Thursday, Mar. 16, 2023

7:30 pm Doors, 8:00pm Show

$15 ADV | $17 DOS

CANCELED

Presented by:
Triple D's

  • Protex

  • Protex

    Formed in Belfast in 1978, Protex were early pioneers of the Belfast Punk Movement. Signed to the now legendary Good Vibrations label, their debut release received great reviews and enjoyed widespread airplay on Radio 1. They quickly came to the attention of Rough Trade Records, who released Don’t Ring Me Up to wide acclaim. This in turn led to the band signing for Polydor Records, who released the singles I Can’t Cope, followed by I Can Only Dream. 1979 saw the band take to the road with the Boomtown Rats before embarking on two extensive tours of their own throughout the US and Canada in the early ‘80s. An album was recorded with legendary producer Chas Chandler, who’d worked with, among others, Hendrix, The Animals and Slade. However, the band weren’t happy with the result and after a final release, A Place in Your Heart, the band and label parted ways, Protex splitting soon after. Fast Forward to 2010, when New York’s Sing Sing Records located the Polydor recordings and released the album ‘Strange Obsessions’ on vinyl, igniting renewed interest in the band. Founders Aidan Murtagh and Dave McMaster reformed the band and shows followed across Europe before the band were invited to tour Japan. Protex continued to tour intensively and in 2014 were invited to play the prestigious South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. They returned the following year and have become regulars at the festival, often playing there as part of larger US tours. In 2016 Protex concentrated on completing the album Tightrope and signed to Bachelor Records. Tightrope was released in early 2017 before the band returned to the USA with a tour that began with a sold-out New York show and finished with a festival appearance in San Antonio. With touring on hold during the pandemic the band concentrated on recording a new album, Wicked Ways, released on Bachelor Records in August this year. And with tours already coming together for Europe and the US, 2023 is already looking like another busy year for Protex.