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The Guardian - "To Hell Or Barbados" 15.6.2007
 Damien
Dempsey is a musician who is able to be passionate without feeling
embarrassed about it. Those who have seen his live shows, particularly
back home in Dublin, will know that he has built up his ferociously
loyal support by following in the footsteps of his early heroes Christy
Moore, the Dubliners and the Pogues, while adding new influences from
reggae and rock to Celtic rap. This new album, which is already No 2 in
the Irish charts, is intense and varied, switching from acoustic ballads
to pounding anthems worthy of the young Springsteen. It starts with a
set of personal songs, based around the theme of living life to the
full, and then changes gear. Serious is a brooding tale of drugs,
temptation and Dublin street life, and Teachers is a reggae-tinged
tribute to heroes from Bob Marley to Luke Kelly. To Hell or Barbados is
a furious history lesson on the Irish expelled to the Caribbean as
slaves by Cromwell. It confirms Dempsey's position as one of Ireland's
great singer-songwriters.
Robin Denselow, 4/5
Ireland.com - "To Hell Or Barbados" 22.6.2007
The
heat's been turned up on Damien Dempsey's slow-burning career. Having
coaxed and honed a formidable stage presence for himself from
irritatingly doe-eyed beginnings, Dempsey excels in storyboarding the
anthemic with broad brush strokes. Tales of ethnicity and identity,
lost, bartered and found, abound here. How Strange is another muscular
salvo that ricochets from the Dempsey canon, two parts bravado melded
with one part sheer, unadulterated innocence. With producer John
Reynolds, Dempsey has captured more subtlety, more colour and more shade
than previously. The first single, Your Pretty Smile, pursues a suitably
languid reggae beat while The City sums up the sheer viscerality of
Dempsey's worldview equally well. Slow- burning songs with a
determinedly healthy shelf life.
Siobhán Long, 4/5
Review Snapshot:
Damien Dempsey's new album "Shots" sees him move towards the mainstream
with more melody and less anger. But the honest lyrics and strong social
themes are still there and that's what makes it an album worth listening
to.
Full review:
Damien Dempsey's music seems to divide people into "either love it or
hate it" camps. He's certainly not background music and the lyrics
clearly enunciated in his Dublin accent cannot be ignored. His live
performances are renowned, as his powerful voice gets full reign.
Shots is a follow-up to his 2003 platinum selling album "Seize The Day".
That album propelled him into the spotlight. He has also been promoted
by the likes of Christy Moore, Sinead O'Connor, Shane McGowan and
Morrissey who invited Damien to tour with him last year.
This latest album was recorded in Rockfield Studio in Wales with John
Reynolds back as producer, and is a more polished and melodic effort.
The harsh, hard-hitting social themes are still there, but they're toned
down and cushioned by softer voices and more instrumental accompaniment
with guitars, tin whistles and uileann pipes. The production is slicker
and benefits from all the musicians working out the songs together in
the recording studio.
On the album when he succeeds he has the ability to make you look at
life's harsh realities without sermonising or making it sound
depressing, like on 'Sing all Your Cares Away' and 'Not on Your Own
Tonight', but on some tracks the message is driven home too strongly
like the seven minute track – 'Colony'.
'Sing all Your Cares Away' is a slow and gentle introduction to the
album. It's one of the strongest tracks, with a sweet melody and a
message of escaping from your problems through music. The harmonies are
soothing and gentle and Brian Eno provides backing vocals. 'Not on Your
Own Tonight' is a song which Damien wrote when he was 16 or 17 sitting
on O'Connell St. The strings add depth and warmth to the song, and it's
a hopeful song, despite the tough circumstances he was living through
when he wrote it.
The guitar intro to 'St. Patrick's Day' builds up with tin whistles,
uileann pipes and drums. It's the most traditionally Irish sounding
track on the album and deals with the tough times people in Ireland
lived through before the Celtic Tiger took hold. 'Cursed with a Brain'
has another strong message about starting to change things from within —
"don't look out, look in, change yourself to begin".
'Party On' deals with the drugs culture in Ireland and its negative
effect. I'm not sure it works and it sounds a bit too preachy, a warning
of sorts to his audience.
'Colony', a song from his debut album "They Don't Teach this Shit in
School", is simple and raw and highlights just how much his style has
changed since he started out. The almost spoken lyrics about colonialism
and oppression are shouted out and make the point a little too strongly.
It's followed by one of my favourite tracks on the album, 'Patience',
which starts out softly and builds up with the full band really adding
to the sound. It's followed again by another favourite, a rare treat, a
love song – 'Hold Me'. It's his vulnerability and honesty on this song
that really impresses; it's a gentle ode to love with none of the frills
or soppy sentimentality of usual love ballads.
The tone changes with 'Choctaw Nation', about the Native American
Choctaw people and the troubles they faced. It is probably a fan's
favourite but for me as a relatively new Damien listener it just moves
too far from the melodic tracks that have gone before.
The final track on the album, 'Spraypaint Backalley', is about having
positive outlook on life despite your circumstances. There is a line
from Oscar Wilde in the song which struck him when he was younger, "we
are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars", which
seems to be where Damien is always looking, onwards and upwards.
"Shots" is an album that sees him grapple to try and reconcile the
desire to have his music heard by more people while still maintaining
his integrity and a strong social message. For the most part he succeeds
but whether this move towards more mainstream music can be sustained and
bring his fans with him only time will tell.
Celine O'Malley, 7/10
Damien Dempsey
Shots
(Sony/BMG)
04 Mar 2005
Your writer is just as fond of the throwaway, the frivolous and the ephemeral as the next person, but it takes someone as integral as Damien Dempsey – back, here, with his third studio album – to remind you how empty, or, alternatively, full of shit most music is. That’s not a negative statement, just a true one. It’s not only that Damo is a political writer at a time when anyone in Ireland who opens their mouth about how modern life, for all its lovely earn-and-consume opportunities, is occasionally rubbish is considered to be a fun-free party-spoiler. It’s not just that he’s pushing indigenous Irish music forward, inventing new ways to bring the legacy of Sinéad and Christy and singers, pipers and fiddlers going all the way back into a relevant, thoroughly modern present. It’s that he is an unashamedly spiritual person. ‘Spiritual’ that's not ‘religious’; rather, Damo has, as JD Salinger put it, an understanding, and taste for, the main current of poetry that flows through all things. As such, he’s one of the few people alive for whom, when he sings a chorus of ‘And we sing/Sing all our cares away’, it’s not a throwaway cliché or an advocation of mindlessness; with Damien Dempsey, transcendence through music is actually a reality.
