Memories
T
The Bands of our Showband Era
Article and Photos courtesy of Gerry Gallagher www.irish-showbands.com
here were hundreds of them. Irish bands of every size, description and musical genre travelling the roads and borheens of Ireland. They travelled the length and breadth of the country from the 1950's through the mid 1980's. Although "officially" the term showband was coined in the late fifties and was used to describe bands that played a wide variety of music and usually included a "show" during the night, the term was gradually applied to all the bands that played in the 1960's. As the
Irish music scene splintered in the late sixties into pop, country bands, the term was dropped but we still find it the best overall description of the bands of the "ballroom" era. In the early days, they travelled in whatever they could find...bread vans, hearses, and even cars (roof racks and all). In later years, many (if not most) of them travelled in converted Ford Transit vans (like the one pictured right) that were normally used for delivery services. After a couple of windows were popped into the centre panels, a
All About the Freshmen (1962-1980) A lthough definitely one of the earliest "pop bands" the Freshmen, from Ballymena, were different from the rest of the showbands of the early 1960's. Billy Brown, an extremely talented piano and sax player, had been playing since he was twelve. By the time he got to college, he had his first professional gig with the Billy McFarland Band out of Belfast. Two other members of the McFarland band, bass player Torry McGahey and sax player Maurice Henry became fast friends and they
all eventually decided it was time to strike out on their own, although in a 1971 Spotlight interview with Davy McKnight it was reported Tory had been sacked from the band and Billy and Maurice went with him. One way or another, together they formed The Freshmen in early 1962. They recruited the best of musicians, each one a singer in their own right. The original lineup included: Barney McKeon (vocals), Maurice (sax), Torry (bass), Damien McIlroy (guitar), Sean Mahon (trombone), Davy McKnight
(drums-who was training to be a teacher) and Billy (sax and piano). The band's new sound took Northern Ireland by storm. They were starting out just at the same time as The Beatles and The Beach Boys and they were poised to ride the crest of the "pop" wave in Ireland. Before long, the band attracted the interest of a new manager, Peter Dempsey (band member Maurice Henry had previously handled the band's bookings). Peter ran dances in Andersontown and through this,
met Johnny Flynn and made a host of connections in the South...uncharted territory for the Freshmen. By 1963, they were beginning to make inroads in the South when Barney decided to leave. The search was on for a replacement and the band recruited Limerick singer, Tommy Drennan. With Tommy out front, the band continued to prosper, garnering rave reviews from the press and the punters. Within a year though, Tommy had grown homesick and returned to Limerick,
Left to right: Derek Dean (vocals), Damien McElroy (guitar), Billy Brown (keyboards/sax), Davy McKnight (drums), Maurice Henry (sax), Torry McGahey (bass) and Sean Mahon (trombone) Page 24 Mature Living December 2013
row or two of old airplane seats were installed and the band was ready to travel "in style." Although style was a matter of opinion...if you're stuck in the back of a van on a cold and rainy winter's night, it may seem like "a long way to Tipperary," but it's even further to Castletownbere, Co. Cork! It will be impossible to list all the bands that played the dance halls, ballrooms, marquees, parochial halls, community centres, hotels, and town halls across Ireland but each month we are
leaving the band in bit of a bind. Billy filled in for a time, but eventually they found their ideal front man in Derek McMenamin, a handsome, tall singer whose good looks, charm, and talent rivaled any of the other leading front men of the time. With Derek in place, the band cut its first record in London during a tour of England in February, 1964, She's The One You Love. Released in summer, the single faded quickly, making little impact. For a time in early 1964, Derek left the band to complete his college education where he was studying to become a teacher. By summer, he had taken his finals and was back with the band. At the end of 1964, the band announced that Derek was changing his last name to Dean and the band also changed its name to Derek and the Freshmen. In 1965, the band recorded and released more singles. The first, I Stand Alone, failed to make an impression. However, their recording of Yenka was a top ten hit in November 1965. Over the next two years, the band's reputation and status went from strength to strength. They became the top Northern Band to play the South and at one point were ranked as the number four showband behind only the Royal, Miami and the Cadets. In August 1966, the band announced that it was changing its name once again and would be known as Derek Dean, Billy and the Freshmen, an obvious nod to Billy's growing influence in the band. In 1967, the Freshmen were part of the showband elite in Ireland. Oliver Barry took over managing the band in mid-1967 and their record, Papa-Oo-Mow-Mow reached number seven in the Irish charts and stayed in the charts for eight weeks well into 1968. In September, 1968, the band announced a new image...gone were the tailored suits of the showband era and now the band took to the stage in "mod" gear. The move was actually seen as risky. A Spotlight
