John Robb Recalls Discovering Fontaines D.C. — And the Two Unreleased Tracks He Almost Put Out

Music journalist, author and The Membranes frontman John Robb has revealed, in his new memoir Punk Rock Ruined My Life, that he heard Fontaines D.C. perform demo recordings years before the band's breakthrough — and he's now described two unreleased early tracks in detail for the first time. NME published excerpts and a related interview on July 31, 2026.

A demo session at BIMM Dublin

Robb was working as a mentor at BIMM's Dublin music college, offering one-on-one 90-minute sessions with students. During one such session, frontman Grian Chatten — at the time the band was still called simply "the Fontaines," a year before adding "D.C." for Dublin City — showed up with a demo tape and played him three songs.

Robb described the recordings as high-tension punk rock shot through with post-punk textures and a faint touch of Buddy Holly. He liked what he heard enough to plan releasing one of the songs as a single on his own label, Louder Than War, timed to a debut live performance at the Workman's Club with Fontaines opening for The Membranes.

The band went on to sign with Partisan Records instead, and Robb — true to a promise he'd made them — shelved the release plan. He told NME the recordings still won't surface: "No way! It wouldn't be fair — I told them when they signed that I wouldn't release it."

Details on the two unreleased tracks

Robb described two of the songs from that demo session. One was an earlier, rougher, more punk-leaning version of "Liberty Belle," which he called full of excitement. The other was "Rubies," which he described as "a punk rampage with Ramones-like drive," adding that it's especially popular among the band's die-hard fans.

Robb said that before the band signed with Partisan, he and Grian Chatten kept in touch over email for a long time, with Robb following the band's progress. "I was really pleased they got a record deal, and with the perfect label for them," he said.

Who is John Robb

Robb's career as a music journalist is marked by a string of firsts: he was the first journalist ever to interview Nirvana, discovered The Stone Roses for Sounds magazine, and conducted formative early interviews with The Jesus And Mary Chain and Manic Street Preachers. He has also published books on Oasis and the history of goth music, and founded the music website Louder Than War. Punk Rock Ruined My Life is his latest book.