Here, as usual, whip-smart lyrical tours de force – like the updated ‘Colony’ (from his debut album), ‘Choctaw Nation’ and ‘Patience’ – are full of the kinds of truths most of the media stopped bothering to highlight long ago, all delivered with a warrior’s fierceness and a good son’s humility. The number of images and ideas per square inch in these songs is remarkable: they stack up unstoppably one beneath the next, and their cumulative effect is as shocking and undismissable as war reportage. But with Damo, the truth never comes at the expense of a genius melody or a lightness of touch. In anyone else’s hands, this kind of fiercely political songwriting/repeated exhortation to live well would be worthy, flaky, eat-your-greens-ish. In Damo’s, it’s smart, grounded and full of fun: he’s wisecracking as well as wise, the kind of older brother you’d idolise when you're growing up.
As ever, his songwriter’s eye for detail astounds: in ‘Spraypaint Backalley’ we meet a 15-year-old Damo, who sports a horrible teenage moustache (“If I shave it, I’m a boy again”) and who is fascinated by the oil-blackened roughness of his brother’s and father’s hands. But if anything, Shots is the DD album that finally sees the full-band sound match the powerhouse impact of the songwriting itself. There’s ‘Cursed With A Brain,’ whose gently turning melodies and wistful MBV thrum (nice one, producers John Reynolds and Brian Eno) echo the track’s sense of unsettled contemplation. And there’s old favourite ‘Party On’, here given a cinematically vivid new lease of life, which drags you in one fluid motion from hangover house to bass-thumping party to taxi-hailing pedestrian-jammed post-rave street like the famous one-shot nightclub scene in Goodfellas.
There’s something overwhelmingly physical about Damien Dempsey’s music; I think that’s why the huge no-matter-what positivity that has always radiated from his work has the emotional impact it does. His positivity does not come from a rarefied or peaceful place, but is the earthbound, experience-fired lifeforce of the man at once spiritual yet utterly of the earth and of his corporal body, walking strong, open and observant through a fucked-up world. That physicality ensures that every punch he throws is a sure hit, but it also makes the tender bits tenderer, as with the curlicueing Planxty melody of ‘Not On Your Own Tonight’, or the love letter ‘Hold Me’: you get the sense of immense power being gently held back.
But, as is always the case with Damien Dempsey, the quality that resonates with you long after this record ends is his characteristic positivity, his emphasis on self-esteem, self-reliance, patience and being truly present in your own life. He sees the good everywhere, even as he documents the bad. On ‘Not On Your Own Tonight’, he walks alone through shadowy, unsafe streets, but instead of being too-wary or cynical, he comments, "I can see the evil, but I can feel the good/Shining out to greet me from within bone and blood", and the sheer goodness of the sentiment stuns you.
"Singers should be wise, spiritual human beings,” Damien once told an interviewer. He’s on his way, to say the least.
Kim Porcelli
Rating: 9 / 10
Obstinate enough to have called his debut album They Don't Teach This Shit In School, Dublin's waspish Damien Dempsey is neither a trimmer nor a lily-livered compromiser. The spiritual heir to Bob Marley, Joe Strummer and Christy Moore, Sieze The Day is Dempsey's second opus and finds the dauntless ex-boxer knocking the subsidised stuffing out of the Irish political establishment; venting his utter disgust at the common people's lot with his pugnacious and idiosyncratic brew of reggae and Irish folk protest. Such a juxtaposition of genres may seem like a clumsy contrivance but Dempsey makes it seem utterly organic and compelling. This record cannot and should not be ignored.
Dempsey is a principled man. His songs bristle with choleric but never with retribution. He is one for dignity and honour in the most despairing of circumstances. "I am an angry man" - he sings on the naked, harrowing Ghosts Of Overdoses - "I vent it on the bag, not the skag", while the song flickers by in ancient monochromic images of slums, land clearances and tuberculosis and then through the hellish latterday counterparts of heroin and homelessness. Celtic Tiger (featuring Sinead O'Connor) is an even more damning indictment of how Ireland's rapid (and selective) economic growth has spawned a defenceless underclass. "The cost of a run-down house is absurd, what we gonna do, have to move in with the woman in the shoe", groans Dempsey. As a pop-political barometer, the song merits comparisons with Guns Of Brixton by The Clash and Ghost Town by The Specials.
There's more to Dempsey than bile and socio-economic protest (the gorgeous, tidal It's All Good, the multicultural celebration of the happy Apple Of My Eye, for example) but one's lingering opinion is of a man endeavouring to bring Jerusalem to Ireland's emerald land. The sword shall not sleep in his hand. His third album can't come soon enough.
Kevin Maidment - June 2004
Paste Magazine - Issue 13 - "Seize The Day"
 Irish soul is a notoriously elusive quality. Van Morrison has it, at least when he still cares. Sinéad O’Connor has it. Bono, for all his other undeniably great musical attributes, does not. Twenty-nine-year-old Dublin native Damien Dempsey has it, and his barely contained passion and grit lift the songs on his second album, Seize the Day, from good into frequently sublime territory.
Dempsey has been called the Irish Bob Dylan, and while that comparison overshoots the mark, it’s not wholly inaccurate. Like early Dylan, Dempsey is a folk singer who cannot be contained by the genre’s boundaries, and his pointed observations of contemporary Irish life reveal a fine eye for detail and a searing social conscience. He’s not above invoking the patriotic memory of Brendan Behan (“Jar Song”) or singing the praises of his Gaelic ancestors (“Great Gaels of Ireland”), but he’s even better at exposing the underbelly of the social ills plaguing his native land—the heroin abuse now ravaging Dublin’s inner city (“Ghosts of Overdoses”), and the devastating effects of the greed that fueled Ireland’s 1990s economic boom (“Celtic Tiger,” which also features a wondrous contrapuntal vocal from O’Connor).
