Remembering Eileen Reid & The Cadets
Pat Murphy formed The Cadets towards the end of 1961 and signed up Eileen Reid who had been playing with The Melody Makers around the Dublin area. The majority of the lads were from Dickie Rock’s old band and punters, who were looking for ‘something different’, definitely got that with Eileen sporting her blonde beehive hairdo and the band decked out in snazzy military-style blue and white outfits. For this writer, the distinguishing sound of Brendan O’Connell’s guitar coupled with Pat Murphy’s harmonica playing was really special in that era.
The Cadets played their first date on 23rd of December in the Crystal Ballroom, Dublin with Eileen Reid on vocals, Pat Murphy (harmonica), Jas Fagan (trombone), Gerry Hayes (keyboards), Noel McGann (bass), Brendan O’Connell (guitar), Jimmy Day (sax/guitar) and Ian McGarry (drums) and while they soon became one of the top attractions in the north, they struggled for the first twelve months to make it big down south, even in Dublin where they were known.
1963 was a great year for the band - they went on to become the first Irish showband to appear on the ITV programme, Thank Your Lucky Stars, sharing the stage on July 13, 1963 with none other than Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones who at the time, were new on the scene. They toured with Johnny Cash and June Carter in October and a month later, they were introduced as a major force in the Irish music scene to The Beatles when they visited Dublin. In May the following year, Eileen became the first and only 60’s showband female vocalist to have a number one hit with ‘Fallen Star’. However, their biggest hit would come later that year when they released ‘I Gave My Wedding Dress Away’ - a song that saw Eileen appear on stage sporting a wedding dress - a real show stopper. The dress was eventually raffled for charity. In later years, the song was ridiculed because of its lyrics - ‘My baby sister wanted him / And so she took my place / It’s worth a broken heart to see / The smile upon her face / I’ve cared for her since mother went away / So I gave my wedding dress away’ - what an understanding sister she was!
Eileen’s next release ‘Are You Teasin’ Me’, was a hit in Ireland and while it did not make an impression in Britain, The Cadets did make it into the British charts in June 1965 with ‘Jealous Heart’, albeit for just one week.
In April, 1966, Gregory Donaghy who had formerly been with the Polka Dots, replaced male vocalist Paul Green, giving the band a new lease of life. Gregory topped the Irish charts with ‘More Than Yesterday’, only two months after joining the band. The Cadets were considered one of Ireland’s showband royalty and one of the top ten showbands of the era, along with such legends as The Capitol, The Royal, The Miami, and The Clipper Carlton. The Cadets continued to tour the showband circuit and notched up an impressive run of hits including ‘Right Or Wrong’, ‘If I Had My Life To Live Over’, ‘At The Close Of A Long Day’ and ‘Land Of Gingerbread’.
June 1968 saw the end of the road for Eileen with The Cadets and shortly after, she married the band’s sax player, Jimmy Day. While the band continued on without her and released several records, they had no more records in the Irish Charts and the band eventually split in 1970.