Joe Cuddy Feature (active
nationally 1968-2020)
Photo Gallery -
Band Lineups -
Discography
- Audio samples -
Where Are They Now?
The Story
Although born in Dublin, Joe started his singing
"career" with the Redemptorist Church choir while a student
in Limerick. Upon his return to Dublin, he continued his singing
with the choir of St. Bridget's Church in Killester. At this point
Joe said in a 1972 interview in the Evening Herald, "I
realized there was no future for a straight singer in Dublin."
("Straight" back then meaning someone who only sang).
He would spend most of the next
decade in harmony groups such as the "Michael O'Connell Singers."
Said Je, "we got a good deal of television work and were fairly well
in demand as a vocal backing group for many of the records at that
time." As was the custom for many entertainers at the time, they
would move into pantomime, but eventually Joe went out on his own
into cabaret.
The first mention of Joe doing cabaret we could find was in mid-1968
when he was part of a regular group that performed at the Boat Club
in Malahide. The Boat Club had opened in August, 1967 and featured
many of the top folk acts of the era including Paddy Reilly and the
Johnstons (which featured future star Paul Brady). The premises
would be burned down on October 12th, 1969.
Joe would initially perform in the Showboat acting as both singer
and MC for the venue and eventually branched out to other venues
around the city as the cabaret circuit continued to grow in
popularity. By mid 1969 he and his "Joe Cuddy Trio" were being
hailed as one of the top acts in the capitol. By 1970, Joe and his
group were resident in the Clare Manor Hotel in Coolock which
boasted one of the biggest dancing areas in the city. He would
maintain this residency for several years.
At that point, said Joe, he
"settled down" and "we established our own group there who are known
as the Joe Cuddy Band." The band included Jim Synott (keyboards),
Freddie Hegarty (guitar) and Albert Dodd (drums). In 1969 Joe sang
at the Castlebar Song Contest, but would suffer ill health for
several months and started writing songs with his sister, Eileen
Clancy. Two of their songs reach the finals in Castlebar and things
began to look up for Joe.
In January 1972, RTE announced
that Joe would be one of the singers for the
National Song Contest, which
would determine Ireland's entry into
Eurovision.
Joe would sing, "Ma
dhuachas Dún na ngall" (My Lovely Donegal) but would tie for eighth
place with Sandie Jones' winning with
"Ceol an ghrá" (Music of
Love). More importantly her was no longer just a Dublin cabaret
singer, but had shared the stage with national showband stars like
Tina Reynolds, D.J. Curtin, and Twink, among others. As far as we
know it would be Joe's only appearance in the National Song contest.
In March, Joe released his first
single with a massive PR campaign including a full page
"advertisement feature" in the Evening Herald.
He was being managed by his brother Noel Cuddy and they had gone
into business together as "Strand Promotions." The song, "Stick and
Stones," would reach number 14 on the Irish charts, which wasn't too
bad for a debut effort. He would sing it on Gay Byrne's "Late Late
Show" on March 18th, 1972.
As Joe became a national
celebrity, he started to play further afield, but maintained his
residency in the Clare Manor. Although his follow up single, "Lonely
Beach Boy" did not make the charts, it wouldn't be long before he
was on top of the world. In March, 1973 he released his first album,
simply called "Joe Cuddy."
In late 1973, Joe released "I'm
Gonna' Make It" which reach number one in the Irish charts and
stayed in the charts for 11 weeks. Written by Vince Hill, Joe had
sang it in Castlebar and won the contest, as well as an RMI award
for the single itself. The success of the record made him one of the
top cabaret artists in the country (although he maintained his
connections to Clare Manor throughout.
The lightning which sometimes
strikes for a performer once in a lifetime, hit for Joe in March,
1974 when he released the follow up to his number one hit, his
version of the very popular song from "Joseph and his Amazing
Technicolour Dreamcoat" called " Any Dream Will Do." If one had read
the record's review in the Evening Herald on March 23rd, they
wouldn't have been to impressed as it was described as, "one of the
main songs, an easy paced, singalong melody with a good lyric. Joe
handles it with taste."
In fact the record would sell so
many copies it brought Joe to the top of the charts and would stay
in the charts for 21 weeks. The success of the record, which
basically made Joe a legend in Irish entertainment, still remains
one of the most popular singalong songs in pubs and hotels across
Ireland.
More to come.....
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