I've been a Sugababes fan since I first heard Overload way back in 2000. It was, and still is, a pop classic. Over the years, I managed to catch them live a couple of times. The first time I caught Sugababes live was way back at Creamfields 2002. Unfortunately Siobhan had left the band by then and been replaced by Heidi, so I never got to see the original lineup. Did it matter much at the time to me? No, not at all, I was just their to party! As a side note, post Sugababes, Siobhan went on to release two solo albums, Revolution in Me in 2003 and Ghosts in 2007. The next time I saw them was at Oxegen 2008, and by then Mutya had left the band and was replaced by Amelle, leaving Keisha as the only remaining original member. It was a tad strange seeing the band with only one remaining member, but again, it was a festival and all we were looking for was a good time, which we definitely got! Another side note, just like Siobhan, Mutya went on to release her own solo work, a gr
Merchy Christmas, in The Grand Social, serves two purposes. First and foremost, it gives music fans a chance to meet some of their favourite artists and to buy their merch. Stickers, Posters, Beanies, Baseball Caps, Scarves, T-Shirts, Hoodies, Tapes, CDs, Vinyl... Whatever you wanted, you could find!
The second purpose of Merchy Christmas is to help raise funds for the Simon Community. If you're not aware, the Simon Community is a charity which helps homeless people. It's incredible that we have a housing crisis in Ireland. It seems to be a mix of greed, mismanagement and, well, ineptitude. If you couldn't make it to Merchy Christmas, but would still like to make a donation, just click here.
On Friday, Merchy Christmas put a call out for photographers to attend the event. I couldn't make Saturday, but said I'd be there Sunday for a few hours. I met up with some old friends, made some new friends and took some pretty photos. I came home a lot poorer finically from this, but the craic was great and I got to catch-up with some great folk, so it all balances out!
Anyway, time for some photos. First up it's the wonderful Daire Heffernan:
Next up was the fantastic Krea (yes, that is Karen from Wyvern Lingo):
And finally, the brilliant Carslbad.