“You can see how far back the hill goes, and you see the extent of people there. I remember turning to one of the guys and going, ‘What the f**k are we doing?’ And I remember being so nervous,” says Ryan McMahon, the drummer with the Dublin rock band. Eli Hewson , the group’s frontman, says: “I was expecting to get booed off the stage.
Everyone was there for Harry Styles .” Seated beside him, Josh Jenkinson, who plays guitar, smiles and says that their friends and family were excited about Slane largely because it put Inhaler in the orbit of the former One Direction star, who was the day’s headliner . “All our girlfriends at the time were over the moon.
It did genuinely feel we were in a scene from Lord of the Rings.” Styles was creating history as that rare pop star to headline the Co Meath venue. The day was equally significant for Inhaler, who confirmed their status as one of Ireland’s fast-rising major-label rock bands.
Despite the jitters and concerns about being jeered into oblivion by the hordes of teenage girls, they are happy to report that the gig went fine. Two years later they are ready to take another leap forward with their glossy, crowd-pleasing third LP, Open Wide. It’s a slick, hook-filled affair that is brimming with easy-on-the-ear melodies (as in Eddie in the Darkness, the opening track), Coldplay-worthy “ooh ooh” choruses (Billy – Yeah Yeah Yeah) and finger-snapping grooves (the single Your House).
It will appeal to all those.
