Author Roddy Doyle, Tim Burgess of The Charlatans, Suggs of Madness and Mike Scott of The Waterboys are among those who have written about their favourite albums for Punks Listen, a new book from Dublin's punk/DIY team The Hope Collective.
The book features more than 200 essays from musicians, artists and members of the music industry and it has been published to raise funds for the Red Cross Ukraine Refugee Appeal.
Horslips drummer and writer Eamon Carr, Henry Rollins, Andy Cairns of Therapy?, Mike Watt of Minutemen, Kevin Godley of 10cc, and Stephen Rapid of The Radiators and Trouble Pilgrims also wrire about the key records in their life.
It follows Hope Collective’s 2017 book, In Concert: Favourite Gigs of Ireland's Music Community, released to raise money for Syrian refugees and which saw €5,000 being donated to the Red Cross Syrian Refugee Appeal.
This was followed up in 2020 by Great Gig Memories From Punks and Friends, a book to assist the NHS workers and patients during the Covid-19 pandemic, which raised €10,000 for the NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Appeal.
The not-for-profit Hope Collective have been active in the Irish punk scene since the late eighties and have promoted gigs in Ireland by Fugazi, Chumbawamba, Green Day, The Membranes, Therapy? and Babes in Toyland among many others.
Punks Listen was lunched earlier this week in Whelan’s of Dublin and Michael Murphy of The Hope Collective said, "It’s been a really difficult and stressful few years for just about everybody.
"Sometimes we felt like it was all too much. What could people like us do to make a difference? What could we do to help the Ukrainian refugees?
"We did a small thing - we contacted some of our favourite authors, musicians, and music people. They did something that really mattered to us - they took time and wrote really moving pieces about their favourite records and gigs.
"When you put all of them together it’s a really meaningful collection. It proves that you can find help in surprising places when you reach out."
The Hope Collective’s Niall McGuirk added, "In times of stress and worry you reach out to your community for help. When we saw what was going on in Ukraine, we felt we needed to reach out to our friends to show some solidarity.
"We are two punks from Dublin trying to express sympathy and empathy in a world that at times feels like it’s gone mad. We reached out for help and the response has been incredible.
"Music motivates us to try to change things and we found comfort knowing the extended music community are ready to help. We asked what their favourite record is and here’s what they wrote"
Punks Listen is priced at €19.00 and is available from The Hope Collective.
