That time in 1996 when everyone wanted to be Irish

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iJuddles@reddit

There’s no fucking way you’re gonna get me to hit play. I’ve managed to never see more than a few seconds of this and I’m not going to change that today.

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It’s actually pretty impressive. This sequence was the finale with all the dancers. As the person in this thread who operated one of the cameras for this video said the pounding as they’re all stomping the floor in unison is unlike anything else. I know how you feel though because I used to let preconceived notions keep me from experiencing new things. I missed out on a lot of 90’s pop music that slaps hard because I decided that they weren’t worth listening to even once.

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Maximillion666ian666@reddit

Literally me when I got shit faced at my wedding party. My mother in law still jokes about it

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ZweitenMal@reddit

Michael Flatley, from Orland Park, Illinois.

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paolooch@reddit

No way, is he really?? My wife is from there. She’s always talking about the Irish influence in that suburb but don’t know if she knows this…

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ZweitenMal@reddit

Yeah his parents were immigrants but he grew up there.

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Sintered_Monkey@reddit

And now he's in Blackbird.

How embarrassing.

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velvethead@reddit

Embarrassing does not do it justice. Possibly the vainest vanity project ever.

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katfromjersey@reddit

I had to look this up. Just, wow! It also stars Eric Roberts, who according to IMDb has 760 acting credits to his name. Not sure if that's good or bad.

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Sh00ter80@reddit

His legs flail about as if independent from his body!

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elphaba00@reddit

I had to scroll too far for that reference :)

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ScreenTricky4257@reddit

Michael Flatley IS Lord of the Dance!

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Judgy-Introvert@reddit

Born to Irish parents who moved to the US from Ireland.

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Necessary-Peace9672@reddit

Right after the Gregorian monk phase!

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w30freak@reddit

And just before the Celtic Women phase.

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Blessed_Ennui@reddit

Leave Loreena McKinnit out of this.

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w30freak@reddit

I did? She wasn't in the group to my knowledge.

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Blessed_Ennui@reddit

I thought she was always grouped into that Lilith Fair trend.

I was joking, but I stand corrected. My bad. Dumb joke.

Carry on.

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w30freak@reddit

Nah, it isn't a dumb joke. I see where my comment could be misinterpreted. I meant Celtic WomAn, not women. I can see where it can be read as the whole trend rather than a group. 😁

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kellzone@reddit

Don't forget Swing Dancing.

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SheriffBartholomew@reddit

That was a far better phase

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FlyAwayJai@reddit

OMG Enigma. Haven’t thought about them in years.

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ajtreee@reddit

Ha , combined. Chanting and RiverDancing.

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john_browns_rifle@reddit

His legs flail about as if independent from his body!

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BucktoothedAvenger@reddit

This was just Tapdancing at the POA. Not impressed. Never will be.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

That's so interesting! I'd love to hear all about the other things you don't like, but I'm sure your social calendar is full...

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BucktoothedAvenger@reddit

It actually is 🤣

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trainsacrossthesea@reddit

Although I have Irish blood, I was more attracted to the swarthy, gritty realism of the Gypsy Kings.

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JenMartini@reddit

Ugh, I had a coworker around that time who was so excited about getting tickets that she had to tell us when she saw the Irish dancing Folgers commercial in the morning.

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Cazmonster@reddit

We owned a copy on VHS and watched it often for like a year or so.

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LaVidaYokel@reddit

The hell we did although the river dancers weren’t as obnoxious as the fucking swing kids.

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General_Tso75@reddit

Speak for yourself. I was a college junior and thought that dancing was the dumbest shit ever.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

How interesting

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General_Tso75@reddit

Insinuating everyone liked this is a hell of a fabrication.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

You’re right “Everyone cool” is what I should have said.

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WanderingArtist_77@reddit

I saw it live, just after Flatley left and they brought in Colin Dunne. I must admit to liking Dunne's style more than I ever liked Flatley's.

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ChrisPrattFalls@reddit

I actual saw this live

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

I’m jealous

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Kicktoria@reddit

I wanted to learn Irish dancing so much when I was a little kid. There was a family at my school who did it and when they would do little performances, I was crazy jealous.

In....97 or 98, I did an adult Irish dancing class (one of those "continuing education"-type classes) which culminated in a dance recital, so eventually I got my wish

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JibbityJabbity@reddit

I saw River Dance and Lord of the Dance. I was hooked!

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black65Cutlass@reddit

I saw Lord of the Dance live in Indianapolis, it was a good show.

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mtempissmith@reddit

I've only seen the DVD alas but I liked it. As full of himself as he may be Flatley is a great dancer and showman.

I saw an interview with him once after a show where he was sitting there with a bin full of ice and water just soaking his feet. He showed the person interviewing him and his feet were just beat up to hell. He had to soak them all the time because he just abused them so badly...

