The largest digital showband archive in the world!
Based In Sligo, Ireland / email:
showbands@gmsproductions.com
With thanks to Irish Newspaper Archives:
https://www.irishnewsarchive.com
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Sad
news today from John Harrold that cabaret legend Joe Cuddy has
passed away
Sad
news today from community member John Harrold that Chuck (John)
Owens has sadly passed away at his home in Granard, Co. Longford.
Chuck came into the business in the late sixties, playing with his
local family band in the Granard area, but was soon treading the
floors weith his own band, Wagon Wheel around 1971. In 1972 he would
join the Sahara Showband and after a short stint, was paired with
the Texans who would be hired by Jimmy Higgins to form the basis of
the New Smokeys after the band broke up in early 1973, along with
his future wife, June McLoughlin who had been with the Top 7. The
New Smokeys, featuring Chuck and June, would eventually form the
basis for Larry Cunningham's Country Blueboys after he split with
Margo in 1976. Chuck and June would eventually form their own band
in the early 80s, Country Comfort which they renamed the Gamblers
and enjoyed a long career including recording and producing many
records over the years. Our sincere sympathies are extended to June
and his entire family and friends across the country, especially in
their home town of Granard.
Extremely
sad news from friend of the showband community, Tony Killeen, that
Michael Coppinger, legendary sax player with the Royal Showband
passed away age 81 in Waterford. A few years ago, Michael's son, also Michael, wrote to tell us his
dad still lived in Waterford. In the early 80's he
formed a ten-piece band called Brass and Co, along with fellow
ex Royal, Eddie Sullivan, who were, at that point, still on the go. He
retired in 2004 and spend most of his time
golfing. As of February 2018, Michael, told us
he no longer was able to perform and hadn't been in great
health but was still on the go. Sadly, he passed away on
November 26th, 2020 just six months after we lost Brendan Bowyer.
Our sincere sympathies are extended to his son, Michael, and his
entire family. He was predeceased his his loving wife, Carmel. 
Sad
news today that Irish blues singer, Ditch Cassidy has passed away.
Ditch made his mark on the Dublin beat group scene starting in the
mid 1960's with bands like the Kingbees and his own band The News.
He recorded several singles but apparently never made an album,
although he was signed by Decca records around 1970. Ditch remained
a major influence on the Dublin beat and subsequent rock scene for
the rest of his life playing regularly with various bands until his
sad passing. Our sincere sympathies are extended to his family,
friend and fans around the world. 
Sad
news this morning from community member Teddie Palmer that country
legend Brian Coll has passed away at the age of 79. The Omagh singer
started his career in or around 1959 with the Platters Dance
Orchestra. They would become the Plattermen a few years later
becoming one of the top showbands in the nation due to Brian's easy
going country style. He left the band and formed his own Buckaroos
and remained at the top of the Irish entertainment scene for the
next 50 years. Our sincere sympathies are extended to his family and
friends both in Ireland, the UK and around the world. 
Sad
news from Tony Killeen that Liam Ryan, former manager of the Casino,
Farmer's Sons, Radio Showband and promoter of several major
ballrooms including the Olympic in Dublin has passed away age 88 in
Sword's, Dublin. Originally from Tipperary, Liam would be best known
as the manager of the Casino Showband in the early 1960's and the
owner of the Olympic Ballroom in Dublin. Through his involvement
with other venues, he would become one of the best known figures on
the Irish entertainment scene. Our sincere sympathies are extended
to his wife, Alice and his extended family.
Sad
news this morning from community member John Harrold, that Tommy
Tohill from the Hilton Showband and Newry's Rhythm Aces
has passed away in his home in Warrenpoint, Co. Down. Tommy hit the
road with the Hilton back in 1963 as the band's bass player
One of the founding members of the band, Tommy had previously been
with the Rhythm Aces, which started around 1958 and would eventually
split with several other members to form the Hilton. The band would
travel the country over the sixties and seventies playing every
corner of Ireland. Even after the showband 
Very
sad news this morning that Brendan Bowyer, arguably the most famous
of the showband era's stars, has passed away in Las Vegas aged 81
after a prolonged illness. There is little that can be said about
Brendan and his impact on the showband era in Ireland. Although not
the first showband to come on the scene, the Royal were one of the
most influential and popular bands ever to take the stage in the
1960's. In 1971 Brendan and his partner Tom Dunphy left the band to
form the Big Eight which never reached the heights of popularity the
Royal enjoyed, but enjoyed massive success on both sides of the
Atlantic. The band and Brendan would eventually relocate to Las
Vegas where he and many of his bandmates settled for the rest of
their lives. He would continue to thrill audiences for decades and
enjoyed legendary status among his fans here at home. He is survived
by wife, Stella, children Brendan, Aisling and Clodagh and
grandchildren Liam and Nora. Our sincere sympathies are extended to
his family, friends and fans around the world.
