This Randalstown based band started life in 1978 as The Urban Rejects. As Noel McKillen recalls “We played at our school, where everyone was present in the assembly hall. This would be the biggest crowd that we’d ever played to haa haa”. Unfortunately the original drummer and guitarist didn’t quite cut the mustard, as they were more into their rock music than pUnK!

So, After FX were formed with, Brendan Dowd, vocals, John Mckernan, lead guitar, Noel McKillen bass and Dennis Carey at the drum stool. After FX played mainly local gigs but did venture as far as Omagh too. Original songs in their set included ‘Sod the Queen’s Justice’, 'Join The Professionals’, Minute Men’, ‘It Will Happen’, ‘Street Bomb’ & ‘H-Bomb Love’ ‘Death in Belsen’. They also performed a raucous rendition of the Kinks ‘You Really Got Me’ in their set.

Despite the fact that the band were all 16 & 17 year olds, that didn’t stop them arranging a memorable gig with The Outcasts & Control Zone (Omagh) at Randalstown Recreation Hall. Noel again “Over a 100 people turned up. To us it was like the famous Ulster Hall gig that John Peel compared, immortalised in the Good Vibrations Movie. There was a power cut durning the Outcasts set and at that point we thought there was gonna be a riot as a few local, drunken Sinn Fein supporters had turned up. They weren’t there to hear the music! I can clearly remember Getty taking his belt off discreetly, whilst still onstage, readying himself incase it all kicked off. However, there were too many punks there for the faint hearted bully boys. This didn’t stop them loitering around outside, after the gig though, waiting to pounce on anyone they thought might be an easy target. However, when Paddy Devlin pulled out the chainsaw from the boot of a mates car, they quickly dispersed. What a finish to a great night”.

After FX folded in the early 80’s when Brendan got a job abroad and John split to Cardiff University.

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