Growing Pains, a young alt‐rock band from Derry are set for a big summer. The teenage four‐piece of Aidan Duddy, Sean Gormley, Marty Campbell, and Turlough Hagan are set to support IDLES & Chalk at a massive Custom House Square show.
Before that the band have the privilege of opening up for fellow Derry natives CHERYM as they call time on their ten year journey.
With no music in the public domain yet, we thought it was worth discovering who the band were influenced by before their shows.
The Clash – Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
We covered this song at our third gig ever and we weren’t too sure how it would go. It turned out to be the first time we got crazy crowd reactions and the whole place was jumping. It almost became our “thing” for a while and definitely made us include crowd interaction more in our shows.
Idles – Mother
IDLES have always been a massive influence for our live shows and song writing. This song resonates with all of us due to its theme. We love the energy and love IDLES create at their shows, and we always aim to recreate that in any small way we can.
Bleech 9:3 – Ceiling
Bleech 9:3 are a relatively new influence to us but have contributed massively to how we view our songwriting and live show. This song in particular was so influential to our songwriting and we would love to cover it!
TOUTS – Political People
Touts are a massive inspiration for us all as they were all from Derry, where we live. This track is a standout for us due to the lyrics and message behind it. We are all raging that TOUTS don’t be gigging anymore so we would love to help bring back the raw energy they brought to the local scene!
Geese – 2122
2122 was probably the hardest song we ever tried to cover. We always remember a practice when we were trying to nail the song before a gig and we mustve played it about 15 times, and then we finally got it right. I don’t think any of us where awake enough to even celebrate but we always remember how buzzing we were to get it right!!
LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends
This is a personal one for Aidan (vocals): I genuinely think this is one of those songs that just cant be faulted. What stands out for me is the lyrics, from the first time I listened to it I just remember being so drawn in by the and the story-telling they bring to the song. I can definitely say it has influenced my song-writing.
Queens of the Stone Age – No One Knows
This is a personal one for Turlough (drums): I first wanted to play drums when I was introduced to this song. The drum breakdown throughout it hooked me and I instantly wanted to recreate it. I remember trying to learn it through an online video and I eventually got it down, and to do this date its still one of my favourite songs to cover with the boys.
Basht – Gone Girl
This is a personal one for Sean (bass) – In the band I write most of the instrumentals and this song really inspired me. The idea of the building the whole song purely from a bassline really impressed me, and its definitely something that I carried into the original songs we have been writing.
Oasis – Fade Away
This is a personal one for Marty (guitar): I saw Liam Gallagher in 2024 and he played this song, it really stuck with me after the gig. I loved the catchy chorus, the lyrics and the chords. It was then one of the first tunes we played together as a band, way back in early 2025. Oasis are my favourite band and every time I hear this song it always reminds me of starting out in the local scene and playing with friends for the first time.
Enola Gay – Cortana
We take a lot of inspiration from Irish bands and Enola Gay has to be one of our favourites. The way they blend genres like shoegaze and punk really influences our sound. We love how they use noise in their songs and this one in particular uses guitar effects to create class sounds – something which we try to do, just not as good!!
