A summary of the year 2004 in the Irish music industry.
Summary
March
Tickets for Oxegen 2004, the festival that would in years to come be a worthy successor to Witnness, went on sale on Friday 5 March. One-day tickets cost €59.50, two-day tickets were priced at €110.00 whilst a two-day ticket with camping included cost €130.00.[1]
On Wednesday 30 June it was announced that David Bowie would be unable to headline his scheduled slot on the Sunday night of Oxegen 2004.[6]
July
Oxegen 2004 took place on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 July, headlined by The Darkness, The Strokes and The Cure. It was the natural successor to Witnness and like the previous year's festival was held at Punchestown Racecourse, County Kildare. It was the first of two new festivals this year that would leave a permanent mark on the Irish music scene in later years.
The first Electric Picnic was held at Stradbally, County Laois. Beginning as a one-day event, it was soon to become an international hit, and it wasn't long before it was catching up on Oxegen in popularity. Its patrons praised it for its unique atmosphere and, although it didn't attract the same internationally recognised acts as Oxegen, it became very much a fixture in later years.
November
19 November saw the Irish release of the internationally anticipated eleventh studio album by U2. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb debuted at #1 in 34 countries and worldwide sales as of 2006 number close to 10 million copies sold. The album was preceded by the lead single "Vertigo", released for radio airplay on 24 September, when it received extensive airplay and topped the charts in several countries when it was released on 8 November.
