Tweed / The Whole Shebang
(1971 - 1998)
Our thanks to Gerry Gannon
for additional info on the band
Ask anyone who was around in the '70's and
early 80's who the top pop bands were in Ireland and usually Tweed
will be mentioned as being in the top five. Formed by Brendan and Kenny Ryder and based
in Kilkenny, the band were the ultimate performers,
reproducing the hits of the day with amazing quality and detail.
During a period when "pop" bands in Ireland were increasingly
dropping their brass sections in favour of synthesizers and additional
multi-instrumentalists, Tweed maintained a driving brass section,
giving them an unmatched presence on stage. Of special interest to
fans were the powerful vocals of guitarist/percussionist, Brendan
Ryder.
The first mention we found about the band was
on May, 1971 in the "On the Showband Scene" column from the
Nenagh Guardian newspaper. The were described as "not a c/w band
and not a pop band." Interestingly, they were reported to be
"sporting very smart Donegal tweed suits," and were known as the
"Tweed Showband" in the early days, a name
that didn't last too long.
The band included members of the
Nomads (who broke up in May, 1970 and
reformed as the Jim Cantwell Orchestra) and the original lineup included Brendan Ryder
(vocals), Kenny Ryder (guitar), Michael O'Grady (keyboards), Arthur
Connick (trumpet), Bertie Sherman (sax), Jeff Bourke (RIP-drums), and
Tony Ford (bass). The band was advertised as playing a wide variety
of musical styles including a heavy sprinkling of country and
western (which would soon disappear). Originally Brendan was
advertised as the "frontman" and the band as "The New Summer Sound."
They were managed by Larry Lohan. Keyboard player Michael O'Grady
was billed as the band's "second vocalist."
Tweed were part of the "new sound" that swept
across the Irish Ballroom scene in the early seventies. As the
divisions between pop and country grew, and the showbands were
forced to make a choice between the two (but still trying to
straddle the line as "all things to all people") bands like
Chips, The Memories, Tweed, and the revamped
Plattermen became pure
pop groups, bordering at times as rock bands. At the time, the word
"progressive" was used to described this new direction.
This all happened, of course, as the pop sounds
on the International scene of the Beatles, Monkees and the rest of
the late 60's gave way to bands like the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Led
Zeppelin and Atomic Rooster. Many would call this period the
"beginning of the end" of the showband era, and in some ways it was,
but more about that elsewhere on the site.
In 1972, the band added Johnny Scully on
trumpet, expanding to an eight piece band, a lineup which would stay
in place for the next few years. In June of 1972, they released their
first single, Six Days, an original number which got some air
play, but did not hit the charts. For the next few years, it would
be the band's live set that gained them much attention and
notoriety. Like the Plattermen, the band featured driving rhythms
and featured Brendan Ryder on congas, something previously unknown
on the showband scene.
1973 saw the band release a second single,
Caroline, which like their previous release, got some airplay
but did not crack the Irish charts.
In October, 1974, Tweed placed an advert in
Spotlight looking for a keyboard player and sax player, they added
Barry Woods and Gay Brazel to the lineup. We are unsure whether Gay
actually played sax, but we know he took over the lead guitar job
when Kenny left the band. Kenny left
the band around 1976 and formed his own Kenny Ryder Superband. Seanie Ryan tells us that today Kenny still lives in Thurles and
plays across the country with his band, Knight Ryders.
The rest of the seventies saw the band release
more singles, none of which made much of an impact, but all served to
strengthen their brand as one of Ireland's top pop/rock bands on the
ballroom circuit. In 1979, the band entered a song in the Irish
National Song Contest, No Restrictions, which placed fifth
and was beaten out by Cathal Dunne's Happy Man. It would be
the band's one and only foray into the Eurovision world.
In June, 1981 the band underwent another change
when original drummer Jeff Bourke left and was replaced by Seanie
Ryan from Thurles. Seanie had been with Tweed founding member Kenny
Ryder's Superband prior to joining the Kim
Newport Band in 1980. A year later, they released Why Don't
You Spend the Night which cracked the Irish Charts, hitting
number 16, giving the band it's first chart success after over a
decade on the road. It was also the first release on the Drive Label
which during its short time on the music scene also featured
The Nevada and the
Conquerors.
By 1983, both Brendan and Kenny were no longer
with the band and Gay Brazel and Johnny Scully were the only links
to the Tweed of old, although all the original members of the band
were gone by this stage. Dave Flynn had taken over lead vocals and
the lineup now included Gay Brazel (guitar), Pat Kelly (bass), Brian
O'Driscoll (drums), Donal Duggan (keyboards), and Johnny Scully
(trumpet). They were being managed by John Egan.
