50...and counting!
FIFTY YEARS ON, THE SOUND SHOP IS NOW A VAST ALADDIN’S CAVE OF MUSIC, AND DESPITE BEING RETIRED, TOMMY LEDDY SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN, AS ALISON COMYN FINDS OUT.
IT’S three minutes to 9 on a drizzly Thursday morning, but instead of settling down at home to do the crossword, Tommy Leddy has already been inside his vast empire for half an hour. “I really am retired, but I like to pop in every now and again, just to make sure they’re all alright,” says Tommy with a cheeky smile.
And after five decades of being the North East’s premier music shop, you can understand how routine alone would make it difficult to stay away.
The Sound Shop is celebrating its Golden anniversary this month, and co-owners Tommy and Sean McEvoy recall the early days of dipping their toes into the world of vinyl discs and gramophone needles.
The shop first opened its doors on 14 North Quay on May 24th, 1968, and in those early years, both men concentrated on selling records and manufacturing sound systems and speakers, some of which are still working to this day!
But Tommy had always had a gra for music, even though his first paid job in town was driving lorries for Bellews!
“I was actually born in Wolverhampton in 1939, and moved to Drogheda when I was a baby,” explains Tommy, who was one of four boys Tommy, Liam, Ciaran, and Val, who passed away in 1979.
“My father played the squeeze box and I picked it up when I was about ten, and that’s when I caught the bug.”
Tommy Leddy’s initial steps into the musical entertainment world was in 1950 when he played an accordion in a Scouts Concert in the Whitworth Hall.
From there in 1951/’52 he joined the Drogheda Brass Band and then got a part as a sailor on the Drogheda Pantomime in the Gate Cinema. In 1954 he joined the Sunray Ceili Band with the late Tom Sullivan. One year later in 1955 he formed part of the Toppers Showband, with Mal Caffery, Tommy Moonan and the late Podge Reynolds.
“I still have the bass guitar I bought for 11 weeks wages, which was a huge amount of money back then,” says Tommy.
“We were only together a year when the first Parish Nights were held in Saint Brigid’s Hall, and we were awarded 2nd prize. We were thrilled with ourselves!”
They proved to be an extremely popular band and were always in huge demand. They helped out enormously with the fundraising efforts by the parish Fund Committee who raise finance to build the Lourdes Church and the Parochial Centre. In 1957 the Toppers Showband decided to go on tour where they enjoyed many successes and enriched the lives of everyone.
Then in 1969 the Drogheda Pantomime Society was reformed, and Tommy was asked to sponsor the sound equipment of which he duly obliged.
From there on he continued to work arduously for the Pantomime Society raising many thousands of pounds every year for charities.
“When Sean and I opened the first shop in 1968, we headed to Dublin with 200 pounds, where we went straight to Walton’s to buy as much stock as we could, and had to wait until we sold it, ‘ til we could buy more!”
It wasn’t long though until they were granted the agency for Wurlitzer Organs, and that’s when the instrument side of the business really took off, along with the successful Boyne School of Music.
“In 1972, we took over the next-door shop at number 14, but even then, we didn’t have enough space, so in 1976, we bought the iconic Mayoralty House on the North Quay and the rest, as they say is history.”
The partners paid the princely sum of 30,000 pounds for the property, however, it needed extensive work before they could move in.
“It was in a terrible state, with families of pigeons living in the roof, and we had to put it back together before we could open,” recalls Tommy.
“But in many ways, it was a heyday for the music business in the town, and from vinyl to CDs, instruments to sound systems, we served the people of the North East and beyond, becoming the main dealer for many brands.” And that hasn’t changed since Tommy fulfilled his dream of opening his own theatre in 2009, and moved into a 12,000 square foot store beside it in East Coast Business Park.
He says the idea first came about in 2004 when the old St. Peter’s Parochial hall in Drogheda was sold to a developer and subsequently demolished.
“I decided that Drogheda and the surrounding areas needed a proper, professional theatre that could cater for every type of performance,” he says.
Married to Marie, Tommy handed the running of the business over to his son Adam a number of years ago, but most of his children and grandchildren are involved in the music business in some way.
“It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but please God it’ll be a good while until we say Bye Bye Now to the Sound Shop in Drogheda.”