Guildhall Press are revising our City of Music publication and creating an App version for 2012 - so we need your help!

We're updating the modern section of the book and creating an iPad/iPhone App which will be free to download from iTunes App store. We intend to kick-start the App from when The Undertones created one of the most iconic teen anthems of all time – Teenage Kicks – in 1978. (Later editions of the App will trace the city’s music heritage up to The Undertones era.) Our aim is to include in our digital version the creative work of as many music industry people as possible who – because of the lack of space – didn't make it into our printed version. (See www.culturenorthernireland.com for information on the original publication.)

We see the potential to develop a truly innovative and exciting interactive multimedia Ebook /App from the contents of our COM publication alongside this new material.

So if you're an individual artist, musician, singer, songwriter, DJ, production specialist, band, collective, events promoter/record label, music venue, music festival committee – i.e. anyone with a connection to, or involvement with, Derry music – we want to hear from you.

You can update us with what you're doing in the city's music scene via our Guildhall Press facebook fanpage, our dedicated City of Music facebook page or directly - via E: info@ghpress.com / T: (028) 7136 4413. Someone will get back to you if necessary to follow up on your contact.

Interactive / Multimedia Content

As we are producing an App version of the book we can include any amount of suitable interactive or multimedia content as well as standard copy and images. So if you wish any video material to be considered for inclusion in the App (YouTube/Vimeo or otherwise) then send us a link to it (our YouTube username is 'guildhallpress') and we'll get back to you. If you have any audio tracks then you can share them with us on SoundCloud. You'll need to send us an accompanying email with the details to make sure we know who owns what track etc. For legal reasons, we will also have to obtain written confirmation that all material sent is copyright to the sender and permission is granted for digital reproduction in our App.

This project is supported by the Creative Industries Innovation Fund.

Background on City of Music Original Publication

In December 2008, Guildhall Press published City of Music: Derry’s Music Heritage. The 300-page, full-colour, beautifully presented, case-bound volume was funded by the Arts Council Northern Ireland and is the definitive history of Derry’s music scene from the late 1800s to the modern day.

COM covers every aspect of the city’s music scene from choral music to classical, jazz and showband to bluegrass and traditional Irish, folk and traditional rock to punk, modern indie rock and electro music.

However successful the original printed version of the book was, the physical limitations of the traditional printed format meant that many performers, bands and artists didn’t make the final edition. We had many suggestions for possible additions to the book from the general public and interested parties over the last few years which we would love to include in any follow-up publication. This supplementary information, coupled with the new acts which have emerged on the local and international music scene since 2008, will be essential for a revised version of the book in App format.


City of Music Derry