Page 16 - Zone Magazine Issue 020

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words by john doyle
A fundamental figure on Dublin's scene for the best part of three decades, Liam Dollard is far more than some museum piece held in reverence; as one of Ireland's most progressive DJs, the thought of being looked at in serene doe-eyed glances would probably make the usually calm and reasoned Dollard throw vinyl like frisbees at perpetrators of such cliche. As
his adventures advance into the spine-tingling heights of 2018, I caught up with Liam in his suburban Lucan surroundings and we discussed his fervent disc spinning escapades, those eureka moments in his fledgling 1980s London days, his early Ska, Soul, and Reggae influences, and the kind of sparkling anecdotes his sharp Dublin humour goes hand in hand with.
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" I was there from 1987 onward and I'd been immersed in the local house/club scene. Dj's playing those days included the likes of Paul Anderson, Danny Rampling,
Colin Hudd and Trevor Fung. "
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That trademark happy go-lucky smile greets me as I sit among the pressing quietness of Dublin's outer limits - an olive-green parka clad Liam Dollard arrives bar side, buzzing with the perennial passion he first experienced in his 1980s London days "I was there from 1987 onward and I'd been immersed in the local house/club scene. Djs playing those days included the likes of Paul Anderson, Danny Rampling, Colin Hudd and Trevor Fung. I enthusiastically collected their top 10s from the music mags and when I had a few bob saved, I marched into a record shop in chapel market in Islington, handed the lists to very happy record shop owner, bought a bunch of tunes, house music, garage, hip hop, downtempo, techno, a highly eclectic mix; I had my arsenal of sounds ready for when I returned to Dublin I suppose" Of course, as his clothing suggests, it wasn't just the electronic influences that shaped his ascent on Dublin's early 90s late-night scene "Yeah, I loved Ska and Reggae as well, " acknowledging the variety of muses that molded his youth, "though the Mod scene perhaps not so much, the nearest I got was a Harrington and a pair of red socks and loafers skanking to the Beat in the mid 80s" he smiles, our discussion veering towards the Style Council's ill-fated 1989 excursion into house music that leveled out their final days. His passion for vinyl and the soul-tinged sounds of his London days are still in evident, drawing a sip from his Smithwicks he pauses and recites underground names with the ease of Jimmy Magee going through an all time list of sporting greats; though Liam is anything but a retrospective figure, drawing from his early personal experiences and reflecting on the evolving nature of modern dance music where anything could happen right out of the blue "in London there were so many eclectic scenes going on, even before the house scene began, and I remember events the D.J. Tony Blackburn used to host, where he would play a selection of classic and lesser-known soul records"; "I also went to see the Pogues", he adds lighting the diversity fuse even more, "rockabilly gigs too, it was an amazing place where you could go to a different gig or club every night, The Wag one night, Dingwalls in Camden the next, Billy Bragg in The National in Kilburn the next, that kind of buzz, there was something on seven nights a week."
LIAMdol