Cirque formed early in 2003 when Frank Maher (guitar), Larry ODwyer (keyboards) and Denis Collins (vocals) got drunk and decided to definitely form a band. Six times. On the sixth occasion, upon sobering, they followed up on it. Larry had been writing words from his mind in some form or another for years and Frank had been smithing some fine tunes to woo the ladies. The first Cirque songs sprung from this melodious well.

Denis had been trying to convince people he could sing and since he was introduced to Eric Downer (guitar) the band began its form in real life. Eric arrived in a hail of power chords while Paul McGrath (bass) windmilled his way to the heart of the band.

A tenuous balance ensued. Cirque decided to introduce themselves to Dublin audiences by way of a five song EP recorded on their own Boxbedroom Productions.

Cirque initially concentrated on writing material and performing acoustic sets at some of Dublins more intimate venues, including_The Boom Boom Room and Isaac Butts. In December 2003, Cirque shot their first video for the song Blindwater under the direction
of amateur filmmaker, Thady Kavanagh.

It was during the making of this video that the final piece of Cirque was found, Mark Gordon (percussion). It was Marks rhythmic acting skills that alerted the band to his talents. And no,it wasn’t that type of video. Six piece Cirque set off on a busy year performing throughout Dublins best known music venues taking in Whelans, Eamonn Dorans and The Voodoo Lounge along
the way.

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