There are a few minor problems—a dodgy Jamaican patois on a couple songs that doesn’t mesh well with the Uilleann pipes and fiddles, a full-bore vocal style that could benefit from nuance and subtlety, the occasional spot of lazy writing (“Seize the day / ‘Cause you don’t want no regrets when you look back / Seize the day / So at least you’ll know you gave this life a crack,” which makes me want to give his Irish head a thwack). But Damien Dempsey, possessed of a magnificent, soulful voice, has enormous talent, and Seize the Day hints at many great albums to come.
Andy Whitman, 3.5/5
campus.ie - Dolan's Warehouse - Sep.14 2003
It is easy to see why Damien Dempsey has risen to prominence. He is truly one of us, a regular Dub, with the heart of a poet singing about drink, drugs, power, poverty, politics, love, life and history. He follows the traditional Irish idea of the folk singer-songwriter, weaving heartfelt lyrics, sparsely arranged but beautiful acoustic melodies and performs with eyes shut, passion teeming from his every motion. Damien Dempsey pokes and prods the social conscience of his audience with a passion and intensity reminiscent of his own hero Bob Marley and the late, great reggae man's influence is clearly felt in Dempsey's impassioned delivery. Read the review
Damien Dempsey
Negative Vibes
(Clear)
"Damien Dempsey is among Ireland’s most engaging and moving acoustic talents, and the possessor of one of the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. ‘Negative Vibes’ is a stunning song showcasing Dempsey’s love of reggae (Marley, specifically) in tandem with his passion for trad. It also features Sinéad O’Connor, who was involved in the recording of his forthcoming album Seize The Day, on backing vocals. A formidable live talent to boot, Damien’s quiet riot rests in equal parts on the power of his lyrics and his abilitiy to capture a sound so uniquely Irish. Also, the B side features a personal favourite – ‘Industrial Schools’ – which is worth the cover charge alone."
Hannah Hamilton
Vredenburg Theatre, Utrecht, Holland
"Howrya doin' Utrecht? My name's Damien Dempsey, I'm from Dublin. I hope yiz can understand me accent... Sure youse probably speak better English than I do."
Here we are then, in the plush surroundings of Utrecht's Vredenburg theatre on a bitterly cold night in late January. Damien Dempsey has just taken front and centre on the final stretch of a tour that began in October, as Sinéad O'Connor's special guest. Indeed, such has been the praise heaped upon the Donaghmede man by Ireland's most famed daughter that you feel his introduction was hardly necessary." Read the review
Dublin Singer Seizes the Day
By Jeff Magill & Gary Gilliland
"THIS week, Belfast will play host to an up-and-coming Dublin singer/songwriter with something a little different to offer." Read the review
"Mrs Dempsey was on hand at Vicar St. to celebrate her son's golden sales" Read the review
Isaac Butt, Dublin, 5 August 1999
"Yep, Damien Dempsey used to be known as just 'Dempsey' and he is the guy who had that single 'Dublin Town' out two years ago that got saturation play on 2FM. I heard the single, didn't like it, and wrote Dempsey off as some half-assed Dublin rap version of Christy Moore." Read the review
The support for this concert is Damien Dempsey – protegee of Sinead’s.
"....unsparing songs of urban life that bristle with pride and energy" - The Sunday Times
Damien Dempsey is 24 years of age and comes from Donaghmede on Dublin’s Northside. His Father is a panel beater who believes his son’s musical ambitions are a way of avoiding real work in the real world. His adolescence was split between his separated parents’ homes, at a time when divorce was still unavailable in Ireland.
His earliest musical influences were the post-pub singsongs that his parents used to have when he was a toddler. Good, bad, or indifferent everyone had to sing. Damien would watch the attention following the voices around the room and was glad that his parents had not noticed it was way past his bedtime. Today he sings traditional Irish songs and runs song-writing workshops for children and single parents from the poorer parts of Dublin.
Damien has boxed for Dublin, and practised Kung Fu and Karate. Damien left Dublin and spent three months in New York working in an Irish Bar on Lexington Avenue. In 1997 he recorded and released a single called Dublin Town that went to number 18 in the Irish charts with little or no promotion. The single was the most played track on Irish Radio for two weeks and was the first commercial affirmation of Damien as a performer and artist in his own right.
They Don’t Teach This Shit In School was his debut album released in March 2000.
27 year old singer songwriter Damien Dempsey's voice is uniquely down to earth, but totally affecting and his sound reflects the influence of traditional Irish Sean-Nós as well as his musical heroes, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley.
They Don’t Teach This Shit In School, his debut album, was released in 2000 and established Damien as a fearless and confrontational songwriter. His second album Seize the Day has just been released on Clear Records.
“It’s angry, it’s humorous, it’s great music, it’s great lyrics…he describes the way things really are - which is a pile of shit - But then he also sees the beauty that is Ireland, and that is Ireland’s past and that can be Ireland’s future.” Shane MacGowan
Sometimes you hear a performance that physically stuns you - you know that it is absolutely of the moment, completely raw and entirely true to itself. On They Don't Teach This Shit In School, from the aching opening track ‘Jealousy’ onwards, the vocal and lyrical presence that is Damien Dempsey arrives in your head and won’t let you go. Love him or hate him, there will be no middle ground on this one. You cannot help but be drawn in.
A working class hero is something to be. Damien Dempsey speaks of urban life with the clarity and precision of a weaver. Threads cross the loom that have references to NWA coming out of Compton, historic respect is paid to Luke Kelly with some colours straight from Bob Marley, all delivered with an uncompromising Dublin accent.
