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Outspan, Ray and Derek form a group called \"And And And\" but after 3 days Outspan and Derek think that the band needs a new direction. There is one guy who knows everything about music, he can tell them what is new and what is going to be new. The guy\'s name is Jimmy Rabbitte.
There changes a lot. Ray is thrown out of the band, the name is changed into \"THE COMMITMENTS\" and they are going to play Soul, Dublin Soul.
The next day Jimmy starts to search for new members. After some time they have a lot of members and instruments:
Jimmy Rabbitte - manager
Outspan Foster - guitar
Deco Cuffe - vocals
Derek Scully - drums
Dean Fay - saxophone
Joseph Fagan - trumpet
They even have 3 background singers called \"THE COMMITMENTETTES\": Imelda Quirk, Natalie Murphy and Bernie McLoughlin.
The first rehearsal takes till 3 o\'clock in the morning and isn\'t that bad if you think of the fact that Dean learned to play the sax just some days before.
They rehearse three times a week. At one rehearsal Jimmy gives stage names to everybody:
Joseph Fagan ¨ Joey the Lips Fagan
James Clifford ¨ James the Soul Surgeon Clifford
Decan Cuffe ¨ Decan Blanketman Cuffe
Derek Scully ¨ Derek the Meatman Scully
Billy Mooney ¨ Billy the Animal Mooney
Dean Fay ¨ Dean Good Times Fay
Outspan ¨ L. Terence Foster
Imelda ¨ Sonya
Natalie ¨ Sofia
Bernie ¨ Tanya
Things are going well. Joey the Lips is the calming influence on the rest of the band and the boss at the rehearsals.
One day the whole male part of the band is shocked because Dean finds Joey and Natalie kissing behind the garage door. For a few minutes \"The Commitments\" even brakes up but Jimmy fixes everything again.
The boys are all jealous all of them fancy Natalie. They think Natalie likes Joey only because he had played with so many famous people like the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Sinatra,....
One week after that incidents Joey and Jimmy talk a little bit during a rehearsal. Joey explains to Jimmy that he needs rescue because Natalie is driving him crazy. She won\'t leave him alone. While they talk they smell a weird smell - hash.
Billy is smoking hash and Deco, Outspan, Dean and James are sitting around him. Jimmy and Joey try to tell them that hash is out and that it isn\'t soul. \"We\'re supposed to be bringinL soul to Dublin. We can\'t do thaL anL smoke hash at the same time.\"
Jimmy organises the first gig. The bingo caller, Hopalong, is in hospital so the community centre is free and Father Molly allows them to play in the hall. The last week before the concert the band rehears every night. They begin to be nervous only Joey keeps them short of panic stations.
The concert is great. The people, 33 persons, can\'t stand still and dance the whole time.
After the concert Mickah, the bouncer, tells Jimmy that there is a guy from the Northside News who wants a word. The first PR-date.
From this day on Jimmy tours through pubs in Dublin to find a place for the next gig and is successful. The Commitments are allowed to play in a bar because the headline of the Northside News \"Soul Soldiers of Destiny\" is such a good ad.
The gig is okay but there appear problems with Deco. Deco thinks the band can\'t exist without him and that he can do everything. He is talking about HIS band, doesn\'t introduce the members with their stage names and and and.
The band cannot do anything because they really need Deco\'s voice.
Although there are some problems inside the band they even get a mention in the Herald.
Armed with the articles Jimmy gets the band a Wednesday night in another pub, a bigger one called Miami Vice. They are given a month\'s residency.
Even Hot Press comes to the second gig at Miami Vice and likes the band very much.
Billy leaves the Band because he hates Deco and he never wants to see Deco again or he kills Deco. Mickah wants to be the new drummer and Jimmy gives him a chance.
After the next Wednesday gig at the pub Deco tells the group that he is going on a Screen Test (= a talent show) and he applies to sing in the National Song contest as well. The Commitments are shocked, Mickah even stitches Deco a loaf, clean on the nose. Jimmy tries to calm them down with a piece of pretty good news. An A&R man is going to watch them next time. A&R means Artist and Repertory man who is a talent scout for record companies.
