Time Machine (1969-1979)
Photo Gallery -
Band Lineups -
Discography
- Audio samples -
Where Are They Now?
The Story
Mark I
The "Time Machine" was possibly one of the most unusual groups that
played the circuit during the showband era. The band started as a
five piece and there seemed to be some confusion about where they
were based. Usually they were listed as a Mayo band (based in
Claremorris) but they were also occasionally advertised as a Galway
band. As far as we can tell, the original lineup was: Gabriel
Henaghan (vocals), Sean Holleran (guitar), John Higgins
(bass), Paddy Glynn (drums) and John Walsh (guitar). They were
managed by 16-year-old Kiltimagh lad, Louis Walsh (yes, the same one
from the X Factor, Boyzone and Westlife.)
The first gig we could find for
them was April 29th, 1969 in Claremorris. In fact most of their
early gigs were centered in Mayo for the first year and usually in
ballrooms where they were described as a pop band. They also did
quite a lot of "relief" work in places like the Royal Ballroom in
Castlebar. By early 1970, they were making a name for themselves
regionally and started to garner some attention. As with many groups
back then, it wasn't long before some of their members abandoned the
group scene to join a showband. Drummer Paddy Glynn was the first to
leave when he joined the Ballyhaunis-based
Niagra Showband we think in late 1969. He would late joined the
New Blues.
Early 1970 would be a difficult time for the band as in May bass
player John Higgins left the band to join Paddy in the Niagra. At
the same time lead singer Gabriel left the band to
"concentrate on his day job." Although the
newspaper headline said the band was "in trouble," Louis assured
everyone that the band was "moving forward." An article in July
would report that the band was back on the road after a short break
during which they looked for a new bass player. We assume guitarist
John Walsh did not return to the lineup as they were now a three
piece and would stay that way for the next few years.
The new lineup was Sean Holleran
(guitar), Joe Joyce (drums) and Kiltimagh lad Gerard McLoughlin
(bass). In August, Louis would take out an advert in the Irish
Independent "Dance Band" classifieds,
a move normally made by larger showbands at the time. The next few
years would see the band moving from pop to a more rock-based sound,
which also created some interesting gigs such as a two band session
with country queen Margo and her Country
Folk.
By late 1970 / early 1971 the band
was expanding its reputation and geographic reach now playing gigs
in Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo with one of their most impressive gigs
(I was there that night, a student at Summerhill College) playing
support (i.e., relief) to Status Quo. Within a matter of months the
band was playing much further afield with gigs as far away as Bantry
in County Cork. At that time the only other band that was playing
"ballroom" gigs was Limerick's
Reform who had hit the road as a four piece
in 1968 and by 1970 were also a three piece band.
In early 1972, the band started to
catch the attention of Pat Egan, Spotlight magazine's "rock
guru" when they played support to Rory Gallagher's gig in Dublin's
National Stadium (at that time the only major venue for music gigs
in the country). They also were now playing gigs on the Dublin club
scene including Sergeant Pepper's among others. In one sense the
little country trio from Claremorris had "arrived" on the national
scene. Despite the recognition the band were still considered a long
way from the other three piece groups making names for themselves on
the Dublin scene like Thin Lizzy, Skid Row, and Rory Gallagher's
band.
By late 1972, it seemed the band
was facing a dilemma as they continued to grow their reputation and
had played support to several major bands (including Thin Lizzy) but
they needed to take the "next step" which was for most bands, a
single. At the same time, they had been accepted as one of the top
"local" band in the country as many of the
other major bands had left for England by this time. Pat Egan rated
them as the third best in the country. This was a strange time for
the band as one night they would be rubbing shoulders with Ireland
rock elite in the Stadium and a few nights later playing a "pop
night out" in Ballyhaunis or the Ballyjamesduff Dancing Festival.
Finally in October, 1972 they
released their first single, "Railroad" a cover of Status
Quo's early hit with "Going Down Down
Down" on the B-side on the Play label, (which also featured artists
like Brendan Shine and the
Swallows). The single was well received,
but did not make the charts (few records did at the time). The band
would play on for a few months and suddenly in early 1973, two of
the three members decided to call it quits.
Mark II
There was a report in the
Connaught Telegraph on March 2, 1973 that said Sean and Gerard had
decided to quit the band to go back to their studies and Louis found
replacements in Galway band The Wild Breed's Eamon Cummins (guitar)
and Frank O'Connor (bass) to replace the lads. However there were
problems which led to the whole thing being scrapped and the Wild
Breed remaining together.
In February, 1973 Louis Walsh
found himself without a band when the original Time Machine called
it quits. However, there were still gigs on the books so he did what
any good manager would do: he found another band (called Freeway)
changed their name and put them on the road as the "new look" Time
Machine. What was somewhat strange was that the new band was based
in Dublin. The lineup of this band was Austin Smith (vocals), Pat
Savage (guitar), Sean Creighton (bass) and Derrick Teeling (drums).
Perhaps the strangest thing about the change was that nobody seemed
to notice. Despite the fact that it was a totally different band,
adverts and reports kept talking about how well the previous
incarnation had done even though this lineup had nothing to do with
the previous one...strange!
Not only could the new band not be
called "a rock group from the West," but their influences were now
quoted in reports (see below) as being influenced "Crosby, Stills,
Nash and Young as well as the Moody Blues." Interestingly, in April
the band would once again support Status Quo (although this time in
the National Stadium) so Louis was still working his magic. As the
year progressed, the "new look" band
filled their new shoes perfectly and never missed a beat. They
continued to enjoy the same success as the previous lineup.
However, everything was no going
well for the new look band. By June of 1973 (about four months after
assuming the new name) Austin Smith and Sean Creighton had left the
band and bass player Kevin Jennings was added to make the band a
three piece once again.
Meanwhile, in early 1974 Sean and
Joe formed a new band called Bratt which also included Tom Mylett on
bass. The band was being managed by Paul Claffey.
More to come.....
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