Damien's voice is a global one; he speaks of masculinity, tenderness, poverty, colonialism, the police, boy bands and psycho chicks, without all the usual self-obsession. His work is honest and objective, he is a storyteller, a ‘Seanchai’.
At 24 Damien Dempsey has already had an Irish hit with ‘Dublin Town’ and has recently returned from a series of successful gigs in New York. He is widely recognised as one of the best emerging songwriters in Dublin. People have been calling him 'the new Christy Moore’ and Moore himself has been keen to promote his talent, but no simple label does this talent justice.
LoopDiLoop - "It's All Bells" - December 2002
 Christmas comes but once a year - thank God. It's not that I'm an Ebenezeer-like grouse with kids outside the halldoor singing "sourpuss, grumpy face, sourpuss, grumpy face". No, not at all. Is just that I don't like Christmas all that much. All that peace on earth (pa-rum-pum-pum-pum) and competitive shopping. It's just so not me.
And of course, with each Christmas comes the charity album (and we're not talking about dear old Joe Dolan, this is proper, registered charities we're talking about here). Or - increasingly - with each Christmas comes a plethora of charity albums, vying with one and other to prick your conscience and open your purse. The Palestrina Choir not quite being my cup of coffee, the charity album I'm picking this year is this one. It's All Bells (Jingle All The Way) offers not just a conscience clearer (and, in a pay-if-forward kinda way, lets you feel less bad about all the hangovers the festive season brings) it also offers a good snap-shot of the Irish indy talent that's out there today.
Damien Dempsey does his Streets-wise geezer-pop rasta-influenced take on Fairytale Of New York, with Sinead O'Connor (who's guesting on Dempsey's forthcoming long player) warbling away in the background. That auld cute hoor Sean Millar winds his way through Mel Torme's classic Christmas song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) with a wonderful mid-song rant that calls for love instead of the Great War on Terror that's coming. And Damien Rice strips Lennon's anti-war rhetoric down to bare minimalism, voice and guitar and it's odd how effective the song is stripped of its normal syrup.
And - in case you think that, kinda, maybe, you really should be buying the Palestrina Choir - there's a choral blast of Hark The Herald Angels Sing to give you that warm fluffy feeling all over that is the true spirit of Christmas.
27 year-old singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey is from Donaghmede on Dublin’s Northside.
His earliest musical influences were the post-pub singsongs that his parents used to have at their home when he was toddler. Good, bad or indifferent - everyone had to sing. Today, his unique sound reflects the influence of traditional Irish Sean-Nós as well as his musical heroes, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley.
When he was 16 Damien boxed for Dublin but he remembers not having many bouts, “I was 12 ½ stone and tall and there weren’t many others my age in my weight division at the time” he says.
After completing his secondary education, Damien went on to the Ballyfermot “Rock School” (a college specialising in music performance and industry study) for 3 years. The school had its own small record label and star students were rewarded with a release on the label. Damien was chosen for that honour. However, he wisely declined the offer of a contract with the label.
In 1998 after meeting Chris Byrne of Black ’47 who had recently opened “Rocky Sullivan’s”, an Irish bar in New York, Damien left Dublin at Chris’ invitation to perform at Rocky’s as well as pitch in behind the bar. He returned to Dublin after a hectic three months of working until 4 AM. He claims he came back to Dublin because the bars there closed earlier. His experience in NY is captured on the song, “NYC Paddy” that appeared on his first album.
“They Don’t Teach This Shit In School”, his debut album, was released in 2000 and established Damien as a fearless and confrontational songwriter. His coherent and compassionate lyrics illustrate Damien’s understanding of the human dilemmas that we all face.
Some quotes from the press about the album:
“…unsparing songs of urban life that bristle with pride and energy”
THE SUNDAY TIMES
“A record that is both personal and political, with a sense of humour to boot”
IRISH POST
“They Don’t Teach This Shit in School” really is a classic”
HOT PRESS
“…uncompromising Dubliner who is upping the ante on new Irish music”
London Evening Standard
“Surely heralds the emergence of a potentially great artist”
FOLK ROOTS
Damien toured his debut album and supported, among others, Shane MacGowan, Richie Havens, Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs), Christy Moore, Warren Zevon, The Dubliners, the Indigo Girls and Hothouse Flowers.
It was while touring with Hothouse Flowers in 2001 that Damien met producer and musician John Reynolds who persuaded Damien to come to London to record his second album. John introduced Damien to world-class musicians with a view towards giving the album a more universal sound than the first album. Applying this fresh approach to the recording, the album took 1½ years to complete.
In recent months, Damien has been the special guest of Sinéad O’Connor during her 2002/2003 UK and European tour. Currently, Damien is appearing and performing in an ad for Guinness and is featured in the RTE Network2 documentary, “Other Voices, Songs From A Room”. He is also supporting Christy Moore at 3 shows in Derry during March as well as 3 shows in Belfast during May.Damien’s second album “Seize the Day” is due for release in May 2003 on Clear Records. Produced by John Reynolds, the album features Rob O Géibheannaigh, Emmet Dempsey (Damien’s brother), Kieran Kiely (The Pogues), Justin Adams (Robert Plant & Jah Wobble), Sinéad O’Connor, Caroline Dale (Cello soloist/filmscores for “Truly, Madly, Deeply” & “Hilary and Jackie”), Clare Kenny (Indigo Girls & Sinéad O’Connor) and Brian Eno - all of whom are passionate supporters of Damien’s music.
Quotes from artists about Damien:
“Somebody who blew me away was this real Dublin rapper, Damien Dempsey”
LARRY MULLEN Jr. (U2) in Hot Press
“It’s angry, it’s humorous, it’s great music, it’s great lyrics… He’s similar to me as a songwriter in that he describes the way things really are, which is a pile of shit. But then he also sees the beauty that is Ireland, and that is Ireland’s past and that can be Ireland’s future.”
