Big Country Story (1971-)
Photo Gallery -
Band Lineups -
Discography
- Audio samples -
Where Are They Now?
The Story
The Big Country hit the road in March to a fanfare of publicity for
its Dundalk born lead singer, Des Wilson, who was reported to have
"returned from Germany to lead the band." He had previously been
with the Vanguard Six from Tralee and the Boston Showband. The
manager was Steve Duggan and the original line-up was Des Wilson
(vocals and keyboards), John Hannigan (lead guitar), Tom Meehan
(bass), Michael Meehan (drums), Norman Breslin (sax) and Seamus
Sexton (guitar). Peter Smith of the Might Avons was instrumental in
putting the Cavan based band on the road.
The band released it's first
single on the newly formed Velvet Record which was "Swiss Cottage
Place" featuring Des although it did not make the charts. From the
start, the band did well across the country, playing all the major
venues and carnivals. In October, the band released its second
single, "Dear Dundalk," with Roger
Miller's "Average People" on the B-side. Like their first record,
this one also made no impact on the charts. although it further
consolidated the band as one of the top country acts around.
It would appear that a few months
later, in December, the band flipped the record over and started
promoting "Average People" as the A-side, which was not uncommon
back then.
More to come.....
click on thumbnails for full image
