AIDAN WALSH - MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE

A FILM BY SHIMMY MARCUS
(CLARENCE PICTURES / LET’S NOT LOSE IT PRODUCTIONS)

Of all the would-be-but-weren’ts from the anals of Dublins underground history, it’s curious that long after the initial joke had worn off, that there was still something festering about the records, the antics, the music, the planet of Aidan Walsh. Like a pre-karaoke nightmare, Aidan Walsh landed himself a much sought after committal to vinyl, and much to the disdain of the fetid echo-pedal-paisley shirt order of the day - He filled the grooves with junk - The most throwaway curios - and yet for all the pseudo-literary criticism given by way of explanation from the abhorrent Gavin Friday, Simon Carmondy, Guggi Rowan et al, there was no intellectualisation necessary. Aidans greatest fucked up artistic statement - himself - could never possibly have been created by such coked self-congratulators... reason being that their combined minds could never have construed something this weird. Aidan is Brendan Bowyer on acid, quintessential batman villan - the joker, Liberace with his knuckles broken, Elvis with his tongue cut out.

AIDAN WALSH - MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE is a 70 minute voyage which gathers autobiography, psycho-analysis, pop culture and socio-economics under one roof. It veers from the difficult and intensely personal to the public and the media, mapping the course of Aidan’s life and antics. Shimmy Marcus, a former bucket wearing member of Aidan’s backing band, built upon the story as it was told on Aidan’s “ LIFE STORY OF MY LIFE “ album 14 years ago, only this time unearthing past demons and providing a sometimes informative outside retrospective. Strangely, the most interesting stories come, not from the musicians who aided and abetted him, but his former Temple Lane business partner and subsequent nemesis Paddy Dunning.

But this is not an exercise in glorification - I mean, nobody in their right - or wrong mind actually wants to be Aidan - it’s kind of a default tale... one that stumbled upon Temple lane Studios, the Community Games, a record deal, and probably every underground band in the early to mid ‘80s in Dublin. There’s an interesting
(if all too brief) clip of My Bloody Valentine rehearsing - Which makes you wonder what else was videoed but left in the archives - The film would definitely have benefited more from whatever footage of Temple Lane Aidan shot (and I suspect there’s probably more) - as the target audience for this film comprises mostly people who’ve impacted the subject through music.

Still, to any one of those bystanders who’ve gone - Who the fuck’s yer man with the electric blue safari suit - anyone who’s ever robbed one of Aidan’s many hats - Anyone who’s contemplated those sideburns - this is another small link to a bygone era of Irish unpopular ‘80s culture... and for the sake of debate, it’s no less important than the Blades or the Outcasts or Ruefrex or Golden Horde or Paranoid Visions were to the greater picture.

- BOZ