440 
Over those years they’ve shared a stage with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, both the BBC and the RTE
Coming to The Whale on Sunday, September 18th for an
Those tracks of Mal’s years…
Malachy Tuohy in full flight Pic: Cristina Arrigoni
t’s hard to believe that The Riptide Movement started out way back 
yonder in 2006 given that they still have that new-band smell.
t’s hard to believe that The Riptide Movement started out way back 
yonder in 2006 given that they still have that new-band smell.And yet, given the success of their five albums – What About The Tip Jars? (2009), Keep On Keepin’ On (2012) Getting Through (2014), Ghosts (2016) and Something Special (2019) – it feels like this Dublin band have been around forever.
Over those years they’ve shared a stage with the likes of The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, both the BBC and the RTE 
orchestras plus the crushingly benign Bon Jovi. Mal and co have also rocked the bejiggers out of Glastonbury, Electric Picnic and Benicassim.
orchestras plus the crushingly benign Bon Jovi. Mal and co have also rocked the bejiggers out of Glastonbury, Electric Picnic and Benicassim.We think they may have made up that last one.
Coming to The Whale on Sunday, September 18th for an 
unplugged and uninhibited night celebrating their 14 years together, we asked frontman Malachy Tuohy to reveal those songs that can still make him break down and cry…
unplugged and uninhibited night celebrating their 14 years together, we asked frontman Malachy Tuohy to reveal those songs that can still make him break down and cry…But firstly, let’s jump back to those early years when music first became the drug of choice…
The young, wide-eyed Mal
I wouldn’t say we were a big musical family in so far as no one really played an instrument in our house, but there was always sing songs or poetry recitations at family get-togethers, and everyone sang – including my grandad who was a great singer.
There was always music on in the house growing up. My parents had a great record collection and listened to a lot of Dylan, Cash and Cohen, whilst my two older brothers had good taste in music too, listening to bands like the Clash, Pink Floyd, The Cure, Pulp and Blur.
The first band I really connected with was Nirvana, and Nevermind would have been the first album that I bought for myself, but it was seeing Oasis live in The Point Depot in 1997 that was the catalyst for me. The very next day myself and my friends set up our first band called The Relic, and our first gig was not long after that. It was a big one too; we got to play a half-hour set at our local no-name disco to around 400 people.
The first band I really connected with was Nirvana, and Nevermind would have been the first album that I bought for myself, but it was seeing Oasis live in The Point Depot in 1997 that was the catalyst for me. The very next day myself and my friends set up our first band called The Relic, and our first gig was not long after that. It was a big one too; we got to play a half-hour set at our local no-name disco to around 400 people.I remember been so nervous before that gig, but then when the gig actually started I loved every second of it and after that I was hooked.
I was in a few other bands after The Relic – one called The Seratones and another called Crimson Lizard – and then, in 2006, we started The Riptide Movement. And that’s when we moved to London to try and land a record deal.
Luckily, we met Tony Colton, a musical legend from the late ’60s and ’70s, a great songwriter and producer who had written, produced and collaborated with legends such as Rory Gallagher, the Allman Brothers, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. Tony came to Ireland and produced our first album, What About The Tip Jars?.
Pic: Cristina Arrigoni
