Dazzle Band Gallery (1974-1979)
Photo Gallery -
Band Lineups -
Discography
- Audio samples -
Where Are They Now?
The Story
Ballymena-born Cahir O'Doherty had
been on the Irish beat scene in both Dublin and Belfast with his
band The Gentry for many years before he
got involved in musicals with parts in both Jesus Christ
Superstar (as Pilate) and in Joseph and his Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat (as Pharaoh) in 1974.
It was while he was starring in Joseph that he decided to leave the
beat scene behind and start the Dazzle Band to play the
ballroom and cabaret circuits.
The first mention of the band we can find is May, 1974. They were
playing a mixture of ballrooms and Dublin cabaret spots like the
Embankment, The Hitchin Post and The Drake Inn. In the early days,
Cahir was splitting his time starring in the show and then
performing with the band.
The band released its first
single, "Song of the King," which was from
the musical Joseph and was credited on the label as only Cahir
O'Doherty (which often indicated it was the singer who was singed to
a recording contract and not the entire band). The B-side was
written by Cahir called "Little Girl." The single reached number 9
in the charts, a great start for any new band.
In November, the band released a
follow-up single, "Rock, Rock Sham-A-Ram" which was written and
produced by John Drummond. Although not as popular as their first
offering the single did make number 18 in the Irish charts and
received plenty of airplay, helping further enhance the band's
reputation in the ballrooms.
By the start of 1975, the band was
doing very well on the ballroom circuit and riding high on a mini
"rock n' roll revival" which was sweeping
the country. They took advantage playing gigs up and down the
country and Cahir soon settled into a new title as "king of rock n'
roll." They also still maintained their presence on the Dublin
cabaret scene as well.
In August, Cahir released his
first album, "Rock My Soul" which included a wide variety of
standard rock n roll hits as well as his two singles and a new track
written by Cahir called "Princess" and one written by John Drummond,
"Rock My Soul." He also released the single "Barefootin" which
received good airplay but did not chart.
By 1976, the Dazzle Band was
firmly established as one of the country's top "pop"
bands in a field that included bands like The Memories, Chips and
Tweed. However, it was Cahir who most often was in the spotlight. In
July, he announced his engagement to "Miss Ireland" Julie Ann
Farnham and they became one of the most famous couples in the
country.
In November, 1979, Henry McGlade
reported in his Pop Around column in the Connaught Telegraph
that Cahir had a new band called "Beats Working." The band would
last long and wee could only find three mentions of them in the
archive but only one or two actual gig adverts. We also found an
advert for the Dazzle band on in May, 1980, but no other mention of
the band since Sept 1979, so they must have gone off the road once
Cahir left.
The "new" band,
Beats Working" would also go off the road in
late 1979 and around April, 1980, Cahir would emigrate to the United States
with wife Julie and son, Shannon, settling
in Florida where he still lives and works today.
click on thumbnails for full image
