The Showband era –
nothing quite like it ever again
The Twinkle of an eye across the dance-floor, maybe a rock around the
clock and, before you knew it, you were actually doing the Huckle Buck!
The Duck, The Twist and many more.
The magical days of the Showband era, the very mention of which sends
those of a certain age into uncontrollable laugher and even produces the
odd blush.
As a 2O (and just a tiny, a very tiny bit extra) year old, it never
ceases to amaze me that everyone’s parents seem to have met at a venue
that sounds more like a rollercoaster at a carnival than a nightclub, or
should that be a disco, or maybe it’s live gig venue. No, sorry we’re
talking Ireland 1960’s- Dance Halls.
Yes, everyone's’ parents seems to have met in a dance hall, where
ventilation was courtesy of some fecker who left the door open, and laser
lighting something that only happened when some show off decided he was
Tarzan and attempted to swing from the crystal ball!
Names like The Ritz in Carlow, Dreamland Athy and The Carlton,
Kilkenny, immediately spring to mind, where young ones dressed to the
nines and queued for hours just to catch a glimpse of such ‘superstuds’ as
Brendan Boyer and Dickie Rock.
The fact that these dance halls didn’t even have a bar and still
managed to attract hundreds of punters, is even more amazing! But then I
did hear a rumour that the fella's always made sure they were well ‘tanked
up’ before they arrived at all!
Looking back on the old footage, well let’s just say I hope deodorant
was as important then as it is now! And as for fire and safety, well the
phrase ‘pack’n them in’ seems to have been taken quite literally!
But despite the hassles of queuing, the surroundings, which were far
from the lap of luxury, and non existent taxis outside the door, one thing
was certain, everyone had an absolute ball!
Dancing away to the top ten of the day, watching the country’s top
bands give it their all, it was more that just a night of music, it was a
performance!
None of this ‘cool dude’ attitude of sauntering round the stage and
begrudgingly muttering out the odd tune like today’s top bands, no, the
Showbands put their heart and soul into it.
Running all over the stage, climbing up the sides of the wall, all
dancing in unison, they were performers (or so I’m told!)
No one ever complained that the music wasn’t original, no one ever
complained that they didn’t sing the songs as well as the bands that wrote
them and no one ever complained about the atmosphere, it was electric!
Well this Christmas the atmosphere can be relived again, thanks to the
launch of new video, CD and cassette, with the amusing and appropriate
name, ‘Do you come here often?.’
This tribute to the Showband era is a collection of all the big names
of the era.
From Brendan Boyer of The Royal Showband and Eileen Reid of The Cadets,
to Brendan O’Brien from The Dixies and Billy Brown from The Freshmen -
there all together on this one collection which looks set to evoke vivid
memories of the Showband era.
The country’s favourite window-washer Sonny Knowles, and 1969
Eurovision hopeful Muriel Day recently came to Carlow to promote ‘Do you
come here often?,’ and eagerly enthused about the era of which they were a
part.
Muriel explained how the idea for ‘Do you come here often?’ was sparked
by a David Hull promotions’ concert three years ago in the Waterfront,
Belfast, which was hosted by George Jones.
The Showband tribute night attracted many of the country’s most noted
Showband performers, and the crowd of 2,500 went wild, simply loving every
minute of it!
Extra concerts followed and suddenly the concerts became an annual
slot, that just kept getting bigger and bigger resulting in the CD,
cassette and video of the concert.
“The Showband era was such a magic time, there can’t be another time
like it, the songs were sing-a-long and everyone knew and loved them,”
Sonny reminisces, as if thinking of an old friend.
“It was a completely different time. We loved it, we were young and we
didn’t care, we were being paid for having fun,” he laughs.
Muriel remembers fondly the night she performed for Ireland in the
Eurovision in Madrid.
“Its was the first time Eurovision was linked by satellite to all the
countries, so the audience was enormous. It was so exciting I sang ‘Wages
of Love’ and came in fourth,” she adds proudly.
“When I look back on the video now I nearly die, I walked out in front
of millions of people and flicked the microphone from one hand to the
other, like we did on the Showband's. I could have let it fall or
anything.”
Sonny, recalls a gig he performed in Seapoint, Galway, where he ran up
the sides of the stage which were just made of chip board.
“I ran across the stage and attempted to run up the wall but my foot
went through it and there I was lodged in the wall,” laughs Sonny.
So did the duo make loads of money?
“You couldn’t buy with money people’s reactions. Everywhere we went we
got presents and the friendliness of the people was brilliant,” says
Muriel.
“I emigrated to Canada and started my own band there. Irish bands
really led the way in those days. I am back in Ireland now about six years
ago”.
“The Showband era was a magic, beautiful time, we didn’t make much
money but I suppose at the time we were making better money than most
other lads in different types of employment ,” Sonny recalls..
The above article appeared in the Carlow Nationalist in January
1999.
The Sailors Showband
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