Getting Notions

The Island Years

Jay Selby (bassist for Weavers of Fate): I had known Eimear from her hanging around at rehearsals, but nothing could have prepared me for what I witnessed that night in the King's Gambit.

Raymond Silver (Lead guitar and vocals): She blew us all away. Her voice had this otherworldly sound to it, that added so much to the songs. I had written One More, for example, about a batch of muffins my girlfriend at the time had made. She turned that on its head, made it this ballad about rushing into relationships due to a fear of being alone, by changing maybe 2 lines? It was at that moment that I knew, she was going to be the one to set this band apart from everyone else. It's like when you have someone who's never heard of Black Sabbath, but you show them a picture of the band, and they'll still point to Ozzy and say "He's the one the band's about." Eimear was that for Weavers.

Sandie Stevens: When we wrapped up on stage, Eimear turned to me and said,

"No way am I doing that for you again."

I was so confused, the crowd had loved her, and seeing her up there, she had loved performing. She had a gleam in her eyes I had never seen before, but I know damn well how it felt. I was about to argue, when she went on,

"Next time, I'm singing my own songs. Tell Ray he can't write for shit."

Jay Selby: When Tim was in the band, I was on a different level than the other three. Sandie and Tim were together, making them the electric duo, and Ray was the goldenboy. You couldn't help but hate him for it, he's a good looking chap, and he could play a few cords and the ladies would swoon. Tim would never consider anything I brought to the table, the early songs were so boring to play, I basically played one note for the entire setlist. I always assumed that was the bassist's lot in life, to blend into the background. The bass wasn't as cool as the guitar or something. But with Eimear, everything changed.

Raymond Silver: Eimear seemed to sense that Jay was feeling left out, so she always made a point of making a big deal of him, like when it came to introducing the band, she would really hype him up, called him 'The Master of the Groove", and that sort of thing.

Sandie Stevens: She let him write more complicated basslines, and gave him his time to shine at some stage during the gig. She was really great like that. Sometimes you forgot that she was still a child, she was the most mature of the 4 of us. I mean, Silver was still sleeping with a teddy bear well into his 30's.

Raymond Silver: Oh, she really brought Frankie into this? I told her that in confidence!

Jay Selby: When we got the Island deal, we were told to go to Richie Dunnett if we needed anything.

Sandie Stevens: Bloke was the biggest twat I had ever met.

Raymond Silver: At every turn, he tried to get Eimear to sleep with him. It got to a point where he threatened to get us dropped if she didn't.

Jay Selby: That was the thing in the industry. You find an awful lot of nonces.

Raymond Silver: I couldn't stand by at let her be harassed by such a pervert. But I also didn't want to risk the band's future.

Sandie Stevens: He spoke anonymously to an insider for Rolling Stone. Made sure Dunnett would never get a job in music again. It was a massive scandal at the time when it came out. I'm surprised he never took us to court over it.

Spokesperson for Richie Dunnett: My client states that the accusations made against him in 1969 in a Rolling Stone article were false, and defamatory. He insists that he never acted suggestively toward ms. O'Rourke, and continues to wish the late singer's family and friends all the best.