SHANE MacGOWAN
“Damien uses his own language. He’s not looking to Hollywood for his vernacular… When Damien reaches where he is going to reach, everyone will be totally supportive and will say ‘we always knew he’d make it - we’ve always loved him from the very start’. People are fickle”
CHRISTY MOORE
“As traditional Irish singers go, I don’t think there’s ever been anyone like him. Even Luke Kelly and all those people - they were good, but I think Damien just wipes the floor with them… In a way I think he represents the sort of voice in Ireland that is not allowed to be heard”
SINÉAD O’CONNOR
www.damiendempsey.com
Phutloose.com - Damien Dempsey - November 2002
Damien Dempsey is a 26 year old singer/songwriter whose body of work to date is an intricate, hard-hitting social commentary born of the streets of Dublin and coloured by his experiences in New York and London.
His unique sound draws from a wide range of influences including traditional Irish, Sean Nos, Bob Marley and Elvis.
The surge of his fan base can be credited to his powerful, poetic and emotional live performances.
Damien has spent the last nine months in the studio in London, working with producer John Reynolds on his new album, Sieze the Day.
As a testament to the support Damien has from fellow artists and the passion he arouses in them, the album features Rob Ó Géibheannaigh, Kieron Kielly, Caroline Dale, Justin Adams, Sinéad O'Connor and Brian Eno.
Album release date: January/February 2003
Lobby.ie - Damien Dempsey profile
DAMIEN DEMPSEY, one of Dublin's truly original talents, has just released his exceptional debut album. The album, the wonderfully titled "They Don't Teach This Shit in School", recently reached No. 3 in the Tower Records chart, and has met with a great response from critics and fans alike. The record was described as "a classic" and given a 10 out of 12 score by Hot Press, followed by serious features in The Sunday Times, The Irish Times, Folk Roots and The Event Guide.
Inspired by Luke Kelly and Bob Marley, Damien's music is brutally honest yet beautifully melodic. Driven by his new band, the record features a unique mix of stripped down rhythms, classic songwriting and haunting atmospheres. Damien sings loud and proud in an uncompromising Dublin accent. His songs are political, personal, full of wisdom, and often hilarious.
Damien has built a steady and fiercely loyal following through his live performances, and enjoyed a big hit with "Rolling Down to Dublin Town" a couple of years ago.
Damien's material is totally free of the usual singer /songwriter bedsit cliches: his targets include colonialism, the Gardai, boy bands and, in his more serious moments, the essential beauty of truth, integrity and self-respect.
New Year's Eve Party with Damien Dempsey
New Year's Eve Party with Damien Dempsey & Special Guest Miles Hunt @ Vicar St. December 31st
"Damien Dempsey writes about the streetlife of suburban Dublin, in all its glory and malice with an evocative and unsentimental affection rarely seen."
Liam Fay, Sunday Times
"Damien Dempsey has turned in a modern Irish classic...This is a wonderful record. Carpe Diem!" Eamon Sweeney, Hot Press
"It's angry, it's humorous, it's great music, it's great lyrics...he describes the way things really are - which is a pile of shit - But then he also sees the beauty that is Ireland, and that is Ireland's past and that can be Ireland's future." Shane MacGowan
28 year-old singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey is from Donaghmede on Dublin's Northside. He released his second album Seize The Day on Clear Records on 16 May 2003. It went straight into the Irish Album charts at No 5.
His earliest musical influences were the post-pub singsongs that his parents used to have at their home when he was a toddler. Good, bad or indifferent everyone had to sing and it was here that he first found his uniquely down to earth, but totally affecting voice. Today, his unique sound reflects the influence of traditional Irish Sean-Nós as well as his musical heroes, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley.
When he was 16 Damien boxed for Dublin but he remembers not having
many bouts, "I was 12 1/2 stone and tall and there weren't many others my age in my weight division at the time" he says. He also took up the martial arts.
After completing his secondary education, Damien went on to Ballyfermot College where he spent 3 years on a specialised music course. The school had its own small record label and star students were rewarded with a release on the label. Damien was chosen for that honour although he
declined the offer of a full contract with the label.
In 1998 Damien left Dublin for New York where he began performing at Rocky O'Sullivan's as well as pitching in to serve behind the bar. He returned to Dublin after a hectic three months of working until 4 AM - he claims he came back to Dublin because the bars there closed earlier. This experience was captured on the song "NYC Paddy" that appeared on his first album.
They Don't Teach This Shit In School, his debut album, was released in 2000 and established Damien as a fearless and confrontational songwriter ("...unsparing songs of urban life that bristle with pride and energy" The Sunday Times). His coherent and compassionate lyrics illustrate Damien's understanding of the human dilemmas that we all face.
Damien toured his debut album and supported, among others, Shane MacGowan, Richie Havens, Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs), Christy Moore, Warren Zevon, The Dubliners, and the Indigo Girls.
It was while he was on tour in 2001 that Damien first met producer and musician John Reynolds who persuaded Damien to come to London to record his second album. John introduced Damien to a host of musicians who could help to give the album a broader, more universal sound.
Damien was the special guest of Sinéad O'Connor during her 2002/2003
UK and European tour. Currently, Damien is currently appearing and
performing in a TV ad for Guinness and was featured in the RTE Network 2 series, "Other Voices: Songs From A Room". He was also supporting Christy
Moore at 3 shows in Derry during March as well as 3 shows in Belfast during May.
Damien's second album "Seize the Day" was released on 16 May 2003 on Clear Records. Produced by John Reynolds, the album features Rob O
Géibheannaigh, Emmet Dempsey (Damien's brother), Kieran Kiely (The Pogues), Justin Adams (Robert Plant & Jah Wobble), Sinéad O'Connor, Caroline Dale (Cello soloist/filmscores for "Truly, Madly, Deeply" & "Hilary and Jackie"), Clare Kenny (Indigo Girls & Sinéad O'Connor) and Brian Eno - all of whom are passionate supporters of Damien's music. The Single It's All Good, is released September 19th 2003.
"As traditional Irish singers go, I don't think there's ever been anyone like him.....In a way I think he represents the sort of voice in Ireland that is not allowed to be heard" Sinead O'Connor
Damien Dempsey plays Vicar St. on New Year's Eve, December 31st. Tickets are €29.50 and are available through Ticketmaster and other usual outlets nationwide.
