Paddy Cole Band / Superstars Feature (1974-1986)
Photo Gallery -
Band Lineups -
Discography
- Audio samples -
Where Are They Now?
The Story
One of Ireland's most respected musicians,
Paddy Cole started his career with the Maurice Lynch Band before
moving on to the legendary Capitol Showband in the 1960's. When
Brendan Bowyer and Tom Dunphy left the Royal Showband, they tapped
Paddy to play sax and serve as bandleader for their new venture,
The
Big Eight. Also in the Big Eight was Twink, as well as Paddy's old
Capitol mate, Mickey O'Neill on drums. After a relatively short
time, Twink left the band, unable to mesh the hectic schedule of six
months in Las Vegas and six in Ireland with her family life.
Shortly thereafter, Paddy, feeling the same
way, announced his intention to leave the band to form a new outfit.
To his surprise, most of the band agreed and went with him. The
split made headlines in September, 1974 and the new band,
The Paddy Cole Band, made their debut in Letterkenny on October 4th,
1974. They were managed by the Tony Loughman organisation.
Leaving the Big Eight with Paddy were Jimmy
Conway (guitar), Michael Keane (keyboards), and Mickey O'Neill
(drums). Paddy was also able to coax Twink back on the road and
completed the band with some old friends, Mike Dalton (Capitol-bass), Ray Moore (ex
Plattermen-trumpet), and ex-Byelaws
vocalist, Pat Morris on vocals. The band played a mix of country and pop, along
with some Dixieland, very much in the style of the sixties
showbands. Although it was difficult in the beginning to shake off
the comparisons to Brendan Bowyer and the Big 8, the band was able
to establish itself with great musicianship and the vocal talents of
Twink and Pat.
They were quickly playing all across the
country and enjoying popularity based on adverts proclaiming they
were "Direct from Las Vegas" and "Ex Big-8." It was also often cited
that they were the "best band in Ireland,"
given five members had formerly been with the Big 8 and the two new
members were also top class musicians. Several articles in
mid-January, 1975 announced the band (along with the January 16, 1975 issue of
Spotlight) announced the band was releasing its first album on the
Top Spin label in the near future.
In March, 1975, the band released their first
single, "Mother Was Her Name" sung by Pat Morris
which did not make any impression on the charts. Around May of that
year, they started being advertised as the "Paddy Cole Superstars"
and
they would soon be using the new name on all their promotional
materials. This coincided with the release of their long
awaited first album entitled "Paddy Cole Superstars."
Just a month later, in June, 1975, things
went terribly wrong for the band. An article in the Donegal News
by Donal K O'Boyle announced that three members of the band had
quit. Jimmy Conway and Michael Keane were leaving to rejoin the Big 8
and lead singer Pat Morris had decided to return to Canada where he
had previously been with
Twink and the Byelaws. In the July 3rd, 1975 issue
of Spotlight, Julie Boyd announced that Derrick Mehaffey (formerly
of the Sounds, Royal and more recently, the Conquerors) was making his debut as the
keyboard player and lead singer with the band. The move was
publicised by announcing Twink and Derrick as the "Dynamic Duo." Mickey O'Neill
would also leave around this time to join the new Swarbriggs Brothers Band (he would also end up back in the
Big 8).
As well as Derrick, the band quickly drafted Colm Hughes (from Mary Lou and
Harvest) on drums, and Jimmy Smith (from The Big Valley)
on guitar, but this line-up would also not last that long. An
article about the band in the Top Rank Review in the September 18,
1975 issue of Spotlight denied Derrick was considering
leaving the band.
In late January, 1976, the band went to Canada
on a six week stint for Lent and would return in March in time for
the Easter rush when the dance halls were back in full swing. While
there, they played four nights a week in the famous Maple Leaf
Ballroom. At this point, Derrick was still the lead singer with the
band, but just a month after returning, in April, they released
their second single, "Saturday Night," which featured drummer Colm
Hughes on vocals. We have a found an article in May, 1976 in which
Paddy confirms Derrick was still in the band, but in July, he was no
longer listed as a member and they were then a six piece band for a
few months. We found a 1982 article about Derrick that said he left
the band to return home to Fintona and run his family's business.
In October 1976, Colm's brother, Tony Hughes, would join
the band from Shelley and the Marines, replacing Derrick
who had left in June and they were back to a seven piece (the norm
at that time for a showband). This line-up would be in place for
less than a year as in August, 1977 Mike Dalton left the band and
was replaced by the bass player from the Hollywood Stars.
