Brian Harkin Band Story (1977-1980)
Photo Gallery -
Band Lineups -
Discography
- Audio samples -
Where Are They Now?
The Story
Brian Harkin first seemed to appear on the scene in August 1972 when
Gene Stuart had to leave the band and was in the hospital. Reports
at the time said Gene would be back within a month, but in
September, Brian cut a record called Shelley's Winter Love
while with the Avons. By October, it became obvious Gene would be
gone longer than expected and an article (see below) reported that
Brian was still in the lineup and was expected to remain so until
Christmas, when it was hoped Gene would return. In the meantime, the
Avons had switched managers.
In January of 1973, Donal K.
O'Boyle reported in the Donegal News that Brian was saying his
farewells after five months from the band. He also said that
although Brian had several offers from other bands, his manager
Peter Smith said Brian "...had not made up his mind yet." In March
Donal reported that Brian would be fronting a new band from the
Release Organisation on Easter Sunday and that Denis Ryan would be
managing the yet un-named act.
The "new act" would actually be
Dermot Hegarty's Plainsmen and the advert (see below) had Brian's
first night also as Dermot's last. Dermot, it was reported, was
leaving the band to join the lucrative (and growing) cabaret scene.
As an interesting aside, Donal O'Boyle reported in the April 21st
edition of the Donegal News that Brian's "new band" would be called
Harkansas. In the end, Brian would front the Plainsmen, but there is
more to the story...
In an article in the February 15,
1973 issue of Spotlight, Pascal Mooney reported a split in the
Plainsmen.
At the time, he said Frank McKenna had left to go to the States and
Vinnie Sommers left the band reportedly to team up with Brian
Harkin's new band, Harkansas. Tony Farrell was also reported
to be leaving the band to go into the boutique business. We will try
to find out what happened because two months later, Brian
Harkin was the lead singer with the Plainsmen and it was Dermot
Hegarty who was gone from the band.
In the April 26, 1973 issue of
Spotlight, Pascal Mooney was once again highlighting the band, this
time reporting that he had received word from their Manager, Peter
Sheridan, that Dermot Hegarty was leaving the band to move into the
cabaret scene. It was also reported that Brian Harkin (who had
recently finished standing in for Gene Stuart in the Mighty Avons)
was joining the band which helps explain the earlier confusion. They
also added as new bass player at the time, Barry O'Mahony. Newspaper
reports at the time put the date of the changeover from Hegarty to
Harkin as May 11th.
Around
this time Vinnie Sommers did leave the band as well as Tony Farrell.
Vinnie would briefly join the Sligo-based
Powermen in late 1973.
In December, 1973, Pascal Mooney reported that Roger Farrell had
also left the band leaving Seamus Roddy and Francie Middleton as the
only original members of the lineup.
Roger would form a group called
the Roger Farrell Sound. Dermot formed his own trio with
Frank McKenna (guitar) and Brendan Kearney (drums) and hit the
cabaret circuit.
When the dust finally settled, the
new lineup of the band was Brian Harkin (vocals), Vinny Baker
(RIP- guitar), Francie Canning (keyboards), Barry O'Mahony (bass), Seamus
Roddy (drums), Barry McCusker (sax) and Francie Middleton (trumpet).
The following summer (August, 1974) an article in Spotlight reported
that Dermot was doing quite well with his trio on the cabaret scene,
including stints in the United States where he toured for six weeks.
Meanwhile, the Plainsmen, fronted
by Brian Harkin, continued to do well on the ballroom scene. Their
singles, Forgive Me For Calling You Darling (number 12) and
Walk On By (number 18), both made the Irish charts, firmly establish
Brian as the new front man with the band.
In April, 1977, a front page
article in the Longford Lead newspaper reported the band had split
up over playing gigs in the North of Ireland. It was reported that
only Brian Harkin and keyboard player Francie Canning remained. What
followed was a period of confusion as it was announced that a new
set of musicians was recruited and the band would now be called the
Brian Harkin Band. In June, the new band was unveiled with
the promise of a single soon from manager Peter Sheridan. In late
June, it was reported in the Donegal News that the Plainsmen
were still looking for a singer to replace Brian. Ex-Plainsmen Tony
McDermott and Barney McCusker would join up with Dermot Hegarty's
group after the split in late July 1977.
Even though the new band was
announced and cards with the new name printed (see below), it
appears that within just a couple of months, the band was being
referred to one again as the Plainsmen, and would continue to be
known as the Plainsmen until they split up in 1980. Around this
time, adverts started to appear for Brian Harkin and his "new
cabaret act." The last advert we found for the "Brian Harkin
Band" was December 27th, 1980 while last advert for Brian and The
Plainsmen was in July, 1980.
A decade later, the history of the
band would be remembered for the wrong reason when Brian Harkin
suddenly died on January 28, 1991 after a short illness, he was only
47.
More to come.....
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