Author Archives: Nick Kelly

Aoife Nessa Frances – Geranium

Flower power.

Dublin singer/songwriter Aoife Nessa Frances (top) is in bloom with the new single from her debut album The Land Of No Junction which dropped in January.

Its spectral indie folk vibe has drawn comparisons with Angel Olsen.

The video was directed by Cait Fahey and Anna McCarthy.

Nick says: Heavy petal.

Aoife Nessa Frances

Feck yer fancy Spanish storms.

With St Patrick’s Day now just a matter of weeks away, I am compiling a St Patrick’s Day Playlist which will be posted on Broadsheet on March 17.

And I have a shamrock-friendly Golden Discs voucher worth €25 on offer for the best of YOUR suggestions.

To enter, simply tell me below what song by a foreign artist about Ireland should I include?

The winner will be chosen by my Irish setter.

Lines MUST close at 6am Saturday!

Nick says: Go n’eiri an bothar leat.

Golden Discs

Golden-voiced Dublin singer/songwriter Niall Thomas headlines a special charity night upstairs in Kavanaghs’ bar in Stoneybatter, Dublin 7 from 9pm.

Also on the bill are former Idiots singer Brian Mooney and Snorkel aka cellist Mary Barnecutt, who released a fine album as Mary And The Pigeons in 2016 called Into Air.

Nick says: See you there!

Kavanagh’s, Stoneybatter


 This is How We Dance by David Diebold (above) is 52 pieces of ‘flash memoir’

‘Strangest of all, perhaps, is the family backdrop  in which David discovered that his sister was actually his mother, and his real father, a former roadie with American hit band Three Dog Night, who he tracked down with an investigator, was a top movie special F/X man…’

Do you read?

Dublin author David Diebold’s new book ‘This Is How We Dance‘, launched in The Gutter Bookshop by Tom Dunne this week.

The book is enjoying rave reviews for its 52 pieces of flash memoir: short, deeply personal stories, some hilarious, some sad, that delve into the author’s past.

I’m giving away a copy of the book to one lucky Broadsheet reader.

To enter, simply tell me below what is your favourite memoir and why?

The winner will be chosen by my translator.

Lines MUST close at 4.45pm EXTENDED until 6pm 9.30pm!

Nick says: Good luck!

This Is How We Dance By David Diebold

Read an extract here

The votes are in.

Last week, with two tickets to the WORLD premiere screening of the new Boomtown Rats documentary in Dublin’s Cineworld on Parnell Street, Dublin 1 on March 3 on offer, I asked you to name you favourite Rat (or Geldof solo) track.

You answered in your tens.

In fact, so strong were the entries I am giving two extra tickets to a joint winner.

Third Place:

Banana Republic by The Boomtown Rats

Rosette of Sirius writes:

 I could say that like it because It was also written by Pete Briquette. Clearly his nickname was the funniest and coolest from back then. But no. Or I could say I like it for its acerbic portrait of the Ireland we grew up in. But no. I like it because of the change in style from the punky new wave sound of their previous records to the emerging ska and reggae sound from the early 1980s.

Joint Winner:

When The Night Comes by The Boomtown Rats

Scottser writes:

When the night comes, the last track on the Fine Art of Surfacing. It’s that album’s Rat tTap – long, complex and multi layered. It’s a song about the prison-like routine of 9-5 living delivered in frenetic and dynamic style. Check out the guitar break, where Spanish and electric guitar play out a cool little dance – it blew my 12 year old mind when I heard it first.

By the way, my first gig was seeing the Rats in Leixlip (1980). I’ve also owned The Fine Art Of Surfacing on every single medium, even Mini Disc FFS. And today is my birthday. Seriously.

Joint Winner:

This Is The World Calling by Bob Geldof

Seamus Hogan writes:

My dad had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer It was constantly on the radio here in Ireland, those very poignant lyrics…. ‘Close your eyes and sleep tonight’. Still give me chills even after all these year’s thank you Bob for helping me through a tuff tuff time.

Thanks all.

Last week: Win Nick’s Tickets


Cormac O Caoimh – I’m In Need

Greetings from the People’s Republic.

Cork singer/songwriter Cormac O Caoimh (top) revels in thoughtful, introspective lyrics with a quirky bent.

This jazzy tune is the first single from his new album Swim Crawl Walk Run which Cormac is launching with a gig in Cork’s Kino on May 15.

His fifth LP features contributions from Martin Leahy and Aoife Regan and a co-write with Greenshine‘s Mary Greene.

Nick says: Going swimmingly.

Cormac O Caoimh