article in the September 7th issue stated, "Ballroom managers were aghast....they felt dancers wouldn't go for it at all." They started a string of top ten hits and the band was doing extremely well as the money came pouring in. They released Go Granny Go, Number 12 in August 1968, Just to See You Smile, Number 9 in March 1969, and Halfway to Where, Number 10 in April 1970. In the April 26th, 1969 issue of Spotlight, an article reported that the band had claimed to have played before 16,000 dancers over the Easter week and that it must be some kind of record. Things were going well for the Freshmen. 1970 was the year the band released their second album, Peace On Earth. The album was heralded as an artistic masterpiece and is still regarded by many as the greatest Irish pop album ever made. The same year, they performed their "Peace Concert" at the RDS in Dublin which featured noted actor Micheal MacLiammoir as narrator (the role he also played on the album). Amid all the success though, trouble was brewing. The band had become too identified with the Beach Boys sound and as the Beach Boys fortunes' faded, so too did the Freshmen's. In February, 1971, it was reported in Spotlight that Billy had been sacked by the band. The article said that Billy had been ill for some time and started missing dates. Billy himself said he had been feeling ill and that his doctor thought it was either his appendix or gallstones, but that he was going into hospital within the week. In the meantime, the band voted to sack the all star singer songwriter and was looking for a replacement. which they found in Ivan Laybourne. When Billy returned to health, he decided to form his own group, The Billy Brown Superband. He recruited one of the finest lineup of musicians perhaps ever to play the ballroom circuit. Billy was joined
All editorial and photographs are kindly supplied by Gerry Gallagher from www.irish-shownbands.com Over the years Gerry has built up what can only be describe as the definitive guide to the showband era. I would like to thank Gerry for allowing us to reproduce the articles and photos in Mature Living. If you would like to know more about your favourite band or who was number one in a particular year visit www.irish-showbands.com
planning to feature a band from the west with the help of Gerry Gallagher and www.irish-showbands.com . Apart from a few who enjoy near mythical status (such as the Royal Showband and a handful of others), most bands came together, played for a few years and then either reinvented themselves, changed their name, or just disappeared, their members either returning to civilian life, or scattering to two or three new bands. For such a small country, it is difficult to comprehend the sheer
number of bands that the country produced. Almost as hard to imagine, is the number of dance halls that once dotted the countryside, many out in the "middle of nowhere." Pick up next months issue for another blast from the blast from the showband era...
by Johnny Brown (bass), Dessie Reynolds (drums), Keith McDonald (sax), Pascal Haverty (sax), Tiger Taylor (guitar), and Mike Nolan (RIP-trumpet). The musicianship was excellent, but the band lacked originality and that "certain" spark, lasting less than a year. The early seventies saw the Freshmen continue to slip in popularity and earnings. Following a false start with his superband, Billy teamed up with Mike O'Brien to form Brown and O'Brien in 1972. In February 1972, original member Davy McKnight announced he was leaving the Freshmen to join Clubsound, however it took a couple of months for the band to find a replacement. A follow up article in May announced that Davy had joined the band who had changed their name to Warm Sensation. The band's lineup was Davy (drums), Eddie McCrudden, Barry McCrudden (keyboards), Harry Hickland (sax), Billy Bingham (guitar) and George Jones (bass). Although it was rumoured Davy might be replaced by RTE's Ian McGarry, it was Linsey Lunney (College Boys) who came to the band on drums. In April, 1972, founder member Maurice Henry left the band to move into management. In a Spotlight interview, Maurice jokingly said, "I've left the Freshmen mainly because of old age." The first act he signed was Cathy and the Fugitives from Mayo and shortly thereafter added the Sounds. Meanwhile, Brown and O'Brien did not find the magic either and the band went to Canada. However Billy returned on his own and a report in Spotlight on October 12, 1972 claimed he would not be rejoining the Freshmen. Of course, Billy did rejoined the Freshmen after leaving Brown and O'Brien in October, 1972. He brought guitarist Tiger Taylor with him who replaced original member Damien McIlroy. However, Linsey Lunny left the band around the same time. A blurb
original Freshmen lineup. Although Billy Brown had been an original member, he had left the band for several years. By 1980, the Freshmen, one of the greatest components of pop music in Ireland, were finally no more. After almost twenty years the band who had smoothly made the transition from 60's showband to 70's pop group successfully (while staying true to their legacy of producing quality music) called it quits. On the recent series "Little Bit of Showband," Derek recounted the story of a gig in Boyle when only a
The Freshmen in 1968 in Spotlight reported Damien was leaving the band at the end of September, 1972 and he went to South Africa. A month later in October, keyboard player Ivan Laybourne, reportedly went to Scotland, but ended up joining Damien in South Africa. Throughout the mid to late seventies, the Freshmen continued to play, ending up as a six piece and trying to make a living in a scene that was slowly dying and well past its prime. Around 1978, Torry McGahey left the band, breaking the final remaining link to the
handful of dancers showed up and the decision was made to finish the band. And with a whimper, it was over...the Freshmen were no more. In the years after the showband era ended, the late Billy Brown continued to record, write and produce excellent music. His reputation as one of Ireland's most gifted musicians continued to grow, but on June 6, 1999, at the age of only 56, Billy sadly passed away, leaving the Irish music scene without one of the guiding lights that had illuminated the landscape of the showband era.
Page 25 Mature Living December 2013