Checkers Beat Group Feature (1964)
Photo Gallery -
Band Lineups -
Discography
- Audio samples -
Where Are They Now?
The Story
Manager is Michael Delaney
There is little
The Derry band was selected for
TE's "Pickin The Pops" programme which aired on Telefis Eireann on
Saturdays at 6:15 p.m. The show's format centered on a studio panel
and guest celebrity who did their best to forecast what would be the
best selling records. The four piece group was playing in the
Majorca Ballroom in Co. Cork in mid-July, the firsdt time we saw
them advertised for a live gig.
Apparently all the members of the
band had originally played for the Magnificent Seven Showband. Their
most unique feature was the guitar played by Pat McCrossan, a
homemade twin necked ghuitar which was definitely a talking
pointback in 1964. The other members of the band were his brother,
Brendan (bass), Billy Mellon (drums) and Gerry Daly (vocals and
maybe rhythm guitar). One report we read said Michael Delaney was
the band's manager while a separate report in the Sligo Champion
named Pat and Brendan's father, Pat senior, as the manager.
Being just a four-piece the band
started by playing quite a few "two-band sessions" which were common
at the time in the days before "relief bands" became the norm. Their
time on "Pick of the Pops" (one of the earliest forays RTE would
make into pop music on television) guaranteed them instant "fame"
across the country. However, by mid summer, they were being
advertised as the "Checkers Showband" which was unusual given their
beat group status. Strangely, they seemed to disappear after the
summer of 1964 and even though they had established themselves
across the country as one of a "new" breed of bands, we couldn't
find many gigs they played in the dance adverts of the Irish
Newspaper Archive at the end of 1964.
In 1966 the band was once again
featured on Telefis Eireann, this time as part of the Showband Show.
By early 1967 the entire band had been replaced except for Pat on
guitar and we thihnk, Gerry on vocals. Based on newspaper adverts,
the band called it quits in early 1968 as we could find no further
dates for them after April of that year.
More to come.....
click on thumbnails for full image
