Memories

1950's The Orchestras:Following the leadfrom the "bigbands" of theearly to mid 20thcentury, the fiftiesstarted with 10-12(or more) pieceOrchestras thatusually featured aband leader,piano, a drummerand the balance ofmusicians playing

brass instruments. Guitars were nowhere to be seen and sheetmusic was read from the sitting position, complete with bow tiesand tuxedos. The music was mellow and the musicians stationery.We now have a separate section on the orchestras, and they arealso covered under the showbands section.

1960's The Showbands:Starting in thelate 1950's,orchestrastrimmed theirnumbers to 7 or8 musicians,pushed asidetheir musicstands, tradedtheir tuxedos forcolorful suits,learned the hitsof the day byheart and jumped

around the stage in all manner of gyrations. The emphasis was onexcitement, entertainment and the occasional gimmick. The musicwas loud, the halls packed and a lot of people (usually not themusicians themselves) got rich!

1970's & 80's - Pop:The dawning ofthe 1970'sprovided awatershed formost bands aspop and countrystarted toemerge as thedominant formsof danceentertainment.Althougheverybodyplayed a little ofeverything,

bands generally declared themselves as one or the other. Brassbecame less prevalent, some groups played with as few as fivemembers, and the halls, although still going well, had seen bettertimes, both in attendance and amenities. Hotels came into theirown as the venue of choice for dancing and Ireland started toproduce some very original music.

The Bands of our There were hundreds of them. Irish

bands of every size, description andmusical genre traveling the roads and

borheens of Ireland. They travelled thelength and breadth of the country from the1950's through the mid 1980's. Although"officially" the term showband was coinedin the late fifties and was used to describebands that played a wide variety of musicand usually included a "show" during thenight, the term was gradually applied to allthe bands that played in the 1960's. As theIrish music scene splintered in the latesixties into pop, country bands, the term wasdropped but we still find it the best overall

description of the bands of the "ballroom"era. In the early days, they travelled inwhatever they could find...bread vans,hearses, and even cars (roof racks and all).In later years, many (if not most) of themtravelled in converted Ford Transit vans(like the one pictured right) that werenormally used for delivery services. After acouple of windows were popped into thecentre panels, a row or two of old airplaneseats were installed and the band was readyto travel "in style." Although style was amatter of opinion...if you're stuck in theback of a van on a cold and rainy winter'snight, it may seem like "a long way to

THE Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo based RivieraShowband enjoyed national success on theballroom circuit from the mid sixtiesthrough 1970. Managed by Seamus Coxfrom Aghamore, the band featured SheaCribbin from Kilkelly as lead singer andrecorded a number of singles which gavethe band a high profile at the time. Theoriginal lineup included Malachy Tiernan(RIP-sax), Shay Cribben (RIP-vocals),Gerry Foley (guitar), Brendan O'Grady(drums), Kevin Maloney (bass), JohnConway (keyboards) and Patsy Haugh(trumpet).

In 1967, the band was dealt a setbackwhen all their equipment was lost in a firein Manchester. In the same year, several ofthe lads were shocked, literally, because ofa short in an electrical circuit of aballroom in Dublin. The incident requireda few of the lads to visit a Dublin hospitalfor treatment. In the meantime, the boysplayed on borrowed instruments, while

saving up the money to purchase newinstruments.

Among the songs recorded by Shea wereLove and the Country, written by bandmembers Malachy Tiernan and PatsyHaugh, as well as Baby Won’t You LeaveMe Alone, Maybe, The Latchyco, Flamein Your Heart, and The Girl Next Door.

Seamus Cox tells us that the band was‘christened’ by Thomas Anthony Tighe,who for many years was one of the bestknown calf dealers in the province, andthey settled on the “Riviera” right away.They also released a country songfeaturing guitarist Gerry Foley called, Justa Girl I Used To Know.

Although the band played a wide varietyof music on stage, they describedthemselves as a pop band even though acouple of their singles were country. SaidShea in 1970, "That was a time whencountry and western music seemed to be ata peak of popularity."

