The AGOFR SuperGroup

Colin Boy Who Trapped The Sun (Vox, Hiding Under Stage)

AGOFR Supergroup in the beer tent at Sounds In The Grounds, August 22 2009: L-R : Iain Froagaidh Beag, Iain Dead Olac Guirean Jr, Jason "Iain for Tonight" Dun Ringle, Iain Wattie Dun Ringle, Iain Bomber Beag

The AGOFR Supergroup is a fluid collective of musicians from the Avante Gaelic Obscurist Folk Rock scene's premiere bands - The Guireans, The Dun Ringles, Frogaidh Beag, Zing-Pop, Sheep Purple, Cyclefoot, Coinneach & CJ's Accountants of Rock, L*n*rd Sk*n*rd and many more. .

The Supergroup were formed to play Stornoway's prestigious Sounds in the Grounds festival in 2009, as part of a 1-date world tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the invention of Avante Gaelic Obscurist Folk Rock.

How exactly they got the gig at SITG is not entirely clear. AGOFR acts were conspicuously absent from the festival  in previous years, due to the organisers' understandable desire to put on proper bands that were good and that people would like. Every year, AGOFR bands would complain bitterly to SITG head honchos Innes "The Post" Morrison and Jori "Garcia" Kim about not being asked to play. Every year they would make dire threats to stage a disruptive rival AGOFR festival nearby at the same time. And every year, these threats would come to nothing, foiled by apathy, incompetence and suspiciously well timed doses of the spùt within the AGOFR community.

In 2009, however, devious Guireans manager Coinneach "Balallan Klein" Livingstone spread a rumour that the Dun Ringles had got a weekend loan of the Wh*'s PA system in return for Jason letting R*g*r D*ltr*y have a morning's fishing in Grimersta. Equipped with this titanic sound system, a ragtag assortment of the island's AGOFR bands were said to be planning a mega-decibel "Midges of Rock 2009" anti-festival on top of Gallows Hill. While Sounds In The Grounds had a pretty fleekeen impressive rig in the big tent, it seemed that top proper bands like Malcolm Middleton, the Hazy Janes and Our Small Capital would be rendered inaudible by the din from Gallows Hill.

Completely taken in by Coinneach's preposterous disinformation, Innes offered the AGOFR bands a single slot in the SITG beer tent, in return for a promise not to hold the AGOFR festival that they weren't going to hold anyway.

Expecting to be ignored as usual, the AGOFR bands were caught on the hop by Innes's offer. A mixed set of Dun Ringles, Guireans and Frogaidh Beag numbers was quickly assembled, and a single practice held in Dead Olac's garage in Sandwick. The full story of the resultant dismal performance can be found in Charles Shaader Murray's review for the Newvalley Musical Express.

Inexplicably, the video of the closing number "Airidhbhruach" - shot from a low vantage point by Wattie Dun Ringle's wee cove Dougie while he keeps getting pushed around by big drunk people - became a viral marketing type phenomenon on Ewetube, and led to unprecedented (ie some) press interest in the Lochs Column of the Gazette, Events and even Iain X Maciver in the Press & Journal. Fleek's sake!

Buoyed by their unprecedented "success", the Supergroup went on to play a second gig, supporting the already legendary Murderers of Love in their debut live outing in the Woodland Centre on 12 September 2009. Murderers frontman Innes The Post (see above), riddled with Morrisey-esque insecurities and first gig nerves, chose the AGOFR Supergroup in the certain knowledge that no matter how bad the Murderers were, they couldn't be that bad.  As it turned out, the Murderers played a blinder of a set, featuring highly original material delivered with precision, virtuosity and panache. (Check out "No" and "This Is Scotland" on Youtube) And first support Tim Durbin (with Sean Harrison), performed a poignant set of lovingly crafted acoustic originals and covers.

AGOFR Supergroup Support the Murderers of Love at the Woodland Centre, 12 Sep 2009. L-R : Jason Dun Ringle (behind speaker), Dead Olac Guirean Jr, Wattie Dun Ringle, Wee Bomber (behind Wattie), Roddy Huggan Guirean, Froagaidh Beag.

Not surprisingly the AGOFR Supergroup let the side down, dishing out pretty much the same incoherent racket as the last time, but now with extra frontcove Roddy Huggan Guirean adding to the chaos. Check out Jori's "Scene" Review for the full story.

Furious at having failed to cash in on the earlier Sounds In the Grounds phenomenon, Guireans manager Coinneach resolved to get a live recording of the Supergroup this time, and hired top goth producer Annie "Bac Magic" Macphail to fly in from Laxdale and capture the set. Macphail came equipped with the highest-tech most expensive mobile studio rig that Coinneach's money could buy... an old Sony walkman with a wee microphone, and a cassette that had only been used a couple of times before.

Bacach Goth Chic: AGOFR Supergroup Producer Annie "Bac Magic" Macphail (Left) and engineer Tonalda "Coll upon The Evil One" Macleod in the studio, circa 1983. Probably at an early session by Suainabost Death Cult.

Pressing the record and stop buttons at exactly the right time, pointing the microphone in roughly the right direction and remembering to change the cassette over when it reached the end of Side A, Macphail employed the same dazzling production skills that characterized her influential 80s work with Baaa-haus, The Sisters of Murchaidh, Dolag Can Dance and The Mission (House). Check out the mp3s!

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