Sad
news today that Michael "Mog" O'Grady has passed away in Kilkenny
after a long illness. Michael first joined the ranks of showbands
back in 1968 when he became a member of the Nomads Showband. He next
break was with the Jim Cantwell Big Band before finally joining with
Brendan Ryder to form pop band Tweed in the early 1970's. He left
the band in 1974 and studied Industrial Design in Birmingham. He
would spend the next 33 years as a lecturer with the Carlow
Institute of Technology. He would continue to play with many local
bands over the years and also served 10 years on the Kilkenny Arts
Council. Michael will be sadly missed by his loving wife Proinnsiasa
and daughter Muireann, plus his extended family and friends in
Ireland and abroad. 
Sad
news today from John Harrold that John Browne of Limerick who play
with several showbands in the 60's and 70's has passed away. Based
on newspaper research, we found reference tro John playing with the
Laugh Galore Company (headed up by comedian Michael Ryan) in 1960.
Although he started his career in the late fifties and early
sixties, he joined the Ohio Showband in late 1963, and he was also a
member of the Gary Stone Band in 1992, although we are not 100% sure
of his career path as of today, March 7th, 2020 (more to follow).
Our sincere sympathies are extended his his wife, Noreen and
children Jon, Barbara and Sue, as well as his extended family,
friends and fans across Ireland. 
Sad
new today that crooner Des Smyth has passed away in Dublin. Des was
one of the first stars of the new Telefis Eireann (soon to become
RTE) when he was a regular on the programme, "Showcase" early in the
history of the channel. With his easy going style, Des was a hit
both as a solo cabaret artists as well as fronting his own showband,
The Collegemen. 
Sad
news today from Stefan Nyland (and John Harrold) that Stephen
Treacy, a founding member of both the Premier Aces and Rhythm Stars
Showbands (both based in Ballintubber) has passed away after a long
illness in his hometown of Castlerea, Co. Roscommon. In 1961, the
two brothers struck on their own and formed the Rhythm Stars
Showband which would stay on the road until calling it quits in
1974. In later years, Stephen would own a sports shop in Castlerea
and remain heavily involved with the Castlerea Brass and Reed band
as its President, as well as being a member "back in the day." Our
sincere sympathies are extended to his children and extended family,
as well as his friends and family across Ireland.
It
is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of RTE radio
legend Larry Gogan today. Like Gay Byrne, Larry was never directly
involved in a showband, but was a key player in bringing showband
music to the masses through his involvement with Ireland's RTE radio
and Television networks as well as in print journalism through his
work with Spotlight and Irish newspapers. Like Gay, Larry
came along at just the right time to become the voice of the nation
when the country was showband crazy. He reviewed records, presented
the charts, judged music, song and beauty contests in the ballrooms
and was a major influence on all the great stars of the showband
era. In 1982, he led the way when RTE2 was founded and dedicated to
popular music in Ireland. He retired from RTE in 2018 and moved to
RTE Gold where he was broadcasting until his passing. He will be
sorely missed by anyone that tuned into the radio for the past fifty
years. Our sincere sympathies are extended to his family and friends
around the world. 
We
learned today from long time community member, John Harrold, that
Thomas Kernan from Castleblaney passed away in St. Vincent's
Hospital, Dublin, on January 25th. It was Thomas who created the
iconic guitar intro to Big Tom's massive hit song, "Four Country
Roads" back in 1981. After a stint with Eileen King's band
Country Gifts, he joined the Travellers in 1980. Although
we are not sure what other bands he may have been with, we found a
news article in 1996 where he was playing guitar with a group of
other Castleblaney based musicians including Gerry Black and Michael
Lynch. Our sincere sympathies are extended to his
wife Margaret, children:
Aisling, Edwin,