About this podcast
In 1970s Ireland, the nation's youth were craving an escape - and music was going to provide it.
Over the course of the next few decades, what had been a gigging backwater was transformed into the centre of the live entertainment universe.
Fields of Dreams tells the story of that remarkable change through the trailblazers who made it happen.
Narrated by singer songwriter Róisín O, this 10-part series chronicles the rise of the festival and the extraordinary local scene that saw many Irish acts touch greatness.
With stories equally hilarious and infuriating, it's a portrait of success and failure and everything in between.
Episodes released weekly every week.
From the producers of the Stardust Tragedy, the Kinahans, This Is Your LOIfe and This Is Robert.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
- Booze, drugs... and rock & roll | 10 · 50 min · Season 1 Episode 10In the last episode of the series, we hear the story of rock 'n’ roll excess - drugs, booze and living in Lillie Bordellos. We go back to the beginning, hear the U2 double…
- Contract Killers | 9 · 51 min · Season 1 Episode 9This episode takes us inside the struggle at the top of the music tree. We learn why some massive Irish bands failed to make a cent from their careers despite their songs raking…
- Pop Culture | 8 · 41 min · Season 1 Episode 8Ireland goes pop mad as girl and boy bands dominate the UK charts, while Riverdance emerges as a cultural force. Rock n’roll Kids singer Paul Harrington takes centre stage as he…
- The Changing of the Guard | 7 · 46 min · Season 1 Episode 7Come with us in this episode to recall the astonishing rise of dance music which made Dublin the party mecca in the 1990s. We hear how U2’s the Kitchen and John Reynolds’ Pod…
- The Main Event- Féile | 6 · 40 min · Season 1 Episode 6This episode looks at the amazing story behind Irish kids’ right of passage - the Trip to Tipp. Mary Black tells us how she avoided being arrested, we hear about how the Saw…
- The Main Event- Slane | 5 · 42 min · Season 1 Episode 5This episode tells the stories behind the rise of Slane and Croke Park as Ireland’s major music venues. We hear why Bruce Springsteen lost the plot, how promoter Peter Aiken…
- Alternative Realities Part Two | 4 · 53 min · Season 1 Episode 4This episode hears some amazing stories behind the 1980s charity singles, the rise of Mary Black and why Whitney Houston couldn’t top the Irish charts. We hear how a Ramone’s…
- Alternative Realities Part One | 3 · 56 min · Season 1 Episode 3The astonishing rise of U2 as Irish cities become a hotbed of musical creativity in the 1980s. The Hothouse Flowers - labelled the hottest unsigned act on the planet at the time…
- The End of the Beginning | 2 · 45 min · Season 1 Episode 2The end of the beginning as the glut of new festivals are taken down by a combination of tragedy, money and competition. The mainly Irish line-ups become more international as…
- Out with the Old | 1 · 51 min · Season 1 Episode 1The story of what Ireland’s music scene was, and an introduction to what it would become. This episode introduces the grim 1970s, and the young people’s desire to leave the…
- Fields of Dreams- a new podcast on Ireland's music industry- out now · 2 minIn 1970s Ireland, the nation's youth were craving an escape - and music was going to provide it. Over the course of the next few decades, what had been a gigging backwater was…