Booking Line: 0818 719 390
DAMIEN DEMPSEY
@ Vicar St. October 11th
Guests- Louis Eliot & Stewart Agnew
After the success of his show at lisdoonvarna, Damien Dempsey Plays Vicar St.
“Damien Dempsey writes about the streetlife of suburban Dublin, in all its glory and malice with an evocative and unsentimental affection rarely seen.” Liam Fay, Sunday Times
“Damien Dempsey has turned in a modern Irish classic…This is a wonderful record. Carpe Diem!” Eamon Sweeney, Hot Press
“It’s angry, it’s humorous, it’s great music, it’s great lyrics…he describes the way things really are - which is a pile of shit - But then he also sees the beauty that is Ireland, and that is Ireland’s past and that can be Ireland’s future.” Shane MacGowan
28 year-old singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey is from Donaghmede on Dublin’s Northside.
He released his second album Seize The Day on Clear Records on 16 May 2003. It went straight into the Irish Album charts at No 5.
His earliest musical influences were the post-pub singsongs that his parents used to have at their home when he was a toddler. Good, bad or indifferent everyone had to sing and it was here that he first found his uniquely down to earth, but totally affecting voice. Today, his unique sound reflects the influence of traditional Irish Sean-Nós as well as his musical heroes, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley.
When he was 16 Damien boxed for Dublin but he remembers not having many bouts, “I was 12 1Ž2 stone and tall and there weren’t many others my age in my weight division at the time” he says. He also took up the martial arts.
After completing his secondary education, Damien went on to Ballyfermot College where he spent 3 years on a specialised music course. The school had its own small record label and star students were rewarded with a release on the label. Damien was chosen for that honour although he declined the offer of a full contract with the label.
In 1998 Damien left Dublin for New York where he began performing at Rocky O’Sullivan’s as well as pitching in to serve behind the bar. He returned to Dublin after a hectic three months of working until 4 AM - he claims he came back to Dublin because the bars there closed earlier. This experience was captured on the song “NYC Paddy” that appeared on his first album.
They Don’t Teach This Shit In School, his debut album, was released in 2000 and established Damien as a fearless and confrontational songwriter (“…unsparing songs of urban life that bristle with pride and energy” The Sunday Times). His coherent and compassionate lyrics illustrate Damien’s understanding of the human dilemmas that we all face.
Damien toured his debut album and supported, among others, Shane MacGowan, Richie Havens, Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs), Christy Moore, Warren Zevon, The Dubliners, and the Indigo Girls.
It was while he was on tour in 2001 that Damien first met producer and musician John Reynolds who persuaded Damien to come to London to record his second album. John introduced Damien to a host of musicians who could help to give the album a broader, more universal sound.
Damien was the special guest of Sinéad O’Connor during her 2002/2003 UK and European tour. Currently, Damien is currently appearing and performing in a TV ad for Guinness and was featured in the RTE Network 2 series, “Other Voices: Songs From A Room”. He was also supporting Christy Moore at 3 shows in Derry during March as well as 3 shows in Belfast during May.
Damien’s second album “Seize the Day” was released on 16 May 2003 on Clear Records. Produced by John Reynolds, the album features Rob O Géibheannaigh, Emmet Dempsey (Damien’s brother), Kieran Kiely (The Pogues), Justin Adams (Robert Plant & Jah Wobble), Sinéad O’Connor, Caroline Dale (Cello soloist/filmscores for “Truly, Madly, Deeply” & “Hilary and Jackie”), Clare Kenny (Indigo Girls & Sinéad O’Connor) and Brian Eno – all of whom are passionate supporters of Damien’s music.
The Single It’s All Good, is released September 19th 2003
“As traditional Irish singers go, I don’t think there’s ever been anyone like him…..In a way I think he represents the sort of voice in Ireland that is not allowed to be heard.” Sinead O’Connor
Damien Dempsey plays Vicar St. on October 11th. Tickets are €19.50 and are available through Ticketmaster and other usual outlets nationwide.
"Dublin Town is a song that is comprised of traditional instrumentation and a traditionally sung chorus, and so it comes as something of a surprise when the rap kicks in. But it's no normal rap – Damien Dempsey’s Irish lilt gives a distinct edge of originality. Musically it's an upbeat, jazzy tune that reminds of Van Morrison. Unusual, unique and enjoyable."
THEY DON’T TEACH THIS SHIT IN SCHOOL is an impressive debut by any standards. It was recorded over four hard-working days in Dublin by producers Trevor Wyatt and Ingmar Kiang and is the debut release for Wyatt’s newly formed Zinc Fence label.
A folk singer like no other, Damien Dempsey’s progression from Dublin busker to the leading Irish balladeer of today has been a colourful one. Lauded from the very start for his unique vernacular and very straight take on modern life, Dempsey is a voice for the disenfranchised, one of the very few who’s observing and commenting on what’s happening below the horizon in Irish society. As a result, ‘Seize The Day’ is a wonderful album, containing tracks like the anthemic ‘Negative Vibes’ and the soulful ‘Apple of my Eye’ which should really take him to a wider audience. He doesn’t shy away from speaking his mind (listen to ‘Celtic Tiger' or ‘Marching Season Siege’) making Dempsey one of those Irish artists in this for the long run.
Iris Magazine - Damien Dempsey "Seize The Day"
Kneel before contemporary greatness.
“Seize the day. Sure you don’t want no regrets when you look back. Seize the day. Sure at least you’ll know you gave this life a crack”
When I put Damien Dempsey’s latest offering, Seize the Day, into my cd player, I was happy. The rich sound of a man, a brogue, and a guitar sounded through the speakers, and, being a purist, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to begin. About 1:22 minutes into the first song, “Negative Vibes,” a drum beat began, and I got nervous. Ten songs and an hour later, I realized that my worry was unfounded. While Dempsey sounds best acoustically, this album is the next best thing.
