Dublin based promotor and marketeer, Martin Thomas has been involved in the Irish Music scene for 15 years and previously worked under the Strictly Fish Productions moniker with Jimmy Costello. Running many varied and influential club nights such as the legendary Strictly Fish, the nations longest running club night - Strictly Handbag [Established 1994], Ultra Lounge, The Sunday Matinee and Most Wanted - We have the knack of filling empty spaces around the city and identifying up coming trends. Strictly Fish ran Europe’s largest dance music radio broadcast for 2FM – Eurodance - which had over 30million listeners for 5 years in a row. We were heavily involved in the initiation and running of the Red Bull Music Academy for a number of years up until 2002. Our big beat, gold status, homage to the Late Late show theme, ‘To Whom it Concerns’ can still be heard ending many a disco all over the country. Our follow up single was 'The Sunday Game', another cheeky assault on a national institution.

We were heavily involved in marketing & music programming duties for the Odeon group [Odeon, Dakota, 4 Dame Lane] , Cocoon, The Start and Crescent in Drogheda, the Foundry in Carlow, The Bodega Club in Dún Laoghaire and The Purty Loft in Monkstown.

Our quirky promotional material has become collectables at this stage and we still are the only promoters to win an ICAD design award. All our graphic design is handled by the wonderful people at Detail.

Brand consultancy has played a big role over the years and clients have included Xbox 360, Guinness, C & C, Red Bull, Smirnoff, Barry Fitzwilliam Maxium & Richmond Marketing. [More Clients].

In 2004, The Rock + Roll Rescue Squad was born and Rory O’Keeffe [Singer and Journalist] came on board as partner. First off the block was the infamous Humewood House party for the Darkness after their 2004 Oxegen headline show and this led to an exclusive DJ set from Darkness Bassist Frankie Poullian at the Strictly Handbag 11th birthday in October 2005. The Rescue Squad re-positioned Bia Bar in Dublin into a music driven venue later that summer by using the Ultra Lounge brand.

In March 2005 we set up the Rock + Roll Karaoke experience that is Songs of Praise in the Village on Wexford St, Dublin – it recently celebrated its 3rd birthday with a sell out event. The Rescue Squad’s ongoing long-term relationship with Sherland Entertainments saw Strictly Handbag launch in the Left Bank Bar in Sligo in January 2006. In July 2006 we launched Sassy Sue’s GoGo Inevitable in the Sugar Club in Dublin to re-invigorate Friday Nights around town. Its 1st birthday is rapidly approaching. We also had the pleasure of running the Depeche Mode after-show party after their sell out Dublin show.

In October 2007 we designed and launched The Bodega Club in Dun Laoghaire for Jay Bourke and The Thomas Read Group. We also celebrated our 13th Birthday for Strictly Handbag with a headline show by Dexy’s Midnight Runner frontman, Kevin Rowland. To top it off did an 8 Date college Tour for Songs of Praise to launch Guitar Hero III for Xbox 360.

2008 saw us launch Ireland's first dedicated weekly disco for kids - The Rattle and Roll Club. Songs of Praise turned 3 and held court backstage at the Oxegen Festival for 3 days. We also said goodbye to Sassy Sue's GoGo Invitable after two fun years and replaced it with Strictly Handbag after many demands from the public for a weekend venue to the club. Handbag also turned 14 and we bid farewell to our Monday night residency in RíRá after a decade.

So far in 09 we’ve had the Songs of Praise 4th birthday, placed The Rattle & Roll Club into The Dandelion on St Stephens Green and provided the music backstage for Oasis at Slane Castle. We'll be rolling out even more new stuff over the coming months including the Strictly Handbag 15th Birthday - truly a great age to have reached.


The Rock + Roll Rescue Squad can help your business re-position itself in the market with music, marketing and service driven solutions. If your brand [Nightclub or Bar] is seeing falling numbers and needs a bit of a lift – we offer a one-stop shop solution to increasing revenue. The service industry is going through an upheaval at the moment, and now is not the time to be complacent. Venues must fight for trade and we have the experience to help you win the battle. We can also bring our expertise to brand placement in a crowded market place.

If you would like to know how we can help - please contact us on 353 1 440 4289 or via e-mail