Red Hurley and his bands
Red Hurley began his foray into the showband scene with The Colours band (formerly The Jackpots) in 1969. In 1970, he went on to form his own band The Wheels, which included Dermot Ryan (sax), Arthur O’Neill (sax), Emmet Wynne (trumpet), Myles Mooney (guitar), Des Hickey (guitar), Johnny Browne (bass), and Denis O’Neill (drums).
He enjoyed his first chart hit with ‘ A Poor Man’s Roses’. The song, written by American Bob Hilliard and composed by Milton De Lugg, was made popular by both Patsy Cline and Patti Page in 1957. Other releases with The Wheels included ‘Isadora’ and ‘Take Me Tonight’.
In 1970, Red had the honour of winning the Castlebar Song Contest with ‘The World Is Such An Empty Place’. The following year saw him join The Nevada Showband as Roly Daniels’s replacement with Tommy Hayden as manager. Hayden guided the fortunes of several of the country’s top bands and entertainers over a number of decades. Red, along with his blonde singing partner Kelly, The Nevada became one of the country’s top attractions.
Red enjoyed a string of number ones with the band up until he left in 1974. In that period, Red and the band scored several of the major top awards, including those for ‘ Top Pop Band’ and ‘Top Male Vocalist’.
In his first year with the band he had two major hits - ‘Sometimes’ which went to No 1 and later, ‘Kiss Me Goodbye’. In early ’72, Red released ‘ Hold Me’ which went to number 3 in the Irish charts and in 1973, ‘ Arkansas’ also hit the No 1 spot.
Reports towards the start of 1974 stated that Red was ‘ unhappy with the band’s image’ and wanted out. It was also reported that after he took a three week holiday in the U.S., he returned and offered to stay with the band. However, the band at that stage had other ideas and had negotiated terms with Glen Curtin (The New Blues) who came in as his replacement.
By Autumn however, he was back on the road with his new band, ‘Red Hurley & his All Stars’. His name held good and he was back at the top of the showband scene, filling ballrooms all over the country.
If Red needed a further boost (not that he did), it came in 1976 when his song ‘ When’ (written by Brendan Graham) was chosen to represent Ireland in the Eurovision song contest. Although dubbed as one of the early favourites to win, his song finished 10th - the UK entry won with ‘Save All Your Kisses For Me’ (Brotherhood of Man). However, ‘When’ became a major chart hit here at home and is usually included whenever Eurovision programmes area aired.
The dancehall scene was changing as the 1970s came to a close and like other bands,
Red took to touring England which was still a lucrative market, while here at home, he concentrated more on cabaret and corporate gigs.
During the 1990s, moved to the United States, where he gradually made inroads into the market there. 2003 saw a return for him to the music charts with the release of a new album/ CD ‘You’re Still You’. The album was a surprise success in Ireland, eventually leading to a successful comeback in the Irish market and a string of new recordings, as well as international success in both the UK and USA which had previously eluded him. Sadly however, he lost quite a lot of money while in the US through agency problems.
A greatest hits compilation ‘Red Hurley – The Hits’ reached the
Irish top ten in 2009 and in 2010 he celebrated 40 years in show business with a sell-out tour of Ireland.
Still very active on the entertainment scene after over 50 years in the business, Red Hurley spends part of his year in the United States where he also has a home. Over the years, all but a few of his many singles made the Irish charts, proof of his immense popularity.