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black65Cutlass@reddit

It was a good show. My girlfriend at the time got me tickets for it. I do believe his feet were beat up after doing that for hours. I wasn't a screaming fan or anything, but I enjoyed the Riverdance show that I saw on PBS and The Lord of the Dance was good too.

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ike_tyson@reddit

Nah not everyone. This was comedy for some of us.

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I_Dont_Like_Rice@reddit

No, no one wanted that, lol. It freaked everyone out back then, too.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

“No one” “everyone” I guess it was just my mom who bought 3 million copies

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Punched_Eclair@reddit

Ya, no. Not ever and certainly not due to this. Hate it now, hated it then (much to the chagrin of a couple of the ladies.....oh well).

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

You seem like an interesting and fun person to be around

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MothsConrad@reddit

Wasn’t it 1995 they appears at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin?

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

It was. But once they saw how well received the interval was they put together a full show and that led to a touring show and all that takes time.

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mdflmn@reddit

How many IRA movies were there. It was like a new one each week.

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blackpony04@reddit

They say every time Sean Bean dies in an IRA movie, a Riverdancer is born.

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Willy_the_jetsetter@reddit

Nah, hated the whole thing right from the start. And Flatley was an annoying ****

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ajtreee@reddit

Needs monks chanting.

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HangryPangs@reddit

The pirate blouse and the Liver Dance

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landmesser@reddit

Wait, there is more!!! Michael Flatley went on to use the money he made to make a film, starring himself!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWwnHRPHVV4

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Strangewhine88@reddit

Please. I’d rather listen to Slim Whitman K-tel records than ever think about that ridiculous act ever again.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

Slim Whitman slaps though.

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SEA2COLA@reddit

I will die defending Boxcar Willie

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SEA2COLA@reddit

That time in 1996 when everyone wanted to be Irish

Followed in 1997 by The Great Irish Hate. North America was sick of him by then.

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Old-and-grumpy@reddit

Growing up Jewish in Boston is the same feeling.

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stephenforbes@reddit

I turned Irish back then and never looked back.

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Over-Director-4986@reddit

Except me. I made fun of that shit at every opportunity.

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Wild-Significance526@reddit

Same here. I hated this shit and thought it was hokey as fuck.

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TreatmentBoundLess@reddit

God, I remember visiting Ireland during the heyday of Riverdance. When it came on the television, my Uncle screamed, “Get that shite off the telly!”

My Uncle then went on to explain that the further away you were from Ireland, the more Irish you were. He said if he’d been living abroad, he’d have watched Riverdance but because he was living in Ireland, he had no interest.

Kind of true I suppose….

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vorticia@reddit

Just pictured Father Jack as your uncle.

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TreatmentBoundLess@reddit

Haha. Not quite!

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UnitGhidorah@reddit

People loved Riverdance but no one I knew was like "Oh man, I wish I was Irish!"

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TheTeenageOldman@reddit

Oirish

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mouse_Jupiter@reddit

So many infomercials

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Knukkyknuks@reddit

We’re a really going to see Riverdance later this year. I had the CD back in the nineties and loved it, after it became popular during the Eurovision songfestival . Was that in Dublin because Johnny Logan won for a second time ?

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

The article I read does not say anything about the contest, only that it was in Dublin and 300 million people watched.

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1singhnee@reddit

Pretty impressive considering there were only 3 million people in Ireland at the time! That’s like half of Europe. Damn.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

I see you're not familiar with Eurovision.

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1singhnee@reddit

It’s not across Europe?

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LeadPike13@reddit

Wrong kinda Irish.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman

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LeadPike13@reddit

I didn't say no kinda. I said wrong kinda

Look at Plato over here.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

I was wondering who gets to decide what the right kind of Irish is, I guess it’s some random Redditor

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LeadPike13@reddit

It could be you, if forced to watch his full catalog of movies.

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sjmiv@reddit

My father tried to be a tough guy but he loved Riverdance and Enya 😂

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stevedidit@reddit

Oh fer fuck's sake, that was almost 30 years ago. Goddammit.

I hope that high waisted mother fucker is Scrooge McDucking on his piles of money.

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mac_daddy_mcg@reddit

Hate to break it to you, but everyone who has been in America is some part Irish, bc we fuck like Hunter Biden...err, I meant to say...we get around. It's a Roman Catholic thing😎

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

Do you think it’s weird to try to bring politics into every conversation? I think it’s weird.

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mac_daddy_mcg@reddit

Fixed!!

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mac_daddy_mcg@reddit

More of a fucking analogy. I'll edit it out if you need me to

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mac_daddy_mcg@reddit

Edit... fucking fucking analogy

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GenX-ModTeam@reddit

All political posts must be in the moderator designated threads only.

