1991ish Alternative Video ID - 120 Minutes

February 26, 2006 10:04 PM

Video from "120 Minutes" circa 1991? An irish band I believe, video was shot in black and white, and the one scene that really stands out is that there are a group of guys singing around a fire with a horse galloping in the background.

I have hope that this will be answered, as I've seen songs identified with less. I have no idea about the melody or any of the lyrics of the song. I just remember I liked it at the time. This may be a fuzzy, made up memory but I do seem to recall that the lead singer looked a bit like Mick Jones of The Clash and later Big Audio Dynamite. This has haunted me for 15 years - any help would be appreciated.

posted by Iamtherealme to media & arts (27 comments total)

This is a complete shot in the dark, but maybe The Levellers?
posted by amandaudoff at 10:06 PM on February 26, 2006

The Levellers definately ring a bell, but the video I'm looking for is for a song that is mellower than anything I've come across so far. I'm still searching though.
(thanks for the quick response - 2 minutes, wow.)
posted by Iamtherealme at 10:17 PM on February 26, 2006

Hmm. I dunno if Mick Jones ever shaved his head, but I think either Pain Lies on the Riverside or Operation Spirit (both by Live) had a video similar to the one you describe, and the period is right.
posted by Kwantsar at 10:19 PM on February 26, 2006

The guy had a deeper voice and the song seemed to have a quiet intensity. Perhaps it was earlier than 1991.....it was when "alternative" really meant "alternative". Definately before Nirvana's "Nevermind" came out, which was in September 1991.
posted by Iamtherealme at 10:23 PM on February 26, 2006

U2, New Year's Day
posted by prolific at 10:41 PM on February 26, 2006

Here's the video of U2's New Year's Day. The director was Meiert Avis and it was filmed in Sweden in December 1982.
posted by prolific at 10:45 PM on February 26, 2006

Thanks, but definately not New Years Day. This group never really made it past 120 Minutes as far as I know - definately never made it to international fame with a highly recognizable singer. I wish it were that easy. It was more folky than anything. I should have mentioned that they were SITTING around the fire, just singing. Three or four guys.
It had the same "quality" of folkiness and vocals as "Under the Milky Way" by the Church....but I can't for the life of me remember anything more specific about the sound. Now that I'm perusing playlists from 120 minutes, I see that I was watching it far earlier than 1991, so I would say it's from between 1988 and 1992, most likely earlier.
Thanks for all the help - I'm sorry I'm so frustratingly vague. Keep the guesses coming though - something will ring a bell eventually!
posted by Iamtherealme at 10:54 PM on February 26, 2006

A few shots in the dark.

"In a Big Country" by Big Country.

"Life in a Northern Town" by Dream Academy.

Maybe?
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:08 PM on February 26, 2006

You might want to start crawling the 120 Minutes set list archive to see if anything rings any bells. Combines with the iTunes music store for clips and you can probably find what you're looking for.
posted by alan at 11:45 PM on February 26, 2006

You know, I meant to post in the original post that I checked out the set list archive and nothing there rang a bell - I recognized most everything and that which I didn't quickly came back to me after listening to a snipet. There are some dates missing, and I've thoroughly enjoyed the archives.
posted by Iamtherealme at 11:57 PM on February 26, 2006

also check Hothouse Flowers , Waterboys and Black 47 who all had albums and buzz around them in the late 80's early 90's.
posted by stavx at 12:10 AM on February 27, 2006

My guess is "Send Me An Angel" by Real Life.
posted by First Post at 12:22 AM on February 27, 2006

Ah, sorry for being unintentionally ask.metafilter pedantic :)
posted by alan at 1:37 AM on February 27, 2006

Not at all - it was a very good suggestion since a lot of people don't try google as well as they should. And a great resource for those who read this and didn't realize they wanted to go to the site.
posted by Iamtherealme at 1:39 AM on February 27, 2006

Therapy? were a pretty big Irish alternative band in 91/92 and would have been on 120 minutes regularly. None of them look much like Mick Jones though.
posted by fire&wings at 3:51 AM on February 27, 2006

Echo & the Bunnymen: "The Cutter"
Sisters of Mercy: "Dominion"
posted by Smart Dalek at 5:09 AM on February 27, 2006

The Alarm: "68 Guns" ?
posted by gnomeloaf at 5:44 AM on February 27, 2006

Hothouse Flowers would be my best guess for "folky", 1991 and big enough back then to get on 60 minutes. Or maybe the Saw Doctors?

There were others comong through like An Emotional Fish, The Walls, Something Happens but they never even got much play in the UK as far as I remember so I can't imagine how they could have gotten to 60 minutes.
posted by jamesonandwater at 5:47 AM on February 27, 2006

A quick scan through the set lists for Irish bands reveals:

In Tua Nua
A-House
The Golden Horde
Fatima Mansions
posted by hippyboy at 5:56 AM on February 27, 2006

An Emotional Fish?
posted by bondcliff at 7:38 AM on February 27, 2006

Other Irish bands from that era:

Aslan
Cactus World News
My Bloody Valentine
posted by prolific at 7:48 AM on February 27, 2006

Sounds like A House to me...(too)
posted by shoepal at 8:41 AM on February 27, 2006

I'm gonna have to go with The Fixx "Stand or Fall", though I have no evidence to support this claim but a foggy remembrance of things past...(Googled to no avail)
posted by provocateur at 8:55 AM on February 27, 2006

Unfortunately, I only see a couple of instances of A House on 120 minutes, including A House "Endless Art" - July 26, 1992, so it prolly wasn't them, but just in case, are these the guys around the fire?
posted by shoepal at 9:02 AM on February 27, 2006

Children of Lir?
posted by fshgrl at 10:17 PM on February 27, 2006

Thanks for all the suggestions, but nothing has done it so far. I'm not certain that they were Irish, so guessing Irish bands, while I'm discovering cool music, doesn't feel like it's getting me closer. I was a pre-teen at the time, so while I interpreted Irish, they could've been Scottish, Welch or even British and I misinterpreted.
I was hoping somebody would recognize the video....a few guys sitting around a fire in the woods, with the singer looking at the camera and singing, and a horse galloping by in the background behind the trees. I think later they showed the horse galloping in a clearing. The whole thing was black and white.
Thing is, it was a more somber song than anything that I've been able to dig up from suggestions here. Think "Under the Milky Way." That was the feel to it - nothing manic or upbeat about it, and the music was fairly simple. Unfortunately, the video made more of an impression than the song. I missed the trailer at the end to tell me the name of the song, and never heard it since.
I'm not giving up though! Thanks for all the guesses and suggestions - I haven't looked up Children of Lir yet, so hope isn't gone.
posted by Iamtherealme at 2:06 AM on February 28, 2006

Decided to see what happened when I clicked "mark as best answer".....apparently, what happens is a cold fusion error. I'll try to unmark again in the morning, since....
I stiiiiiiill haven't foooouuuund what I'm looking for.
posted by Iamtherealme at 1:18 AM on March 3, 2006