The Commitments

Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments (1987) is told mainly through exchanges of dialogue as the novel tracks the formation, slight rise, and fall of a band in 1980s Dublin attempting to bring soul music to Ireland.

Outspan and Derek ask local audiophile Jimmy Rabbitte to be the manager of their band, And And And. The band has existed for three days. A third member, Ray, is in the bathroom when this decision is made and isn’t immediately informed. They don’t know much about music and are already arguing over the musical direction for the band; Outspan and Derek despise Ray’s taste.

Jimmy is open to taking on the challenge of making them a band. He advises them to forget about the “art school” songs they’ve been trying to cover and to focus on the basics – sex and politics. Jimmy believes they should be playing what he considers “soul” music. When formally asked to be their manager, Jimmy agrees. His first act is to fire Ray. His second is to rename the group The Commitments because all the great band names begin with “the.”



Jimmy recruits a local man Declan Cuffe, whom everyone calls Deco, to be the singer in the band. At a band meeting where he introduces Deco to Outspan and Derek, Jimmy tells them they will need to recruit more players for his vision: drums, saxophone, trumpet, keyboards. Jimmy has already put an ad in the paper and makes the band kick in for the cost.

Jimmy builds the band, bringing in James Clifford as a keyboardist, Dean Fay to play saxophone, Billy Mooney to play drums, and backing vocalists Imelda, Natalie, and Bernie (collectively known as The Commitmentettes). Finally, Jimmy recruits Joey "The Lips" Fagan to play the trumpet. Balding and middle-aged, Joey, much older than everyone else, is the only true musician in the group and has played professionally at a relatively high level. Joey begins training the rest of the group, who have little idea how to play their instruments, much less how to function as a band.

Deco is talented, but his personality is irritating. The drummer, Billy, and Deco do not get along, and before long, Billy quits the band. Mickah Wallace, who had been acting as a bouncer for the band at their live gigs, takes over on the drums and is a much better fit.



Although the band begins to gel, slowly getting a warmer response from the local crowds thanks to Joey’s musical education, Jimmy begins to scale back his goals for The Commitments. Where he initially believed they could take the whole country by storm and bring a craze for soul music to the Irish, he begins to contemplate a focus on Dublin. This narrower focus proves decisive, as the band begins to build a real reputation on the music circuit in the city. Their live shows begin to be very crowded affairs, and as the band becomes increasingly adept with their instruments and more used to playing with each other, their fan base grows.

Joey becomes a crowd favorite despite his age because of his skill and his personality. He also attracts the attentions of the Commitmentettes, beginning an affair with Imelda, which the rest of the band finds disruptive and annoying. Imelda clearly feels more strongly about Joey than he does about her.

At the same time, Deco begins to attract the attention of the fans. As the front person for the band, he is the face and the personality, gaining the lion’s share of attention. He begins to believe he is the most important member of the band, and the personality traits that drove Billy Mooney away are amplified; his behavior and attitude annoys the rest of the band.



Jimmy, meanwhile, hard at work as the band’s manager, has secured the chance to record a single with a professional producer and a record deal to distribute. Before that can happen, however, everything falls apart: Joey is seen kissing Imelda before a show, and a fight breaks out. Deco’s attitude makes things worse, and the band breaks up. Imelda tells Joey that she’s pregnant, and he flees to America, leaving a sad and humiliated Imelda to reveal that she isn’t actually pregnant but hoped it would secure Joey’s attention.

Jimmy gathers Derek, Outspan, and Mickah and forms a new band with a focus on country-western music with a punk twist, with a plan to recruit other members as they go on. There is an implication that this will eventually evolve to become a sequel to The Commitments, involving many of the same people, although probably not Deco or Joey.

Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments (1987) is told mainly through exchanges of dialogue as the novel tracks the formation, slight rise, and fall of a band in 1980s Dublin attempting to bring soul music to Ireland.



Outspan and Derek ask local audiophile Jimmy Rabbitte to be the manager of their band, And And And. The band has existed for three days. A third member, Ray, is in the bathroom when this decision is made and isn’t immediately informed. They don’t know much about music and are already arguing over the musical direction for the band; Outspan and Derek despise Ray’s taste.

Jimmy is open to taking on the challenge of making them a band. He advises them to forget about the “art school” songs they’ve been trying to cover and to focus on the basics – sex and politics. Jimmy believes they should be playing what he considers “soul” music. When formally asked to be their manager, Jimmy agrees. His first act is to fire Ray. His second is to rename the group The Commitments because all the great band names begin with “the.”

Jimmy recruits a local man Declan Cuffe, whom everyone calls Deco, to be the singer in the band. At a band meeting where he introduces Deco to Outspan and Derek, Jimmy tells them they will need to recruit more players for his vision: drums, saxophone, trumpet, keyboards. Jimmy has already put an ad in the paper and makes the band kick in for the cost.



Jimmy builds the band, bringing in James Clifford as a keyboardist, Dean Fay to play saxophone, Billy Mooney to play drums, and backing vocalists Imelda, Natalie, and Bernie (collectively known as The Commitmentettes). Finally, Jimmy recruits Joey "The Lips" Fagan to play the trumpet. Balding and middle-aged, Joey, much older than everyone else, is the only true musician in the group and has played professionally at a relatively high level. Joey begins training the rest of the group, who have little idea how to play their instruments, much less how to function as a band.

Deco is talented, but his personality is irritating. The drummer, Billy, and Deco do not get along, and before long, Billy quits the band. Mickah Wallace, who had been acting as a bouncer for the band at their live gigs, takes over on the drums and is a much better fit.

Although the band begins to gel, slowly getting a warmer response from the local crowds thanks to Joey’s musical education, Jimmy begins to scale back his goals for The Commitments. Where he initially believed they could take the whole country by storm and bring a craze for soul music to the Irish, he begins to contemplate a focus on Dublin. This narrower focus proves decisive, as the band begins to build a real reputation on the music circuit in the city. Their live shows begin to be very crowded affairs, and as the band becomes increasingly adept with their instruments and more used to playing with each other, their fan base grows.



Joey becomes a crowd favorite despite his age because of his skill and his personality. He also attracts the attentions of the Commitmentettes, beginning an affair with Imelda, which the rest of the band finds disruptive and annoying. Imelda clearly feels more strongly about Joey than he does about her.

At the same time, Deco begins to attract the attention of the fans. As the front person for the band, he is the face and the personality, gaining the lion’s share of attention. He begins to believe he is the most important member of the band, and the personality traits that drove Billy Mooney away are amplified; his behavior and attitude annoy the rest of the band.

Jimmy, meanwhile, hard at work as the band’s manager, has secured the chance to record a single with a professional producer and a record deal to distribute. Before that can happen, however, everything falls apart: Joey is seen kissing Imelda before a show, and a fight breaks out. Deco’s attitude makes things worse, and the band breaks up. Imelda tells Joey that she’s pregnant, and he flees to America, leaving a sad and humiliated Imelda to reveal that she isn’t actually pregnant but hoped it would secure Joey’s attention.



Jimmy gathers Derek, Outspan, and Mickah and forms a new band with a focus on country-western music with a punk twist, with a plan to recruit other members as they go on. There is an implication that this will eventually evolve to become a sequel to The Commitments, involving many of the same people, although probably not Deco or Joey.