Sheridan film brought old gang together again after 20 years

February 13, 1994

An old article (13/02/1994) From The Calgary Herald:
Gavin Friday: Sheridan film brought old gang together again after 20 years
By JAMES MURETICH
What goes around comes around . . . and around and around and around in the world of Gavin Friday.
In 1978, he was the lead singer of the Irish rock band Virgin Prunes. The older brother of U2’s The Edge was in his band and U2’s Bono was one of the Prunes’ biggest fans. In 1994, the soundtrack for the Oscar-nominated In The Name Of The Father features songs written and performed by Bono, Friday and their friend Maurice Seezer.
And that in itself came about because of director Jim Sheridan.
“It’s like stepping back 20 years and then going forward again,” said Friday in a phone interview from Dublin.

“Jim Sheridan’s an old friend who actually gave the Virgin Prunes one of their first gigs. He used to work in the theatre and in 1978 he put on a punk festival and the Virgin Prunes were one of the headlining bands. It was our second gig ever.
“So, last July Jim asked me to help him out as music consultant for the movie, which I did, and he then asked myself and Bono if we would write some songs because he wanted the original stuff to come from Irish people.
“It was easy to do because the subject matter of the Guildford Four (four Irish people unjustly accused of and jailed for terrorist activity) was something that was very close to our hearts. I remember very well the day they were freed from prison. We all went out and got drunk — as did half the country.
“As for Bono, well he was very much a fan of the Virgin Prunes. I mean, we grew up on the same street 20 years ago.We know each other well. I think, if anything in the last few years, U2 has turned into the Virgin Prunes,” says Friday laughing.
“We’ve written things together before but this is the first thing that we’ve ever put public. We’re mates. We’re like brothers. I knew him long before he was famous and, so what, it’s all bullshit anyway. Besides, whenever we go out for drinks, he pays. I make sure of that one.”
Interestingly enough, Friday, Bono and Seezer shied away from writing political lyrics for the soundtrack feeling that there was enough politics in the movie without having to club one over the head with it in the soundtrack too. A perfect example is their song Billy Boola.
“That song is definitely taking the piss, you know. Basically, it’s all about two kids going to London and getting away from home. The first thing when you leave home is that you’re not really concerned with anything other than the little thing between your legs. And that’s what a Billy Boola is.”
With any luck, his work with Bono on the soundtrack will direct more attention to Friday’s own solo albums (of which Seezer has been a big part) on Island Records. Adam ‘N’ Eve disappeared with nary a gurgle in 1992. And Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves from two years earlier didn’t fare much better despite its brilliant, moody songs in a style that can best be called cutting-edge, contemporary cabaret.
“When the Virgin Prunes broke up in 1986, it was like a death in the family. So, I sort of reclused out of music and painted. Slowly I got back into performing and ran a small club in Dublin called The Blue Jaysus, a pun on the old movie The Blue Angel,” says Friday.
“That’s where I met up with Maurice. I had become very interested in German and European pre-rock ‘n’ roll music, Jacques Brel, Kurt Weill. So, we started putting these ideas down and Each Man was really me hanging out my dirtylaundry.
“I was going through an intense part of my life.
“I was questioning everything. But after Each Man . . . I felt like all these clouds had gone.”
As for his new solo album, which may be out later this year, Friday says he doesn’t want to say much about it other than “it deals a lot with the end of this century, it’s very personal, very spiritual, and also very sexual.
“Sex is a big thing, you see . . . and drinking.”
Especially if Bono is buying.