Pic Iain White
2FM DJs Will Leahy and JJ Hartigan scored a PPI award at the weekend for their radio documentary ‘From Dance Hall Days to Boogie Nights – 50 years of the Irish Disco’.
by Eric FitzGerald
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The documentary, aired on RTE Radio One, celebrated Irish nightclubs from early beginnings in the Showband era, disco’s heyday in the late 70s and 80s, the club culture of the 1990s to its current battle to remain relevant in the 2010s.
Will Leahy got wonderful contributions and great yarns from Celia Holman Lee, Micky Mac, Joe Clarke, Paul Tarpey, Aoife Nic Canna and Jim Carroll among others for the programme.
Stories are told about the early Beat Clubs being condemned from the altar by the bishops and DJ Fatboy Slim having to stop his set in GPO Nightclub in Galway so the punters could finish their curry chicken dinner.
Will Leahy stated after the event that the award meant a lot to the Limerick duo. It was their first documentary for RTE Radio One.
“I’d like to pretend it isn’t a big deal, but it is! So thanks to Radio One who took a chance on two lads from 2FM thinking they could make a grown up programme, never having made one before.”
Will and JJ were on hand at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Galway to receive the award for Best Music Documentary. The duo made another excellent documentary during the year ‘The Trip to Tipp – The Untold story of Féile’ which aired over the August bank holiday.
At the event attended by over 700 guests the Music Special/Music Event Award was won by Spin South West for ALT, their weekly all Irish music show presented by Ray Wingnut.
You can listen back to the documentary here.