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scarymonst@reddit

https://i.redd.it/mjky5qgwpgde1.gif

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GTFOakaFOD@reddit

I won front row seats off of the radio.

Front. Row.

Couldn't see their feet at all.

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aqaba_is_over_there@reddit

Dennis Leary'e bit about this is great.

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prostipope@reddit

As an awkward white boy in the 90s, Michael Flatley was an inspiration. He taught me that I don't have to use my arms when I dance, a valuable lesson that has powered me through many weddings and other stupid stuff.

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SheriffBartholomew@reddit

You do though, unless you're river dancing.

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rnavstar@reddit

Maybe he River dances at every wedding.

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prostipope@reddit

I was either river dancing or waving my arms in the air, almost as if I didn't even care.

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MaximumJones@reddit

Yeah, and it turns out that none of this shit came from Ireland. Fuck that guy 🤣

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

“Riverdance was first performed during the seven-minute interval of the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 at the Point Theatre in Dublin on 30 April 1994” Sorry to burst your bubble but it’s from Ireland.

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MaximumJones@reddit

Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958)[1] is an American former professional performer and choreographer, born in Detroit, Michigan then moved to a suburb of Chicago as a child.

Sorry to bust your bubble, it is NOT from Ireland.

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yinzerbhoy@reddit

You’re wrong. Irish dancing is absolutely From Ireland, and while it was globally popularized thanks to Riverdance and the Eurovision, it existed long before that. It’s a traditional art form. In… Ireland.

While Flatley (despite his accent) is American born, there were dozens if not a hundred or more performers in the original Riverdance, most of whom were from… Ireland.

And traditional Irish dancing is very popular in America to this day. There are at least 8-10 schools here in my city, which isn’t even traditionally “Irish” like Boston or New York.

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AnimatronicCouch@reddit

It's still super popular by me too! Everyone's kids do Irish dance over here.

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MaximumJones@reddit

You probably think Lucky Charms are from Ireland too.

gif

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yinzerbhoy@reddit

Did you mean that to be a leprechaun or a troll?

www.clrg.ie

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Judgy-Introvert@reddit

His parents were from Ireland though.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

Ok but there’s a Japanese guy pitching for a MLB team right now, does that mean that baseball isn’t American? Listen to yourself.

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katiehatesjazz@reddit

gif

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goldenratio1111@reddit

I don't wanna be a pirate!

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sugarlump858@reddit

I love this show. I've seen it at least 3 times. My poor husband.

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cybaz@reddit

I've seen it twice and I still listen to the CD from time to time

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Apprehensive-Tax258@reddit

I’m not GenX but I remember my parents watching this on repeat. And Sarah Brightman videos omg.

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nice1priscilla@reddit

gif

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togocann49@reddit

While promoting classic Irish dancing, this was not from Ireland.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

It was first performed in Dublin during a Eurovision competition, I don’t know how much more Irish it needs to be to satisfy you.

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MaximumJones@reddit

Dude is not from Ireland and it is not Irish.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

Ok, but the composer was Irish, and Irish or not he was the reigning Irish Dance champion when they choreographed it. What more do you need to prove it’s Irish? Or have you already decided that it’s not Irish and no matter what you learn about it you’ll keep moving the goalposts?

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MaximumJones@reddit

gif

Irish food, am I right?

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

Ok I can see I’m dealing with a genius here, but fortunately I have found the remedy.

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vqd6226@reddit

I still do an insane mock ‘Riverdance’ to amuse my husband 🤪

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amosc33@reddit

We went to see this live and it was awesome.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

ITT there’s a person who was operating one of the cameras for this recording.

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EdwardBliss@reddit

You can add The Corrs and B*Witched to that list!

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Skatchbro@reddit

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BrokenPinkyPromise@reddit

To be fair, I wanted to be Irish in 1993 after seeing In The Name Of The Father. By 1996, it was because of Michael Collins.

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1singhnee@reddit

Riverdance!

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Parking_Locksmith489@reddit

It still looks silly

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aogamerdude@reddit

..& apparently that or something like it is still going on, comes to my area about once a year.

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IAmLazy2@reddit

The most boring show I have ever been to.

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devtank@reddit

I was just out of interning, and was on my first contract, as a junior assistant camera 3. I’ll just say, even with oil-filled cans (headphones that suck into your ears for extreme clarity in a noisy environment), the sound was insane. The vibration was insane, the whole event was insane. Etched memory.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

Oh wow! That’s amazing, I’ll bet it was something to see for sure and you had one of the best seats in the house.

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devtank@reddit

Absolutely, basically front right.

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copperpin@reddit (OP)

Do you watch the video and Drink every time the director cuts to your camera?

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