Seize the Day is a solid sophomore effort that grows more appealing with each listen. It is filled with everything from reggae-infused accolades to Bob Marley right through to traditional, Bodhrán-beat Irish tunes -- sometimes mixing the two to create a surprisingly fresh sound.
There are many notable contributors on this album (including Emmett Dempsey, Brian Eno, Kieran Kiely, Clare Kenny, Caroline Dale, and Justin Adams), but perhaps the most notable is Sinead O’Connor, whose involvement in this album cannot be understated. Her voice comes through on several tracks, adding a dimension to the songs that moves them from merely interesting into extraordinary. This is especially evident on “It’s All Good,” a track that marries O’Connor’s gentle, flowing voice with Dempsey’s. The final result is brutally honest, while leaving the listener with a sense of hope. “And positivity, yeah, it is the way for me, yeah. It is truth”
“Ghost of Overdoses” is another stand-out track. It paints a haunting picture of a junkie’s life, questioning what will happen to the next generation: “All the ghosts, they walk their beats up to flats…where they lie in heroin hell. Little kids, they walk right through them. I just hope they don’t become them.”
There are other songs on this album worth mentioning: “Apple of My Eye,” “Great Gaels of Ireland,” and “Factories” among them.
The title track is hidden after the last song, “Marching Season Siege”: another simple, but extremely powerful song. “Marching down my street, right past my own church. Beat your drums of hate until your hands burst…I have many friends who come from your background, but they see through hate…”
Some critics have complained about the political nature of Dempsey’s lyrics, but that criticism is unreasonable. It is the political and social commentary that gives this album its strength and makes it so vital. Seize the Day is at once a history lesson and a snapshot of modern Ireland.
The album is not without its problems: namely that Dempsey has a tendency to try too hard when rhyming his lyrics. This is obvious in the first song “Negative Vibes”: “If I’m bad, ignorant and sad, why waste your time? You’re mad. You’re just mad because your life is sad…”
The track, “Jar Song,” is entertaining with its island beat and almost light-hearted story of famous Irishmen and their experiences with “the sup,” but the chorus borders on the annoying and is too childlike in its rhyme to be effective.
“Celtic Tiger” soars with Dempsey’s characteristically straightforward lyrics, but because it is spoken word, it would have made more sense as a hidden track. It simply doesn’t fit in with the rest of the album.
But those complaints are of little consequence when taken on the whole.
The intelligence and subtle wit of Damien Dempsey comes through in his songwriting. He is a modern-day poet, using Ireland’s turbulent past and uncertain future as his muse. His battle cry is one of remembrance, but also of the need to be strong and survive in order to face the challenges of the present day.
That Dempsey seems to have found his strength through music is of benefit to us all. Seize the Day is vibrant, lyrical, and, in the end, memorable. “Now I want you to be proud, and I want you to shout loud”
Angela Wade, June 2003
2FM - Damien Dempsey
28 year-old singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey is from Donaghmede on Dublin’s Northside. He released his second album Seize The Day on Clear Records in May 2003. It went straight into the Irish Album charts at No 5.
His earliest musical influences were the post-pub singsongs that his parents used to have at their home when he was a toddler. Good, bad or indifferent everyone had to sing and it was here that he first found his uniquely down to earth, but totally affecting voice. Today, his unique sound reflects the influence of traditional Irish Sean-Nós as well as his musical heroes, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley.
When he was 16, Damien boxed for Dublin. He also took up the martial arts. After completing his secondary education, Damien went on to Ballyfermot College where he spent 3 years on a specialised music course. The school had its own small record label and star students were rewarded with a release on the label. Damien was chosen for that honour although he declined the offer of a full contract with the label.
In 1998 Damien left Dublin for New York where he began performing at Rocky O’Sullivan’s as well as pitching in to serve behind the bar. He returned to Dublin after a hectic three months of working.
They Don’t Teach This Sh*t In School, his debut album, was released in 2000 and established Damien as a fearless and confrontational songwriter. His coherent and compassionate lyrics illustrate Damien’s understanding of the human dilemmas that we all face.
Damien toured his debut album and supported, among others, Shane MacGowan, Richie Havens, Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs), Christy Moore, Warren Zevon, The Dubliners, and the Indigo Girls.
It was while he was on tour in 2001 that Damien first met producer and musician John Reynolds who persuaded Damien to come to London to record his second album. John introduced Damien to a host of musicians who could help to give the album a broader, more universal sound.
Damien was the special guest of Sinéad O’Connor during her 2002/2003 UK and European tour. Currently, Damien is currently appearing and performing in a TV ad for Guinness and was featured in the RTE Network 2 series, "Other Voices: Songs From A Room". He was also supporting Christy Moore at 3 shows in Derry during March as well as 3 shows in Belfast during May.
Damien’s second album “Seize the Day” was released in May 2003 on Clear Records. Produced by John Reynolds, the album features Rob O Géibheannaigh, Emmet Dempsey (Damien’s brother), Kieran Kiely (The Pogues), Justin Adams (Robert Plant & Jah Wobble), Sinéad O’Connor, Caroline Dale (Cello soloist/filmscores for “Truly, Madly, Deeply” & “Hilary and Jackie”), Clare Kenny (Indigo Girls & Sinéad O’Connor) and Brian Eno – all of whom are passionate supporters of Damien’s music.
Damien Dempsey plays Vicar St. Live on October 11th. Tickets priced €19.50 and are available from Ticketmaster and other usual outlets nationwide.
claus.com - Isaac Butt, Dublin, 5 August 1999
"Yep, Damien Dempsey used to be known as just 'Dempsey' and he is the guy who had that single 'Dublin Town' out two years ago that got saturation play on 2FM. I heard the single, didn't like it, and wrote Dempsey off as some half-assed Dublin rap version of Christy Moore." Read the review
Dublinks - Damien Dempsey
Brilliant Dublin singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey plays Vicars St on the 31st of December.
Dempsey draws influence from an eclectic palette of musical styles ranging from folk to reggae to rap to traditional. As if Bob Marley was jamming with Luke Kelly and the Roots, he fashions all this into something that's unique to him and delivered in a thick Dublin accent.
