Brand New Retro – Fashion at The Central Hotel 1960
With revamp building work now underway at the closed Central Hotel, it’s hard not to get nostalgic and reflect on the good times spent there.
Brand New Retro: Creation
The decor at Creation House took inspiration from Berlin too. It was modern, elegant, sleek, sophisticated – just like Creation magazine, whose office and photographic studios were conveniently located on the third floor of their Grafton Street building.
Brand New Retro: Christmas Presents Past
From tins of biscuits and tobacco to packets of cheese and nylons, Brian McMahon of Brand New Retro takes a quick look at vintage adverts for Christmas gifts produced by leading Irish manufacturers.
Brand New Retro: The early days of video and KillianM2 TV Archive
Rent or buy? Betamax or VHS? Brian McMahon asked Greg Molloy, the man behind the KillianM2 TV Archive, to tell us more about the early days of video and this new and exciting period in home entertainment.
Brand New Retro: Turn On The Heat
“Without central heating it was almost impossible to keep a home warm. The main room could have a roaring fire of coal, slack, turf or wood but the rest of the house remained cold.” – Brian McMahon, Brand New Retro
Brand New Retro: Dublin Discos Exhibition
The Brand New Retro exhibition on Dublin Discos 1965-1980 goes on display at The Other Hand Bar (The Circular) 536-538, South Circular Road.
Brand New Retro – HB Ice Pop Culture
It’s ice pop weather right now so, what better time than to revisit pops from the past courtesy of Brand New Retro.
Brand New Retro: Dublin Discos 1965 – 1980
Discos first surfaced in Dublin during the beat club scene, of the mid 1960s… but the game changer came in 1968 when two young entrepreneurs, Michael Ryan and Michael Murphy opened Sloopys, a club with lavish sound and lighting dedicated to the disco, with live music coming second.
Brand New Retro – Tokyo Olympics
In the early 1980s, young bands like Duran Duran, ABC, Japan, Spandau Ballet, Freeze, Modern Romance and Haircut 100 stormed the Irish pop charts with a new kind of dance music. Our only successful homegrown counterparts were Tokyo Olympics, Ireland’s most famous new romantic band.
Brand New Retro: Ireland – the Holiday Island
Best read while listening to a red headed woman playing a harp.
Brand New Retro – Top Tips for Christmas
Brand New Retro collates some top tips for the perfect Christmas…
Brand New Retro: Classic Irish Logos 1999-2006
The unearthing of an old computer hard drive containing hundreds of Irish logos and designs from the Celtic Tiger era has led to the production of a new zine and t-shirt.
Brand New Retro: John Byrne – Advert Records
Brian McMahon talks Irish advert records with John Byrne the DJ, record collector, writer and archivist who put together the excellent Quare Groove compilation album in 2018.
Brand New Retro: Survival in a Nuclear War
“While reading Surviving in a Nuclear War, I couldn’t help noticing how similar the messages were to those delivered during the Covid-19 lockdown.”
Brand New Retro: ENVIRO 70
Enviro 70, four years before the Guaranteed Irish campaign, three years before we joined the EEC and 39 years before IKEA arrived in Dublin.
Brand New Retro: Package Holidays (1966-1970)
JWT brought affordable holidays to the masses and was the first company to advertise package holidays on Irish TV. Almost 60 years later, it is still in the travel business today.
Brand New Retro: Mr Pussy (Alan Amsby)
In 1969 English entertainer and female impersonator Alan Amsby, aka Mr Pussy, Ireland’s “leading misleading lady” came to Ireland for a week and stayed forever.
Brand New Retro: Vintage Christmas Adverts
This month we present a selection of vintage Christmas adverts promoting long-standing Irish food and drink brands.