiselman – musical director, arranger, clarinet, saxophone
Thomas Bartlett – keyboards
Steven Bernstein – trumpet, arranger
Knox Chandler – guitar
Bill Frisell – guitar
Hank Roberts – cello
Erik Sanko – bass
Jim White – drums
Gavin Friday and Friends at Carnegie Hall in pictures
And while you are enjoying the slideshow, remember it’s Gavin’s 50th birthday today… come add your wishes (no registration required).
Video: Big Think Interview with Gavin Friday
Full 30-minute interview with Gavin by BigThink.com.
Article: Prune power – Irish Times
From: The Irish Times, October 3, 2009
By: Brian Boyd
PROFILE GAVIN FRIDAY: He led an elite group of avant-garde chancers that included Bono and The Edge. A host of stars, including U2, will take the stage in New York to celebrate the former Virgin Prune’s 50th birthday
LYPTON VILLAGE was a little known area in Ballymun, Dublin. It only ever existed for a few years during the 1970s. Its residents included Fionan Hanvey, David Evans, Paul Hewson and Derek Rowan. You could never find it on a map because it was a virtual village – a psychological place of escape for its inhabitants. Lypton Village had its own laws: art, music and weirdness were good, everything else was bad. It had its own language and its members were christened with new names – which is why Fionan Hanvey, David Evans, Paul Hewson and Derek Rowan are better known today as the musicians Gavin Friday, The Edge and Bono and the artist Guggi.
