Alternative Ulster history on display

From Dana to Stiff Little Fingers, Ruby Murray to Therapy? - Northern Ireland's music industry is being featured in a new exhibition in Belfast.

Memorabilia including platinum discs, vintage stage gear, lyric sheets and film footage are going on display in the Cathedral Quarter.

The man behind the exhibition, former NME assistant editor Stuart Bailie, said popular music had never been taken seriously in Northern Ireland.

"It's always seen as a wee hobby, something you grow out of, while for me it's a really legitimate art form," he said.

"Cultural tourism is a huge growth area for Northern Ireland and there's only so many paramilitary murals you can look at"
Stuart Bailie

"Some of the things that people have recorded here, be it Teenage Kicks, or some of the output of Snow Patrol or Ash, I think stands up there.

"People like Van Morrison have contributed massively to the way we're regarded in Northern Ireland and put a real positive shine on a story that hasn't always been very positive."

Stuart said the legacy of Northern Irish music was very fragile, with people throwing out old records and newspapers.

"I'm the one who goes around collecting them all in charity shops and keeping them in the house," he said.

"So the idea is, it should all go into an exhibition, it should be celebrated, it should be documented and that's what we're trying to do here."

He said the exhibition had been surprisingly easy to put together.

After putting out an appeal for material, music fans and artists came forward to donate records, posters, t-shirts and even guitars.

As well as appealing to local people, Stuart said he hoped it would bring in tourists to see the history of Northern Ireland music.

"Cultural tourism is a huge growth area for Northern Ireland and there's only so many paramilitary murals you can look at," he said.

"Why not show them something a bit more upbeat, some great music that they can buy and take home with them and get inspired by."

The exhibition is to run for the rest of the year and it is hoped it can be expanded and run well beyond that.

And Stuart's favourite piece of memorabilia on display?

"My personal favourite is a guitar from Therapy? which Andy Cairns smashed on stage at (Queen's University's) Mandela Hall in 1992.

"It's in two halves, but that tells you everything you need to know about the band Therapy?" he said.

• The Belfast Music Exhibition can be viewed by the public between noon and 3pm at the Oh Yeah Music Centre, Gordon Street, in the Cathedral Quarter. From May it will be open on Sundays from 2pm to 6pm