This site was set up by the Old Scratch Appreciation Society to document the career of a band called Old Scratch.

Old Scratch existed from late 1993 through to early 1995, in Dublin, Ireland. In a time when the main musical forces were the monotonous beats of dance music and the incessant, selfish whining of grunge, Old Scratch was the rock 'n' roll vanguard. Indeed, you could call them the true manifestation of punk, punk being a movement of rebellion and independence, rather than three chords played sloppily with crap tone. They were a two-fingered salute to the musical status-quo in operation at the time. Sounding like nothing else before or since, Old Scratch could possibly be described as the raw Metal force of Black Sabbath combined with the interstellar musical exploration of Weather Report, mixed with the near chaotic, yet focused workings and humour of Zappa and the Mothers Of Invention, topped with the stream of consciousness poetic ramblings of a latter day Jim Morrison, yet still you won't come close to what they were and what they brought to a stagnant Dublin music scene. They stood alone and fought critic and music lover alike and, ultimately, lost. This is their story.

Please do not continue reading if you feel you can be offended by anything. We are not going to accept responsibility for anything you might be offended by and any stress or illness, mental or otherwise, as a result of reading this stuff.

Only one story has been censored, at the request of it's main protagonist, but we don't feel this takes too much away from an entirely honest and graphic account of a young rock & roll band who refused to play to the rules and lost.

Some people have criticised this site for having too much too read. Well, there is a whole lot to tell and we left a lot of the less important stuff out.

So just read, listen and enjoy.

***BREAKING NEWS 01/07/03 - There are rumours of a CD release to commemorate the 15th Anniversary of Old Scratch. Entitled "Gold Scratch - The very best of Old Scratch" is allegedly in the final stages of mastering. This 2CD set will feature a mix of live and studio work, taking in the bands entire career. ***

Keep checking back here for updates.

Notice: These pages were written in good faith back in a time when the internet was fun and people had a sense of humour. Clearly times and people have changed. If you wish to no longer be associated with your past and these pages please email and we will be glad to erase you from this history.