Blaze X (1979–1981) were an Irish new wave band. The band was formed in

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

by friends Paul Cunniffe and Paul Ralph. They released a single in 1980, "Some Hope" which became

Larry Gogan Lorcan "Larry" Gogan (3 May 1934 – 7 January 2020) was an Irish broadcaster working for RTÉ. He was a disc jockey on RTÉ Gold having previously worked on RTÉ 2fm. His show was ''The Golden Hour'', during which he played old favourites a ...

's 'hit song of the week' on

2FM FM or Fm may refer to: Technology and computing * Adobe FrameMaker, document processing software * .fm, country-code top-level domain of the Federated States of Micronesia * FM Towns, Fujitsu personal computers * Foundation model, a large m ...

. Its B-side, "Rippy", about serial killer The Yorkshire Ripper was banned by the

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

. Their highest profile was when they supported U2 in Leisureland in

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. Frontman Paul Cunniffe went on to have a solo career in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, but died in 2001. Guitarist

Davy Carton Davy Carton (born 10 April 1959) is a singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist from Tuam, County Galway, in the Republic of Ireland. He is best known as a core member of the Saw Doctors, the folk-rock band he co-founded with Leo Moran and othe ...

went on to form

The Saw Doctors The Saw Doctors are an Irish rock band. Formed in 1986 in Tuam, County Galway, they have achieved eighteen Top 30 singles in the Republic of Ireland including three number ones. Their first number one, " I Useta Lover," topped the Irish charts ...

. Following the death of Paul Cunniffe, a CD of their songs was released in 2003. It features various live tracks recorded from a gig in the scout hall in Tuam, and tracks recorded in the RCF studio in Ballybane,

Galway City Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

References

External links

Irish Rock Discography: Blaze XThe Saw Doctors – Official WebsiteYouTube - Only known footage that exists of the band
Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 Irish punk rock groups Musical groups from County Galway 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music {{Ireland-band-stub