Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
I ONCE WAS BLIND BUT NOW I SEE
So I’m out walking the dog, listening to a guy from Limerick who wears a bag over his head chat about paint pigments – and why, during the renaissance, blue replaced gold as the most expensive colour. Previous to that he’d been talking about otters. Later, he’d introduce a segment on Japanese City Pop, presented by his pal, who happens to be an uptight trout. The weirdest thing about this experience is that it didn’t seem weird at all. Because this is The Blindboy Podcast, presented by Blindboy Boatclub, one half of the Rubberbandits. The Rubberbandits first caused a stir by almost topping the Irish charts with ‘Horse Outside’, a song during which a man attempts to impress a potential mate despite not owning a car. A few months later I’d watch them use their opening slot on the main stage at the Oxegen music festival as an opportunity to say mass. And if you’ve seen the new Trainspotting movie – the video Renton and Sick Boy watch during which a character’s head suddenly inflates – that’s Blindboy rapping.
So yeah – it’s no surprise that this lunatic’s ramblings are a tad unpredictable – or that have ended up the most listened to Irish podcast of all time. It’s also no surprise that it’s incredibly informative and super smart stuff. The podcast actually started life as a spoken word version of ’The Gospel According to Blindboy’, a collection of short stories released at the end of last year. The book is utterly bonkers from start to finish, totally surreal and often a curiously uneasy read. There’s one story in particular will stick with me for a long time – and it’s recounted in episode one of the podcast. A guy called Erskine Fogarty returns home to Limerick from Dublin, post Celtic Tiger, broke and insane. But he’s proud of his one remaining procession which he proudly carries on his back – an American style fridge freezer. Hearing Blindboy recount this tale, with a gently throbbing and faintly sinister soundtrack beneath – needless to say, it’s a memorable listen.
A few episodes in, Blindboy acknowledges that his publishers aren’t super happy with him simply reading chapters of his book every week in this – a free download. But the podcast is huge at this point – topping the Irish charts – so Blindboy wants to keep it going. So now, he simply talks about whatever’s on his mind. As a result, it’s a bizarre outlet for fact nuggets, random trivia and thoughtful musings on the modern world.
Blindboy has reinvented himself as a social commentator of sorts, often appearing on chat shows to talk about mental health. It’s something he touches upon quite a lot during the podcast, and it’s always candid and useful. It’s also a further indication that- beneath the lunacy and his obsession with small, semiaquatic creatures – Blindboy is an extremely intelligent and articulate guy. He’s also capable of making just about any topic – from the sublime to the ridiculous – sound extremely interesting.
It’ll be interesting to see where this guy goes next. His music has proved extremely popular, as has the numerous Rubberbandits TV appearances, mostly on RTE. As a live act they’re outstanding and his book is now a top seller, having received universal critical praise. Not bad given we’ve still no idea what this guy actually looks like – or indeed why and how he’s ended up a most unusual spokesman for an entire generation.