Riviera Showband (1964-1971)

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1970's & 80's - Country:Country musicstarted to emergefrom the showbandera as a separategenre in the late1960's with thesuccess of bandslike The SmokeyMountainRamblers, CottonMill Boys, andothers. At the same

time, a split was also occurring in the country genre as a uniquelyIrish version of country was created, combining American countryinstrumentation and rhythms with Irish folk themes and even alittle ceili influence. The result was "Country and Irish," a homegrown version of country personified by people like LarryCunningham, Margo and Big Tom.

1970's & 80's - Rock:Although Irish "rock"traces its roots back tothe Beat groups ofDublin, Belfast and ahandful of major citiesin the 1960's, it wasn'tuntil the early 70's thateveryone started toreally take notice.Beginning with VanMorrison, Rory

Gallagher, Thin Lizzy and Horslips, Irish rock bands started tomake their mark on the world; eventually paving the way for bandslike U2, Stiff Little Fingers, and a host of others that would follow.

All Years: Folk/Trad:The rise of Irishfolk began in the60's with bandslike The ClancyBrothers withTommy Makemand TheDubliners, but inthe early 70's, anew Irish folk/tradstyle took theworld by storm inthe wake of

Planxty, Clannad, the Bothy Band and others that pioneered a"new" Irish sound. It was the pioneering creativity of musicianslike Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, the Chieftains, and many more,that provided the groundwork that would lead to the Riverdancephenomenon

Tipperary," but it's even further toCastletownbere, Co. Cork!

It will be impossible to list all the bandsthat played the dance halls, ballrooms,marquees, parochial halls, communitycentres, hotels, and town halls across Irelandbut each month we are planning to feature aband from the west with the help of GerryGallagher and www.irish-showbands.com .Apart from a few who enjoy near mythicalstatus (such as the Royal Showband and ahandful of others), most bands cametogether, played for a few years and theneither reinvented themselves, changed theirname, or just disappeared, their members

eitherreturning tocivilian life, orscattering totwo or threenew bands.

For such asmall country,it is difficult to comprehend the sheernumber of bands that the country produced.Almost as hard to imagine, is the number ofdance halls that once dotted the countryside,many out in the "middle of nowhere." In next month’s issue we will be featuringthe Stylos from Sligo

“The band wereon the road foraround six yearsform 1964 to 1971.They alwaysenjoyed bigpopularity in theirhome area. Weplayed dates allover the country.The marquees wereall the go in thesummers of thatera. We also touredEngland severaltimes. The ladsalways went downwell because therewere so manyyoung people fromthe West of Irelandover there at thetime,” recallsSeamus.

The band split upin 1971 with Shea Cribben joining theshort lived Real Country band whichfeatured George Kaye (ex-Smokeys). Theband was on the road for about two yearsand when they broke up, Shea left themusic industry.

Shea Cribbin had resided in Dublin formany years where he was involved in theinsurance and financial services business.He sang occasionally at church services,but sadly passed away Sept. 30, 2005.Patsy Hugh lives in Castlerea and hasalways maintained his involvement withthe music business down through theyears. He currently fronts his own band,the Phoenix Showband, and they have anew album due out in the coming month.

Malachy Tiernan played sax with theband and lives near Charlestown where hehas been involving in farming for severalyears. He too has maintained strong linkswith the music scene down the years.

Gerry Foley resides in Barcul, Kilkelly,and is also associated with the farmingscene. He retained an association with themusic business for several years but is nolonger active on this circuit.

Drummer Brendan O’Grady is a farmerin the Charlestown area and is no longerinvolved in the music. Kevin Maloney,another Charlestown man, lives nearCloonfad and occasionally features onstage. John Conway, formerly of BridgeStreet, Ballyhaunis lives in Dublin. Hewas involved in showbiz promotions,managing the fortunes of the NiagraShowband for a time.

The last word goes to former managerSeamus Cox: “We had some good yearswith the band and some memorable onestoo. There has often been talk of a reunionlike the Royal Blues did back in 1983 andagain a few years ago. However, for onereason or another, it has not come to passyet anyway.”

A typical Showband Dance scene

Article and Photos courtesy of Gerry Gallagher www.irish-showbands.com

Page 23 Mature Living January 2012

Showband Era A marquee in Geesala, Co Mayo.