A week later everything has changed. The A&R man liked the show very very much and he wanted to sing them up but during the talk with Jimmy the band broke up. Deco found Joey kissing Imelda. Imelda held the band together because all the boys except Joey fancied her. Everything ends in everybody slapping everybody.
Jimmy\'s dream ends with that.
Everybody goes his own ways again.
Joey wants to go on tour with Joe Tex, but Jimmy finds out that Joe Tex died in 1982. (I think Joey kills himself.)
When Jimmy meets Imelda he gets to know that neither Imelda nor Natalie have fancied Joey. It was just a game. Imelda even told Joey that she was pregnant.
In the end Jimmy, Mickah, Derek Outspan and the girls found a new band called The Brassers, without politics, stage names and without soul.
Characters:
Jimmy Anthony Rabbitte
Jimmy knows everything about music. You will never see him coming home from town without a new album. Jimmy reads all the important music magazines lie Melody Maker, NME and Hot Press. He listens to Dave Fanning, John Peel and to bands nobody knows.
Jimmy is the band\'s manager and founder. It is his dream to have an own band and to do everything for it.
He put all his energy into this dream to realise it.
Like all the other boys of the band he fancies Imelda.
He has a younger sister called Jackie.
Liam Terence Foster
Everybody calls him Outspan.
He has now work except on Saturday mornings he goes form door to door in Barrytown selling frozen chickens which his cousin steals.
Outspan\'s stage name is L. Terence Foster and he plays the guitar. He has no own so he takes his brother\'s guitar.
He is one of the first two and one of the last two members of the band.
Derek Scully
Derek is a calm but friendly guy.
He plays the bass because he thought it was the easiest instrument. His stage name is Derek the Meatman Scully. Like Outspan is he one of the first two and one of the last two members of the band.
He has a small scar on his forehead as a courtesy of Mickah from a soccer game.
Declan Cuffe
From the first day on he has the nickname Deco.
He worked in the same shop as Jimmy and sang at a Christmas party where Jimmy recognised that Deco had a very beautiful and interesting voice. So he is the singer of the band with the stage name Declan Blanketman Cuffe.
Deco isn\'t likeable, nobody likes him because he always thinks that he is the leader of the band.
James Clifford
James was once a school mate of Outspan, Derek and Jimmy but nobody liked him that days. He ratted on them.
Since he can think the has to go to piano lessons, so he is the pianist of the band called James the Soul Surgeon Clifford.
He studies medicine and is already in the 3rd year.
Joseph Fagan
Everybody calls him Joey the Lips Fagan. He is nearly 50 years old. He plays the trumpet. Fagan has been on tour over about 11 years and played with famous musicians like The Beatles, Otis Redding, Joe Tex, Stevie Wonder, Martha Reeves, Jimi Hendrix, ...........
Joey loves Soul he even is soul and has enough soul for the rest of the band too.
He is the calming influence on the group during the rehearsal.
Although he doesn\'t fancy Natalie or Imelda he kisses them and causes the band to break up. Joey is the only one who doesn\'t fancy Imelda.
Dean Fay
Although Dean can hardly play an instrument he joins the band. Joey teaches him how to play the Saxophone. He gets a very good player.
Like all the others he fancies Imelda and Natalie too. So he is really a poor guy when he finds Joey and Natalie kissing behind the garage door.
His stage name is Dean Good Times Fay.
Billy Mooney
Called Billy The Animal Mooney when he plays the drums on stage. He isn\'t a member for very long because he is the first one who leaves the band. He hates Deco so much that he never wants to see him again otherwise it is likely that he kills the band\'s singer.
Billy\'s father is dead.
Mickah Wallace
Mickah was a school mate of some of the bands members but he got off the school because of beating a girl.
He is first the bouncer for the band but when Billy quits he becomes the new drummer. He even has an own idea for his stage name: Washington D.C. Wallace. (D. C. stands for Dead Cool)
Mickah is a good addition for the band because everybody likes him. His enthusiasm always comes at the right time.
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