Ventures Feature (1965-197?)
Photo Gallery -
Band Lineups -
Discography
- Audio samples -
Where Are They Now?
The Story
Formed in Monaghan town in 1965 as a seven
piece band, the Ventures seemed to have received plenty of press coverage,
but never quite cracked the big time on the showband circuit. Shay Turbett from Omagh
eventually joined the band on trumpet making it an eight
piece band. The band's debut gig was reported to be December 19th,
1965 in the Patrician Hall, Tullycorbett.
Line up in August, 1969 and still in June 1970: Tony Hughes
(keyboards/guitar/vocals), Padraig McElwain (guitar), Bill Rice
(guitar), Colm Hughes (drums), Brendan Sherlock (trombone), Pete
McDonald (sax), Shay Turbett (trumpet), and Sean McKenna (bass).
Although the band released singles on a regular
basis, none of them had any impact on the Irish charts until June,
1972. Their single, Happy Anniversary, hit a chord with punters and
climbed to Number 7 in the charts, staying on the best sellers list
for five weeks. The follow up, For Ever and Ever, scratched the
charts going to Number 20 for a single week.
The history of the band becomes a little murky
at this point. In early 1973, a report stated the Hughes brothers (Colm and
Tony) left the band to join Mary Lou Coleman in a new lineup of
Harvest. However, in a Spotlight in May, 1975, the change was
reported that after "a reshuffle of personnel, the band became known
as Harvest."
It appears Bill Rice kept the Ventures name and the band kept on playing. In 1974, reports in Spotlight's Julies Scene
(edited by Julie Boyd) reported that the band was in Canada for an
extended period.
In 1986, the band undertook a short reunion and
a year later is was reported in the Northern Standard that the band
was going back on the road, but we didn't find any advertisements
for gigs in 1987 so we're not sure how long that may have lasted.
If you were a member of the bands
or have more info on their history,
please let us know.
More to come.....
click on thumbnails for full image
Discography
Singles:
The Little Wind Up Doll /
When You Meet Marianne (Tony Hughes)
Target Records - 7N.17439 - January, 1968
Little Girl / If A Woman Answers (Tony Hughes)
Target Records - Unknown - August, 1968
Boys In Blue (Heroes Death) / Truck Drivin Man (Bill Rice)
Target Records - 7N.17667 - December, 1968
Where Has All The Love Gone (Tony Hughes) / Dear John
(Bill Rice and Pete McDonald)
Release Records - RL.519 - June, 1969
Patches / I Wander Back To You
Dolphin Records - DOS.64 - May, 1970
Gone On The Other Hand / The Old Lamplighter (Bill Rice)
Dolphin Records - DOS.77 - January 1971
Put Your Hand In The Hand (Colm Hughes and Pete McDonald) /
Looking Out My Back Door (Colm Hughes)
Dolphin Records - DOS.85 - June 1971 (Our thanks to Tom
Gilboy for this listing)
Happy Anniversary (Tony Hughes) /
Kansas City Song
- #7
Irish Charts
Release Records - RL.636 - June, 1972
For Ever and Ever (Tony Hughes) /
Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)
- #20
Irish Charts
Release Records - RL.636 - June, 1972
Album:
Best of the
Ventures
Release Records - BRL.4025 - November, 1972
Audio Clips
Coming Soon
Where Are They Now?