The Paddy Cole Superstars were on the road in
the late 70's and 80's but in 1980 or 1981, Paddy left the
band, which for a time kept the name Paddy Cole's Superstars, even
though Paddy was no longer playing with the band. Eventually Paddy's
name was dropped and the band continued as Colm Hughes and the
(his)
Superstars. This appears to have happened over time as we have
found adverts for both band names (Paddy Cole Superstars and
Colm Hughes Superstars) running for dances in the period from
about August through October, 1981. We have also found ads for the
Paddy Cole Superstars as late as September, 1983.
Also, around this time, the band left the Top
Rank organisation and was being managed by Claire Kerley.
Based on our newspaper research, we have found
occasional listing for Colm Hughes and his Superstars as late
as 1989, but during this period he was also listed as being with
The Buzz and Thunder Alley. Our best guess is that Colum
Hughes and the Superstars broke up around October of 1986 as this is
the last period during which we can find regular listings for the
band playing gigs. It would seem use of the name after that was
sporadic and could have been any lineup.
Much more to come....
click on thumbnails for full image
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Twink (Adele King):
After leaving the Big Eight, joined Paddy Cole's band and
eventually had her own band for a short while. She then
retired from the "road" to focus on work in TV and Radio.
She had her own very successful series on RTE in the early
1980's. She was also one of the busiest session singers in
Ireland, appearing on literally hundreds of records. She
continues to perform in Pantomime and musicals in Ireland,
as well as TV, and is very active on the Irish entertainment
scene. In October, 2007, Twink joined Linda Martin (of
Chips) on stage in Dublin for "Menopause the Musical." |
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Paddy Cole: Paddy
left the Big Eight to form the Paddy Cole Band, which after
a few changes became the Paddy Cole Superstars. The
Superstars were on the scene longer than many of the other
bands from the era and kept reinventing themselves to stay
with the times. Today Paddy is one of the best known
proponents of jazz music in Ireland and tours continuously
withy his band playing major festivals and theatres. He also
hosts his own radio show these days on Dublin's FM 106.6.
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Pat Morris: If you
know more,
please let us know. |
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Jimmy Conway - RIP:
Jimmy lived with his wife and four
children in Las Vegas and had done so since rejoining the Big Eight
and relocating permanently to Vegas when the band did in
1983. Jimmy, for a time, managed the only Irish pub in Las
Vegas. He was still working there and worked the odd gig with
Brendan Bowyer, D.J. Curtin and Michael Keane, all former
members of The Big 8 Showband. Info from Aidan Scannell. Jimmy
sadly passed away Sept. 18th, 2021.
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Michael Keane: After
a short stint with the Paddy Cole Band, like Jimmy, Michael
rejoined the Big Eight and moved to Las Vegas in the early
1980's. He is still there and performs occasionally with
Brendan and other members of the band. An update on October
21, 2007 from Jim McCaffrey tells us that Michael has now
returned to Ireland and is working in the car rental
industry. |
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Mickey O'Neill - RIP:
Mickey once wrote us: "I was looking at your website
(Capitol Showband) and saw that you wanted updated info on
me (Mickey O'Neill). I've lived in Las Vegas for the
past 25 years and was the drummer with Brendan Bowyer's
Royal Irish (known in Ireland as the Big Eight). I'm
retired, but still play some gigs with Michael Keane, Jimmy
Conway and D.J.Curtin (from the Big Eight and Kerry Blues)."
Mickey lived in Vegas with his longtime partner Mary Schwartz
with his two sons Alan and Mark. Sadly Mickey lost his other
son, Michael in 2005 as a result of a car accident at the
age of 21. Further to this listing, Mickey sadly passed away
on June 15, 2010. A friend to the site before his death, our
sincere sympathies go out to Mary, his family and friends in
Ireland and the USA. |
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Mike Dalton:
Mike had previously been with the Capitol and
moved to the Virginians
in the early 70's and then on to the Paddy Cole Superstars
in 1974. He left the band in August 1977.
Today he lives in Askeaton, Co. Limerick. |
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Jimmy Smith: If
you know more,
please let us know. |
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Ray Moore: Ray would
leave the band and start a new group with Pat Chesters
called Don King and Sugar in 1979 and in 1980, we
went on (once again with Pat Chesters) to form the Omagh
Swing Band and was the band's leader and arranger. In
February, 2018, he received the "Jazz Inspiration Award" at
the Omagh Jazz and Big Band Festival. He still lives in
Omagh and teaches and plays regularly. |
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Colm Hughes: |
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Derrick Mehaffey -
RIP: After a time with the Royal, Derrick
was drafted to front the Conquerors. After his short time
with the Conquerors, Derrick remained one of the most
enduring artists on the Irish scene. His musical travels
took him to Canada, Nashville and Denmark where he
enjoyed continuing success. He released several albums
and although his original leaning was toward pop music,
Derrick eventually did most of his crooning in the country and
Irish vein. He suddenly passed away age 78 on August 26th,
2024. |
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