Billy Brown
Bands: Billy McFarland Band
• Freshmen •
Brown and O'Brien • Billy Brown Band • Freshmen
Billy Brown, an extremely talented piano and sax player, had
been playing since he was twelve. By the time he got to college, he
had his first professional gig with the Billy McFarland Band
out of Belfast. Another member of the McFarland band, bass
player Torry McGahey and Billy became fast friends and eventually
decided it was time to strike out on their own. Together they formed
The Freshmen in early 1962. They recruited the best of
musicians, each one a singer in their own right. The original lineup
included: Barney McKeon (vocals), Maurice Henry (sax), Torry (bass),
Damien McIlroy (guitar), Sean Mahon (trombone), Davy McKnight (drums)
and Billy (sax and piano).
The band's new sound took Northern Ireland by
storm. They were starting out just at the same time as The Beatles
and The Beach Boys and they were poised to ride the crest of the
"pop" wave in Ireland. Before long, the band attracted the interest
of a new manager, Peter Dempsey (band member Maurice Henry had
previously handled the band's bookings). Peter ran dances in
Andersontown and through this, met Johnny Flynn and made a host of
connections in the South...uncharted territory for the Freshmen.
By
1963, they were beginning to make inroads in the South when Barney
decided to leave. The search was on for a replacement and the band
recruited Limerick singer, Tommy Drennan. With Tommy out front, the
band continued to prosper, garnering rave reviews from the press and
the punters. Within a year though, Tommy had grown homesick and
returned to Limerick, leaving the band in bit of a bind. Billy
filled in for a time, but eventually they found their ideal front
man in Derek McMenamin, a handsome, tall singer whose good looks,
charm, and talent rivaled any of the other leading front men of the
time.
With Derek in place, the band cut its first
record in London during a tour of England in February, 1964, She's The One You Love. Released in
summer, the single faded quickly, making little impact. For a time
in early 1964, Derek left the band to complete his college education
where he was studying to become a teacher. By summer, he had taken
his finals and was back with the band. At the end of 1964, the band
announced that Derek was changing his last name to Dean and the band
also changed its name to Derek and the Freshmen.
In 1965, the band recorded and released more
singles. The first, I Stand Alone, failed to make an
impression. However, their recording of Yenka was a top ten
hit in November 1965. Over the next two years, the band's reputation
and status went from strength to strength. They became the top
Northern Band to play the South and at one point were ranked as the
number four showband behind only the Royal, Miami and the Cadets. In
August 1966, the band announced that it was changing its name once
again and would be known as Derek Dean, Billy and the Freshmen,
an obvious nod to Billy's growing influence in the band.
In 1967, the Freshmen were part of the showband
elite in Ireland. Their record, Papa-Oo-Mow-Mow reached
number seven in the Irish charts and stayed in the charts for eight
weeks well into 1968. They started a string of top ten hits and the
band was doing extremely well as the money came pouring in. They
released Go Granny Go, Number 12 in August 1968, Just to
See You Smile, Number 9 in March 1969, and Halfway to Where,
Number 10 in April 1970.
1970
was the year the band released their second album, Peace On Earth.
The album was heralded as an artistic masterpiece and is still
regarded by many as the greatest Irish pop album ever made. The same
year, they performed their "Peace Concert" at the RDS in Dublin
which featured noted actor Micheal MacLiammoir as narrator (the role
he also played on the album). Amid all
the success though, trouble was brewing. The band had become too
identified with the Beach Boys sound and as the Beach Boys fortunes'
faded, so too did the Freshmen's.
In March, 1971, Billy left the
band to form his group, The Billy Brown Superband. They
played their first gig on St. Patrick's Night. He recruited
one of the finest lineup of
musicians perhaps ever to play the ballroom circuit. Billy was
joined by Johnny Brown (bass), Dessie Reynolds (drums), Keith McDonald
(sax), Pascal Haverty (sax), Tiger Taylor (guitar), and
Mike Nolan
(RIP-trumpet). The musicianship was excellent, but the band lacked
originality and that
"certain" spark, lasting less than a year.
In the mid 70's Billy left the band again, this
time to join with Mike O'Brien to form Brown and O'Brien. More to
come...
In the years after the showband era ended, the
late Billy Brown would continue to record, write and produce
excellent music. His legend as one of Ireland's most gifted
musicians continued to grow, but on June 6, 1999, at the age of 56,
Billy left the stage for good, sadly passing away and leaving the Irish music scene without
one of the guiding lights that illuminated the landscape of the
showband era.
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