New book set to rekindle fond memories of the showband era

BOOK AIMS TO TELL THE STORIES OF THOSE WHO LIVED THROUGH THE ‘GOLDEN’ SHOWBAND ERA

FOR people of a certain vintage the halcyon days and nights of the showband era will always hold a special place in their hearts and memories.

As the dull and grey 1950s drew to a close something of a musical revolution began to take hold in Ireland, with a new brand of brash musicians bringing a fresh style of music to dance halls across the country.

Venues such as the Majestic in Mallow, the Star Ballroom in Millstreet and the Arcadia in Cork City played host to the big names of the day such as the The Dixies, Clipper Carlton, The Royal, The Maimi and many more.

It was a period in Irish entertainment that gave the country its first musical ‘superstars’, with singers like Dickie Rock, Brendan Bowyer, Butch Moore and Brendan O’Brien becoming heroes to their adoring fans.

These fans, their lives and the memories they have of the golden showband era will be the subject of a new book entitled ‘From the Candy Store to the Galtymore’ set to hit bookshelves later on this year.

It will differ to many other books about the period in that it will chronicle this truly unique time through personal stories of the young men and women who religiously went to their local ‘Ballroom of Romance’ each weekend.

In order to achieve that aim, co-editors PJ Cunningham and Dr Joe Kearney have issued an appeal to people to share their stories of the era for inclusion in the book.

“All human life gathered for the weekly dances in what was a significant cultural shift away from the far more formal céilís that had held sway up until then,” said PJ

“We are seeking memories from this golden era that saw the beginnings of thousands of romances. What we want are these stories of romance, of chance meetings or tales that are funny and maybe even somewhat mischievous”.

PJ said that rather than just recalling stories of when their favourite band or singer played their local venues, he was seeking stories of “love and loss, rows and ructions and the fun and games that grew in this new and exciting environment.”

“Ideally the stories people send us should have tension, drama and romance, or even all of these,” said PJ.

“With 200 or 300 bands traversing the country every weekend, and dance halls sprouting up all over the place, everyone has a favourite story from that era,” he added.

Joe Kearney recalled the influence that showbands had on his own youth while working in London.

“In the sixties, many of us spent our time in poor accommodation in Kilburn, Cricklewood, Liverpool or Manchester and lived for the visit of Irish showbands to provide a flavour of home and an escape from the humdrum of ordinary living,” said Joe.

“The likes of The Galtymore, The 32 Club, The Gresham and The Hibernian in London were meccas for us and were packed to the rafters everytime the showbands came to town.”

People intereted in submitting their stories for inclusion in the new book can send them to ballpointpress1@gmail.com.