Stylos Showband

The Stylos Showband provided a starting point for several well known Sligo musicians.
Left to right: Francie Lenehan (guitar), Billy Kelly (drums), Liam Verdon (vocals), Paul McManus (sax),
Aidan Kerins (bass), Francie Middleton (trumpet) and Frank Clancy (guitar).

Long before Westlife, The Stylos were tops in Sligo!

From The Western People
By Michael Commins (with additional info from Gerry Gallagher)
10/22/2003

Long before the days of Westlife, Sligo had its own thriving showband scene. A number of bands operated from the area and while some may not have made it big on the national stage, they nevertheless cultivated strong local followings. The Stylos Showband were in full swing in the mid to late 1960s. They played a lot of dates around the province but especially in Sligo, the Erris region of Mayo and other parts of Mayo and Galway. They also did a number of dates in Dublin and venues around the country.

The lead guitar player with the band was Francie Leneghan whose mastery of the guitar was to make him a much sought after musician. A quality musician, Francie later played with a number of acts including the Frank Chisum Band (the well known Elvis impersonator from Tyrone), Frankie Carroll and the Ranchers, The Cotton Mills Boys, Twink, Ronnie Griffiths' and American Pie and the Hennigan's Blooze Band. Francie has resided in Sligo for many years and enjoyed enormous local success with his group, Southern Comfort. He still retains an interest in the music business through his involvement with the Rock ‘n Roll Circus.

Another very well known Sligo man who featured with the Stylos was Francie Middleton. He played trumpet with the band. Later, Francie joined Dermot Hegarty and the Plainsmen, a band that enjoyed a lot of success in the aftermath of Dermot’s chart topping “21 Years” song. After that, Francie featured with Brian Harkin who took over as lead singer with The Plainsmen. He now operates a popular and successful coach hire business in Sligo and his coaches can be seen around the roads and towns of the province. The drummer with the Stylos was Billy Kelly from Sligo. He is now in New York and still involved in the business over there. Whenever he comes back to Sligo, the lads usually get together for a Stylos reunion session. Paul McManus from Sligo played the saxophone with the band and he has maintained an interest in the music scene through the years. He played with the Chessmen for a few after the Stylos went their own separate ways (Paul also played drums for Sandy Duskey's first band, Easy Listenin for a short time).

The rhythm guitarist was Frank Clancy who also hailed from Sligo. He later moved to Tuam when he took up a job with Gerry and Ohio. (After leaving the Ohio, Frank was asked to join Magic and the Magic Band, based in Galway. The band also featured Sligo musician, Gerry Gallagher. By the end of the 1970's), he left the music scene and set up his own business in Tuam which now employs several people. The singer with the Stylos, or as the say in the business “on lead vocals”, was Liam Verdon. Liam was a native of Sligo and he still lives in Strandhill. Liam has been an employee of An Post for many years. Aidan Kerins played bass guitar. He later joined Gary Street and the Fairways, based in Ballina. A mechanic by trade, he lives in town and has his own garage. He still maintained an interest in the local scene.

So there you have it … some memories of the Stylos who were an integral part of the Sligo music scene over 30 years ago.