Cactus World News

Cactus World News is an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in April 1984. Founded by Frank Kearns (guitar) and Eoin McEvoy (vocals), the first full stable lineup also included Wayne Sheehy (drums) and Fergal MacAndris (bass).[1] They reformed in 2011 with a new lineup of Kearns, Sheehy and MacAndris, with Eoin Scott and Eoin Watkins. Their early influences were The Clash, Ramones, Talking Heads, U2, The Waterboys and R.E.M..

Cactus World News
Origin	Dublin, Ireland
Genres	Rock, new wave
Years active	1984–1991, 2011–present
Labels	MCA
Website	CWN website
Past members	Frank Kearns Feargal MacAndris Wayne Sheehy Eoin McEvoy

Cactus World News MCA records Publicity photo

Career

Their first release, and best known song was "The Bridge", which was produced by U2's Bono, and released on their Mother Records label. They toured the UK with The Cult in 1985 and signed to MCA Records.[1] They performed at the Self Aid concert in Dublin on 17 May 1986. The band released their debut album, Urban Beaches in 1986 and gained impact hits with its three singles: "Years Later", "Worlds Apart" and a re-recording of "The Bridge". It is a five star album iTunes USA [2] AllMusic gave Urban Beaches 4.5 out of 5.[3] All three singles reached the UK Singles Chart.[4] After their second album, No Shelter, was shelved in 1989, the band were released from their recording contract and underwent several personnel changes. MacAindris and Sheehy both quit in 1989. McEvoy and Kearns continued for a few more years, with various other band members coming and going, including Chris McGoldrick (bass), John Doyle (bass) and JJ Collier (drums).

In 2010 Kearns played guitar on three songs on the Australian band The Church's album Untitled #23 ("Dead Mans Hand", "On Angel Street", and "Operetta"). Praised for its moody yet strong songwriting, it has yielded some of The Church's best reviews of their career, including a 5 star review from Australia's Rolling Stone.[5] Kearns also contributed guitar to "Love Philtre" on the Church's 2014 album Further/Deeper.[6]

Discography

Albums

• Urban Beaches (MCG 6005, 1986; re-released with extra tracks 2001 on Red Coral Records/Universal music) - UK No. 56[4]
• Live - Spin Magazine Concert Series (MCA L33-17202, US 1986)
• No Shelter (1989, MCA; unreleased until 2004 on Red Coral Records)
• Found (2015, Red Coral Records)

Singles

• "The Bridge" (1985, Mother)
• "Years Later" (MCA, 1986) - UK No. 59
• "Worlds Apart" (MCA, 1986) - UK No. 58
• "The Bridge" (MCA, 1986) - UK No. 74
• "Rebound" (MCA, 1989)
• "Town Like This" (MCA, 1989)
• "Don't Let Me Down" (Rainbow, 1990)[4]

References

1. Henderson, Dave (1985) "Cactus World News Bridge that Gap", Sounds, 14 December 1985, pp. 26-7
2. "Urban Beaches by Cactus World News on Apple Music". Itunes.apple.com. 1986-01-01. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
3. Sutton, Michael "Urban Beaches Review", Allmusic. Retrieved 23 May 2016
4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 89. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-05-15. Retrieved 2016-05-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2016-05-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

• Official Facebook