His best-known song Dublin Town shot him to prominence in the Irish singer-songwriter scene a few years back and he has been building his audience with gigs in England and America. Massive Attack have recorded, but have yet to release their version of his song It's All Good from his debut album They Don't Teach this Shit in School.
Dempsey supported Sinead O'Connor at the Point in January. He has recorded with Shane McGowan, while Christy Moore is a big fan and Dempsey has also played support for the first men of Irish songwriting. He recently played a live set to a great reaction on Tom Dunne's Pet Sounds on Today FM, which included his own Angry Man and a cover of The Pogue's Rainy Night in Soho.
Time : 8pm.
Tickets : €29.50
Songs from the Backroom (Ireland)
Tues 8 McGrory's Culdaff 9.00pm €15/€12
A celebration of new Irish song-writing with Damien Dempsey and Nina Hynes from Dublin, both of whom feature on the "Other Voices-Songs from a Room" TV series and accompanying CD. Also appearing are Richard Gilpin of Letterkenny and The Plea, from Ballyliffen.
Damien Dempsey's quiet revolution is poised to go global. His debut CD "They Don't Teach This Shit at School" heralded the arrival on the Irish music scene of a very distinct new voice. His current release "Seize the Day" is at once challenging, entertaining, angry and brilliantly musical.
Dublinks - Damien Dempsey - August 30 2003
Brilliant Dublin singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey plays Stage II at Lisdoonvarna '03.
Dempsey draws influence from an eclectic palette of musical styles ranging from folk to reggae to rap to traditional. As if Bob Marley was jamming with Luke Kelly and the Roots, he fashions all this into something that's unique to him and delivered in a thick Dublin accent.
His best-known song Dublin Town shot him to prominence in the Irish singer-songwriter scene a few years back and he has been building his audience with gigs in England and America. Massive Attack have recorded, but have yet to release their version of his song It's All Good from his debut album They Don't Teach this Shit in School.
Dempsey supported Sinead O'Connor at the Point in January. He has recorded with Shane McGowan, while Christy Moore is a big fan and Dempsey has also played support for the first men of Irish songwriting. He recently played a live set to a great reaction on Tom Dunne's Pet Sounds on Today FM, which included his own Angry Man and a cover of The Pogue's Rainy Night in Soho.
Temple Bar Music Centre - Damien Dempsey
DAMIEN DEMPSEY - Thurs 9th
"Inspired by the likes of Bob Marley and Luke Kelly, Damien Dempsey - Dublin's uber-urban poet - is about to release his debut long player - a collection of songs that will surely shift him into contention as one of Ireland's romantic, yet fiercely uncompromising singer songwriters. Subtly entitled "They Don't Teach This Shit In School", the album was produced by Trevor Wyatt and Ingmar Kiang, and was released through the Grapevine/Ritz label late last month. Doors open at 7:30pm, admission is a snip at £7."
Damien Dempsey:
They Don't Teach This Shit In School
(Zinc)
Forget the Celtic Tiger, Boybands, Mobile Phones, Theme
Pubs and 00 Registered cars, says the press release for
Damien Dempsey's début; when you hear him rap in his
granite-hard Dublin brogue, you're thrown right into the tough,
rundown slums of Dublin, where even the Celtic Tiger is afraid
to wander. Dempsey is best known for the Northside reggae
shuffle of Dublin Town - and his earthy approach to music
makes him sound a bit like Dustin with a social conscience.
However, once you get past his thick, hard-chaw Dub
delivery, you begin to notice some sharp lyrics and pointed
observations in songs such as Colony, Seanachaí, I've No Alibi
and Bad Time Garda.
Kevin Courtney
local.ie - They Don't Teach...
 It’s taken Damien Dempsey a great deal of time to win over many of his more reluctant listeners, but ‘They Don’t Teach This Shit in School’ seems to have proved that he’s not just a passing trend. The slightly ropy version of ‘Dublin Town’ that was released a few years back didn’t do him any favours, but all is forgiven now.
The 11 songs are hard to tie down to any formula, which gives this album a clear advantage over many debuts. Although you’d find it hard not to hear where he gets his influences from, Dempsey has an ability to twist and contort tunes to fit his unique formula.
There are flashes of many great singers in his voice, but again his identity is too strong to be over-ridden by outside sources. Bob Marley and Christy Moore are two people who Dempsey obviously holds in high regard; the Reggae rhythms that Marley made famous appear on more than one occasion.
‘Chillin’ and ‘I’ve No Alibi’ are two of the tracks that stick with you long after this record has finished. These, and the best version of ‘Dublin Town’ that he’s recorded, make this an album worth taking a close look at.
Published by: Local Ireland
Year written: 2000
Copyright owned by: Daniel Hegarty
Miscellaneous reviews
"If your average 24 year old told you that Christy Moore called him up out of the blue, praised his work and asked him to play support at a couple gigs, you'd think you were dealing with a fantasist. But there's no bull to Damien Dempsey. " Hot Press March 2000
"Somebody who blew me away was this real Dublin rapper, Damien Dempsey", Larry Mullen Jnr, U2 Hot Press Nov 2000
"..can be wry tender and engagingly sarcastic in turn, a humour and a feeling for the dispossessed which would not shame other northside Dublin songwriters like, Phil Lynott, Luke Kelly or Ronnie Drew"
Ri-Ra March 2000
"They Don't Teach This Shit in School really is a classic" - HOT PRESS
"....unsparing songs of urban life that bristle with pride and energy" - THE SUNDAY TIMES
"Surely heralds the emergence of a potentially great artist" - FOLK ROOTS
"a record that is both personal and political, with a sense of humour to boot" - IRISH POST
"They Don't Teach..... a solid promising debut that should garner notice in both pop and folk circles"
- THE EVENT GUIDE
"a truly gifted musician with a sense of humour too, Damien is definitely one to watch" - EVENING HERALD
".....uncompromising Dubliner who is upping the ante on new Irish music" - EVENING STANDARD |