As far as we can tell, the band went off the
road in 1988, but reappeared under the moniker "Tweed-The
Whole Shebang," eventually dropping the Tweed part of the name in
the mid 1990's. BY 1992 they were being managed by Jim O'Connor. It
appears from adverts that The Whole Shebang played initially
took up where Tweed left off but would also downsize and by the late
1990's they were playing mostly in and around the southeast. We
could find no new gig adverts for either name by 1998 but if anyone
out there knows any more, please let us know. We will continue to
research.....
More to come....
Click on thumbnails for full images
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Kenny Ryder: Kenny
formed his own Superband after leaving Tweed and continued
to play. Today he still lives and plays around Thurles and
the rest of the country with his band, Knight Ryders.
However, a
check of the Internet in May, 2010, showed Kenny had a band
called Gogga in late 2009.
If you have
more info please email us
. |
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Brendan Ryder:
Brendan Ryder is playing with Dave Hallisey
in the wedding band, The Paddies and lives in Thurles. If you have
more info please email us |
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Tony Ford: Unknown - if you have info please email us |
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Jeff Bourke - RIP:
Jeff sadly passed away in November, 2006. |
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Michael "Mog" O'Grady
- RIP:
Sean Hughes wrote to tell us that Michael some time ago that
was a lecturer in
industrial design at the Institute of Technology in Carlow.
He played with many local bands since leaving Tweed and went
to Birmingham to study Interior Design.Mog sadly passed away
on April 21, 2020 after a long illness. |
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Bertie Sherman - RIP:
Bertie sadly passed away in July, 1978. (Info from Seanie
Ryan) |
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Johnny Scully:
An email from Patricia Moriarty in May, 2011 tells us that
Johnny is living in Kilkenny and playing with a local two
piece band, but she didn't know the name. We think they are
called Leather and Lace.
If you have more info please email us |
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Arthur Connick: Unknown - if you have info please email us |
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Gay Brazel:
Gay kept Tweed going well into the 90's with the band using
two names, we think, both Tweed and the Whole Shebang. Today
he has a two piece band called The Dreamers which continues to play
pubs, weddings and corporate functions. For a time in the
mid 00's, he was a regular
member of Isla Grant's touring band when she came to
Ireland, but we understand he is no longer with Isla as of
mid 2009. |
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Pat Kelly: Today, Pat
plays in Robert Mizzell's Country King's band and also
manages Robert (from his son, Pat) |
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Gerry Gannon: James
McIntosh wrote to tell us Gerry now lives in Australia. A
check of Gerry's website shows he started working in radio
while still in Ireland, operating CBC Radio in Tipperary,
which we have to assume was a pirate station as there were
no licenses for local radio that early. He left Ireland in
1983 and went to Australia where he settle in Perth and
worked with ABC Radio for many years. Today, Gerry is a
professional corporate facilitator/ MC and media skills
trainer. |
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Dave Hallisey:
Dave left Tweed in 1985 and went
to the United States. While there, he played on the Irish
music scene in Texas. He returned to Ireland in 2002 and is
now playing with Brendan Ryder in
the wedding band, The Paddies. |
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Seanie Ryan: After
leaving Tweed in 1984, Seanie emigrated to the United States where
he met up with former band mates Kim (Newport) and Gerry Gallagher in
California. He married an American girl, Pamela, has two
children, and after many years in Oklahoma, he now lives in
Houston, Texas where he plays a regular residency gig. |
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Dave Flynn:
We received an email in January
2014 from Paul Power telling us, "Dave "Skinner" Flynn
continues to play solo and two piece gigs on the Waterford
circuit and recently got the popular band Simon back
together for 4 piece gigs around the south east. They play
on the last Friday of every month in the newly opened
Reginald bar in Waterford. Our thanks to Paul for the
update. |
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Robert Bible - RIP:
After leaving Tweed around 1983, Robert returned to the pub
scene in and around Waterford. In the early 2000's,
Robert joined with former Tweed
band mates Brendan
Ryder and Dave Hallisey in the wedding band, The Paddies. We
understand he left the band after a few years and returned
to the pub scene around Waterford. However, we received a
very sad email from his cousin, Katie Measham, telling us
that on April 25, 2011, Easter Sunday night, Robert was
tragically killed in a car crash returning from a gig. Our
sincere sympathies are extended to his family and friends. |
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Brian O'Driscoll:
An email from Andy O'Driscoll in July, 2011 tells us that
Brian was playing with Andy Cooney's Band in New York up
until a few years ago. We emailed Andy Cooney who told us
Brian left the band and returned to Ireland and now lives in
Kilkenny.
If you know more, please let us know |
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Donal Duggan: Donal
is still playing on the scene and is currently the keyboard
player with Mike Denver. |
