In the northside of Dublin, Jimmy Rabbitte aspires to manage the world's greatest band, with only one music in mind: soul. By advertising for applicants in a newspaper and asking around to promising acquaintances, Jimmy holds auditions at his parents' home and assembles a band together. Unlike his idols, Jimmy's band is white. With the help of Joey "The Lips" Fagan, a veteran musician who answers the ad and joins the band and who has unlikely stories about meeting and working with famous musicians, Jimmy begins to whip the members into shape - gradually coming together beautifully onstage, only to have the group fall apart in a clash of egos.