Bagatelle were an Irish rock band that first formed in August 1978. They are known for their popular pop hits such as "Second Violin", "Leeson Street Lady" and "Summer in Dublin", their best known song.

Career

The band formed in Bray,

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Fellow Irish musician

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

commented on the impact that Bagatelle had on U2 in the early days of their career. Larry Mullen, of the same band, once said that he used to call them "Baga-Money", in reference to their fame, and that he wished that his band could be as successful as Bagatelle. Bagatelle shared stages with artists such as

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, Don McLean and Jose Feliciano. Their albums were produced by Phil Coulter and the late

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, " Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US N ...

, who also produced for

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and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

. Bagatelle appeared on the "Self Aid" concert in the mid-1980s with U2 and

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

. When the original Bagatelle re-formed the band in 1992, Polygram (now Universal), their record label, decided to release ''The Best of Bagatelle and Liam Reilly'', and followed this with Bagatelle Gold. The band returned to touring in 2010 and released an album of cover versions entitled ''Under The Covers''. Although the band never attained international acclaim, they remain a hugely popular band in their home nation of Ireland. However, the hit "Second Violin" was such a success in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

that it still remains popular today. The group's lead singer and principal songwriter Liam Reilly died unexpectedly on 1 January 2021, aged 65.

Discography

Albums

* ''Bagatelle'' (1980) ("Boat") * ''Bagatelle'' (1981) ("Waterfall") * ''Are We Keeping You Up?'' (1982) * ''Gold: The Best of Bagatelle'' (1985) * ''Cry Away the Night'' (1987) * ''Under the Covers'' (2010) Recorded and released on Irish record labe
Celtic Collections

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagatelle (Band) Musical groups from County Wicklow Musical groups established in 1978 Irish rock music groups Bray, County Wicklow 1978 establishments in Ireland 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music