The Chalets

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The Chalets on stage at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow during their 2006 tour.
The Chalets on stage at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow during their 2006 tour.

The Chalets are an alternative pop five piece from Dublin, Ireland, formed in 2001, by a group of friends from a design and fashion background. Standing out like a flashing beacon among Dublin's dreary rock scene, the Chalets "look" has become as important as their music.

Comprising, as the joke goes, two girls, two boys and a drummer, the Chalets have formed a unique niche for themselves on the Irish rock music scene by performing spiky, twisted pop music with blackly humorous lyrics. The obvious sense of fun that the Chalets bring to their live shows is in stark contrast to many of their more self-important contemporaries in Dublin.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Following a late night in Dublin’s heaving and sweating Thomas House pub, Paula (Pee Pee) and Chris (Chris) found themselves dancing and singing into lampshades ‘til the early hours of the next day. That’s all it took to convince Chris that Paula would be a perfect addition to a band he’d just started with two school friends - Enda (Enda) and Dylan (Dilbot).

Paula insisted there was no way she was going to be the only girl in a loud and smelly rehearsal room. So she dragged mutual friend Caoimhe (Pony) along for moral support. With two out of the five members now being female it was only natural that the girls got their own way in all matters so jeans and t-shirts were instantly banned. Eh, no they weren't. Costumes were sewn and a broad-minded, fun-loving pop philosophy was adopted.

Ever since The Chalets have been causing a stir on the live scene winning rave reviews and packing out venues along the way; turning heads with their unique blend of sex, pop and gritty rock. So much so that after surprisingly few headline shows, they were the talk of a whole bagful of towns and, in Ireland, won the BEST NEW BAND award at 2005’s Meteor Music Ireland Award in February 2005.

The Chalets’ first release was a split 7” (alongside Neosupervital) of “Two Chord Song” on the independent RoadRelish label (with artwork by The Chalets, of course!). It was quickly followed by a AA side 7” released in March 2004 on Nasty Pop/Setanta and featuring “Theme From Chalets” and “Sexy Mistake”. “Sexy Mistake” was instantly chosen by MTV as the soundtrack for the MTV branding campaign in Ireland. “The Nightrock EP” followed in October (the first release on CD) and the lead track “Nightrocker” was used worldwide outside of the U.S. in the trailer for the recent release of the film Madagascar.

The band were selected by the Irish government to represent Ireland by travelling to Slovenia in 2005 to take part in the celebrations for the country's adoption into the European Union.

They did the music for the new series for teenagers on TG4 'Aifric'. A show which is now quite succesful and recently won an IFTA

[edit] Trivia

  • Chris also works as a graphic illustrator for numerous magazines. See ChrisJudge.Com
  • The name of the band came into being during the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in East Sussex, 2001 when a number of the future members of the band found themselves sharing the chalet accommodation at the festival.
  • Their songs "Theme From Chalets", "Nightrocker", and "Sexy Mistake" have all been used on Grey's Anatomy. "Sexy Mistake" is even on the second season's soundtrack.
  • They share members with the Warlords of Pez and frequently include the Warlords of Pez logo in their videos or when they perform on stage.
  • A young Dublin band called The Resolutions recorded a cover version of "Feel The Machine".

[edit] Members

  • Chris Judge – lead bass
  • Pony (Caoimhe Derwin) – singer
  • Dylan Roche – bongos
  • Enda Loughman – guitar
  • Peepee (Paula Cullen) – singer, songwriter, wikipedia editor

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

  • Two Chord Song:
    • 2003 Vinyl limited edition. Double A-side with Neosupervital
  • Theme from Chalets/Sexy Mistake:
    • 2004 Vinyl limited edition. Double A-side single
  • Nightrock EP:
    • 2004 CD EP featuring:
      • Nightrocker
      • Kiss Chasing
      • Love Punch
      • David Boring
  • Feel the Machine:
    • 2005 CD Single featuring:
      • Feel the Machine
      • Fight Your Kids (live)
  • No Style:
    • 2005 CD Single featuring:
      • No Style
      • C'est Supercool
      • Where Did You Get Yourself?

[edit] Compilations

  • Other Voices 3:
    • 2005 GoGo Don't Go

[edit] External links

The Chalets
Chris Judge | Caoimhe Derwin | Dylan Roche
Enda Loughman | Paula Cullen
Discography
Albums: Check In
EP's: Nightrocker
Live Albums: (None as yet)
Singles: Two Chord Song | Theme from The Chalets/Sexy Mistake
Feel the Machine | No Style
See Also: Art Brut