Therapy?, NI outsiders on 30 years in the music business

Formed in 1989 the band’s story is one of dedication and endurance but also of a touching friendship between two east Antrim lads, Michael McKeegan and Andy Cairns.

The intense melodies of Therapy? combined with Andy’s dark and deeply introspective lyrics and Michael’s ‘Evil Priest’ nickname could easily lead you to draw the wrong conclusion.

Michael said: “People think, the music is dark and intense, they’re going to be really dark and intense.

“The most messed-up people I find are people in pop music. A lot of them are horrible twisted people with weird agendas and they become quite damaged individuals. Then they go on stage everything is rosy.

“It’s really the old cliche – never judge a book by its cover. With us the lyrics are kind of twisted, but there’s a big, dark sense of humour there.

“We let off steam when we go on stage and jump up and down for 90 minutes. You tend to be pretty chilled afterwards.”

When the band first got together in 1989 lead singer and guitarist Andy Cairns was a pupil at Ballyclare High. Michael, who attended Larne Grammar with Fyfe Ewing (the original drummer from Therapy?), wasn’t present for the band’s first recording though he was there in spirit.

He said: “Fyfe and I were in the same English class and would have traded records. He was in a band, I was in a band.

“His band and Andy’s band had played a gig at Jordanstown Uni. They had more in common than they did with their own bands.

“They did a demo together. I was there in spirit because Andy didn’t have a bass guitar so Fyfe asked me and I lent Andy my bass. Andy played it on the first demo.”

Michael soon joined to play his own bass and things clicked from the start: “Our first gig was at Giro’s supporting Decadence Within. It went down really well, I was flabbergasted.

“We weren’t trying to be U2 or Guns N’ Roses – those were the two big musical things at that time in 89, 90. I don’t mind U2 and I quite like Guns N’ Roses but we had our own little thing going on.

“You kind of gravitated towards anyone who liked something that wasn’t Bryan Adams at school. In Larne where I grew up the metallers hung out with the goths, the goths hung out with the indie kids and you heard Joy Division, The Dead Kennedys and Slayer. We clung together as musical outsiders.”

The friendship between Michael and Andy has extended more than 30 years: “I think I was 17 or 18 when Andy and I first met. When the first album came out I’d just turned 19. I’ll be 49 later this month.

“One thing we did find quite early on is that we tend to be huffers. We got that out of our system. If you don’t like something you say then, you don’t leave it for six months and have a meltdown in the middle of eastern Europe.

“There’s a lot of rock and rolls myths and stereotypes out there that people love. One of them I think which is not correct is that you need to have creative tension in a band. Maybe that’s works for one or two albums, but that burns itself out really quickly.

“It’s really great working together as part of the band, what I get out of it is quite special, I think I’m very lucky.”

Michael contrasted the crazy intensity when the band shared a house together in Belfast’s Holylands with the situation now where they all live in different parts of the UK.

He said: “I think there was one time me and Andy worked out over an 18-months period we’d been within 10 metres of each other every day with the exception of Christmas Day.

“Now I live in Larne, Andy lives in Cambridge and Neil (Cooper) our drummer lives in Derby. When we meet up there’s lots of interesting stories and different experiences to share rather than walk down the main street in Larne going, ‘oh there’s the lads’.”

On Fyfe, his original bandmate who left in 1996, he said: “I haven’t spoken to him since he left. We have friends in common. He’s doing alright I believe. He moved to Brighton, he’s been there 25 years now. He’s had very little involvement in the music business.

“It’s a real pity because he was such a great drummer, it’s just he couldn’t really get on with the lifestyle. Somewhere down the line we’ll meet again.”

Family man with attic of collectables

Last year Michael contributed a recipe to a celebrity cookbook to support his nephew Matthew who had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.

Michael said: “Matthew is doing well. The family is getting things back on track. It was a big thing, he’s still a bit traumatised as you’d expect but he’s doing well.”

Of family life at home in Larne he said: “My wife works full time so if I’m at home I’m daddy day care. The only downside is when I’m away, I’m away 24/7 so there’s a whole different set of challenges for my wife who’s an absolute saint.”

Asked if his children, aged nine and five, were excited about their dad being in an band, he said: “They saw us at a big festival in Europe which was great because they were at the side of the stage and they were able to see 20,000 people from the other side.

