On the record: Jim Carrollon music

When Rí-Rá opened on Dublin's Dame Court in June 1993, the club was one of several newcomers to the city during an intensive 18-month period when clubbing really was the new rock'n'roll.

Arriving a couple of months after the POD set up for business on Harcourt Street and before The Kitchen annexed the basement of the Clarence Hotel, Rí-Rá quickly became the funky and laidback club of choice for many.

Operated by Eoin Foyle and Jay Bourke, a duo with a Midas touch for establishing pubs and restaurants, Rí-Rá has seen many fads, fashions and competitors come and go during its lengthy tenure.

But there are changes ahead at Rí-Rá. Foyle and Bourke's Sherland Entertainments company has sold the club and its adjoining bar, The Globe, to pubbing giants the Thomas Read Group. The handover is due to take place in the coming weeks.

Confirming the sale, Foyle says he has no regrets about the move. "It has been great fun, but I think it's the right time to move on."

A DJ and promoter in Limerick, Galway and Dublin before joining forces with Bourke to start Rí-Rá, Foyle was closely associated with the club and its music policy down through the years.

"It was a struggle at the start because everyone else was playing house music and we weren't," he says. "But we stuck to our guns and then hip-hop and funk came back into vogue and we had some great years. Over the last couple of years, though, it has got a little tired."

It will be interesting to see what changes, if any, the Thomas Read Group will make to the popular venue. Before now, the company has been associated with running pubs rather than clubs. Foyle believes the group will continue with the club as it currently operates. Calls to the Thomas Read Group about the purchase were not returned.

Meanwhile, Foyle and Burke's Sherland empire continues to expand with the Gubu bar on Capel Street about to be transformed into another Café Bar Deli pizza and pasta joint. Foyle, meanwhile, hopes to confirm his involvement in another city-centre music venture within the coming weeks.

Season of the sell-outs

By the time you read this, the sold-out signs will probably be up for The Police's show at Croke Park in October.

It's shaping up to be that kind of season, with sell-out shows already for the Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, George Michael (right), Arctic Monkeys and Justin Timberlake (the last three acts have now added extra dates).

Add in the sold-out Oxegen weekender and a quickly decreasing stack of tickets for the Electric Picnic, and it adds up to a box-office bonanza for promoters.

However, some shows will inevitably struggle. While the European Central Bank's interest rate rises and increased mortgage payments can shoulder some of the blame for this slowdown, there's also a sense that punters are seeking value for money.

An Electric Picnic or Oxegen weekend with dozens and dozens of must-see acts versus a night out with grumpy old Damien Rice? No competition there.

Jammy way to cash in

Everyone has to make a living, which probably explains Irish dates in May for two ex-members of  The Jam trading under the name "(from) The Jam".

As Paul Weller has no intentions of doing a Police and rejoining his former band-mates, Bruce Foxton and Rick Butler have decided to go on tour using the Jam moniker. To be honest, "Foxton and Butler" sound more like a firm of estate agents.

The Jam without Weller joins The Doors - touring without Jim Morrison - as another ham-fisted, cynical and depressing example in how to squeeze a cash-cow. Our advice? Avoid.

Vote for Mundy

News that Blur drummer David Rowntree is to stand for the British Labour Party in a forthcoming by-election should provide food for thought for the Irish political establishment.

Jaded party hacks could feel it's time to take a punt on a couple of local indie stars in an effort to get the vote out. After all, there are only so many former GAA luminaries who can fit onto an average lamp-post.

So who'll be the first Irish muso to look for your number one? Our money is on that Mundy fellow.

Jim Carroll's blog

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