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Burke's Peerage

• Stuart Bailie
• 2 Nov 07, 12:33 PM

Anyone remember Noel Burke? He was a feature on the Belfast music scene in the mid ΅―80s, the singer with , who wrote fresh and amusing songs. I recall Noel in the Plaza Ballroom, talking passionately about Josef K, the Postcard label and the Go Betweens. He read his music papers and probably understood those post-modern diatribes from Paul Morley and Ian Penman.

Here΅―s the band in a publicity photo from the time, taken by the reliably cool Alastair Graham. That΅―s Noel on the right in the moleskin jacket. The band left for Liverpool soon after, and put out an album on Probe Plus, the label that had birthed Half Man Half Biscuit. The world was briefly aware of ΅®Love Me Love My Dogma΅― in 1987, and then St. Vitus stopped shaking.

Weirdly though, Noel got the job as singer with Echo and The Bunnymen, replacing the errant Ian McCulloch on the ΅®Reverberation΅― album. I think the rest of us were rather jealous, even if it wasn΅―t classic Echo material. That done, he settled into civvy street in Merseyside.

St Vitus reformed for a gig in 2005, and are currently attending to a new release, ΅®Glypotheque΅―. I΅―m enjoying the rough mixes, which find Noel crooning with gusto. He still writes a sweetly sprung line and the band chime and strum with obvious pleasure. If you like your Roddy Frame, your Smiths and your Orange Juice, then Noel΅―s got your number.

Stu Bailie presents The Late show on Radio Ulster, every Friday from 10pm until midnight. See his playlist here.

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