“They’re quite blasé about their dad being in a band. They’re not into music that much, they’re more into games, football and karate.”

Michael went on to discuss some of the Therapy? treasure trove (barely) contained in his attic: “I’ve got Fyfe’s original snare drum that he used on Babyteeth, the basses that I used on Troublegum. I’ve got a lot of the flyers, posters, tour passes and recordings and audio stuff I’ve kept over the years. The attic is a disaster area.”

In the early days of Therapy? a pair of denim dungarees were Michael’s stagewear of choice. Asked if still had them, he said: “I actually do. I’m quite pleased that I’d still fit into them but I never wear them.

“When we did the Troublegum shows a while ago there were some bets that they’d turn up again, but it didn’t happen for whatever reason. But never say never – right now I don’t think the world is ready for that.”

Michael explained that there were in fact two pairs of his trademark dungarees, one of them he referred to as ‘the good pair’ then immediately burst out laughing.

“Can you imagine denim dungarees after three weeks of touring?” he said. “It’s hard to find a 24-hour laundrette when you’re on the road. They were crunchy. I’m surprised they’re still in one piece.”

Dates cancelled due to pandemic

Therapy? have had to cancel some European tour dates later this month because of the coronavirus.

Michael said: “We’ve had to cancel where the crowds would have been above 1,000, some of the big festivals we were really looking forward to. As it stands we’re still planning to play some of the smaller shows unless told otherwise.

“It’s something that you just can’t account for. Gigs sometimes have to be cancelled because of illness or injury but this is beyond the band’s control. It’s a bit of a headmelt.”

Touring major European cities is a far cry from the band’s gigging schedule in 1989: “When we started there was the Warzone Collective in Belfast and Hope Promotions in Dublin. They worked in conjunction and would bring hardcore punk bands over like Fugazi and Concrete Sox.

“We knew the Warzone people and that led to us being invited down to Dublin to play with the likes of Babes In Toyland.

“They’d rent rooms above pubs for gigs, in Belfast they used the Art College and the Conor Hall.

“We were quite lucky to get in at that DIY stage.”

It’s okay not to be okay

Much is currently being done to raise awareness and funds for musicians suffering from mental health issues, particularly through Aware NI, PIPS and Help Musicians.

As a band Therapy? have been tuned into the struggle from day one with many of Andy’s lyrics exploring the pressures that weigh on the human mind.

Michael said: “It’s something that we’re all very aware of and very sympathetic towards. Being a young male in Northern Ireland there’s a bit of a ‘come on, man up’ vibe. That has been very damaging for a couple of generations now.

“There is a rock and roll myth that everyone’s an all-singing, all-dancing, all-fighting gunslinger – you roll into town decimate it and move on. It’s not really like that.

“I don’t think anyone hasn’t been touched by themselves or someone else who has had a mental health issue.

“It’s such a fragile thing. It’s right there, there just seems not to be the widespread acknowledgement that it exists and for treatment. It’s so underfunded. It’s a real tragedy.”

He added: “We’ve always had a lot of empathy, we take people as they are, we don’t have the answers, but we do try to let people know that it’s okay to not be okay.

“Just talk about it, talk to your friends, talk to someone, reach out. Thankfully that stigma is moving away.

“We’ve always been celebrating the outsiders – be yourself, do you own thing, what makes you happy, self preservation, looking after yourself.”

Michael continued: “It’s one of these rock and roll myths that people want their musicians to be messed up and die young and leave a pretty corpse.

“None of us subscribe to that at all.

“We like to have a good time when we’re on tour, but doing it for so long there’s a massive element of self preservation.

“It’s about doing a good gig. People don’t come and see you again if you’re stood there looking bored or hungover. It’s not pleasant for anyone – the player or the watcher.

“We all feel a big responsibility to put on a good show. There’s people who have seen us 20 plus times.

“We want every show to be as good if not better than the last time. You make a rod for your own back with that.”

• Therapy? will play the Limelight on September 26 to celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary

• To coincide with the ‘So Much for the 30 Year Plan’ tour the band re-recorded 12 of their UK Top 40 hits in Abbey Road with producer Chris Sheldon, who produced the original Troublegum album. Greatest Hits (The Abbey Road Session) was released on Friday