A to Z of N. Ireland Punk Bands

RE'BEL

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Re’bel were formed in West Belfast in late 1981 early 1982 by Fergal Keenan. Fergal recruited Marty Lenane on guitar, Fergal was a bass player. Barney McReynolds (Otherwise known as B) was quickly recruited as the front man. Finally, the line up was completed by drummer Gerard Pauley.
The band were soon out gigging at venues such as The Clubhouse on the Glen Road and the Manhattan Bar in Belfast city centre. Re’bel also played a gig in Dundalk, organised by Titch Rafferty, at the time, front man of Suburbanites, a Newry based band (see their band bio on our site for further information).
Another legendary support slot in the band’s history is recounted by drummer Gerard “At one point B took a couple of weeks holiday with his girlfriend in the Birmingham area in England. He bumped into Colin and Jock of legendary Birmingham punk bnad GBH. B had the gift of the gab and sweet talked them into letting us play with them. A few weeks later the four of us went to Birmingham and stayed nearby in a town called Corby. We duly played support to GBH and Peter and The Test-Tube Babies. It was quite mad there was a lot of skinheads there to see Peter and the Test-Tube Babies and there was loads of fights. We didn’t get paid for that gig but the prestige was good enough for us. We were on top of the world when we return home to Belfast.
Re’bel recorded a demo on the Lisburn Road in Belfast, but the band were very disappointed with the sound quality on it. Around four tracks were recorded, including ‘Dead of Night’, ‘Trapped’ & ‘Police Oppression’. Gerard recalls “They were shit quality, the guy just didn’t have good gear. You could hear the Chef’s arguing in the takeaway that was next door! We were charged £30, what did we expect”
Re’bel folded in late 1983. Front man B had just had enough and wanted to do his own thing. He never went on to play with any other bands after Re’bel. The remaining three members were about to call it all day too until a friend of Gerard’s told him of a singer, a skinhead Call Philip Doherty who was in a band called The Evicted, which had just fallen apart. It seems like an unlikely allegiance but all three of us joined him. (see The Evicted bio on this site for more information).
And that was end of the story until 6th August 2012, when all four original members met up at a Stranglers gig in the Andersonstown Leisure Centre, Belfast. They all felt that it was fate and decided to have a Re’bel reunion. Unfortunately B wasn’t interested, so they started practising as a three-piece and Fergal got his nephew, Liam McDonald in as singer.
This line up played around six gigs around Belfast and one in Sligo, sharing the bill with fellow Belfast band Hardcase. However, the band eventually drifted apart again. The did however manage to recorded a two of their old songs, ‘Dead of Night and ‘Trapped” with legendary local producer Mudd Wallace (R.I.P.) which the band were very pleased with.
Marty later teamed up with Petesy Burns, Donal McCann and Jimmy Gilmore to form A.R.S.E. a punk covers band and currently plays with The Hoakers
On 29th March 2022 Spit Records released Shellshock Rockers Vol. 3, a compilation CD of previously unreleased tracks, all salvaged from old cassette tapes. This included a 1982 Re'Bel track entitles 'Police Protection', which can be heard below.

If anyone has any furhter photographs of this band, then please DO get in contact via spit77to82@aol.com