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Claxton Showband Feature (1961-1968)

Photo Gallery - Band Lineups - Discography - Audio samples - Where Are They Now?

The Story

Editor's note: Every care has been taken to present only factual information in our stories based on first person reports, newspaper articles and photographic archives. If you can add anything or correct info in this story, please email us and let us know.

The first advert for the Claxton Showband from Drumquin, Co. Tyrone that we can find is from April, 1961. More recent accounts of the band's history stated that the band was formed in 1963, but this is clearly not the case, although it may coincide with their decision to turn professional (as bands often did). The band was managed by Barney Curley and the advert said the band featured "Patsy - Rock n' Roll Star" (Patsy was Pio McCann). The band, which started life as the "Patsy McCann Rocking Four," was soon augmented by 2 additional musicians and hit the road as a showband.

We are not 100% sure, but we think the original line-up was Frank Donnelly (trumpet), Brendan Sweeney (guitar), Pio McCann (bass), R.J. Catterson (drums), Peter Brown (sax) and Hugo Hughes (trumpet). Throughout 1961, the band seemed to be playing pretty regularly but mostly across the northern part of the country (Ulster) rarely going as far south as Sligo and Drogheda in their early days. For the next couple of years they did a steady business in and around Ulster in the main.

By November 1962, Mike Kelly (keyboards) had joined the band making them an eight piece outfit for the first time. and a year later Jimmy Magee would become lead singer with Hugo Hughes leaving the band. Sometime (we think) in 1964, the band underwent some major changes with four new members joining their ranks including Jimmy Magee (vocals), Colm Devine (guitar), Patsy Gormley (sax) and Shane McGahan (trumpet). It appears Shane did not stay too long as by 1965 the band was back down to a seven piece and he was no longer in the lineup. 

In 1964 the band was named in an interesting court case (which had nothing to do with the band but is included only as an interesting reflection of things bands had to endure back in the day. A young man went to a record shop and claimed he was the Claxton's new manager and proceeded to fraudulently take 11 records and an harmonica from the proprietor (see story below).      

By 1965, the band was travelling regularly into Donegal, Mayo, and even Galway for gigs, but still had cracked the southern half of the country as far as we can tell from adverts for their gigs. In May 1965 it was announced that Belmullet-based singer Mary McGonigle was joining the band on vocals (see below). In the same article it was reported the band would soon be making their first record. Adverts for the band's gigs over the next few months did mention Mary as being the band's vocalist, but we are not sure whether Jimmy Magee was still the lead singer.  

In January, 1966, a blurb in the Evening Herald announced the band was now managed by Tom McCluskey or Navan. The photos which accompanied the article did not include Mary, so we are unsure whether she was still with the band. However, we did note that adverts for the band once again touted Jimmy Magee, so it seems he did not leave the band when Mary joined.  By late 1966 the Claxton had also started playing much further south than previously and had finally truly become a "nationwide" showband as they were playing Cork regularly.

In January 1967, Jimmy Magee left the band to join the Dawnbreakers (formerly the Carnegie Showband from Irvinestown) and he was replaced by Tommy Fee who had been with the Maurice Mulcahy Band for three years and would eventually join the Cajun Sound in the 1970's. Despite the change in lead vocalists, the band didn't miss a beat and continued to expand their reputation and their ballroom circuit.

In an interesting twist, in September, 1967 an article in the Drogheda Independent reported that Jimmy Magee was backl in the band having been ill (despite newspaper adverts saying he was in the Dawnbreakers...along with four former members of the Claxton). We assume Tommy Fee went back to the Mulcahy band as later reports said he had been with them four five years.

An article about he Dawnbreakers in October 1967, reported that Frank Donnelly, R.J. Catterson, Shane McGahan were all with the band. 1968 would be the band's last year on the road as Brian Coll, who had previously been with the Polka Dots and Plattermen, decided iot was time to go out on his own and he drafted four members of the Claxton, to provide the basis for his new band, The Buckaroos. They were Brendan Sweeney (guitar), Pio McCann (bass), Freddie Armstrong (drums) and Gerry Quinn (sax).

We think that by the time this happened, the band had already more or less stopped playing as there were very few adverts for them after March, 1968. However, we did find an advert for what must have been their last gig on June 23rd, 1968 which was more than two weeks after the debut of the Buckaroos in the Astoria, Bundoran on June 6th, 1968.   

More to come.....

Photo Gallery

click on thumbnails for full image

Claxton - 1961 Claxton - 1961 Claxton (BS) Claxton (BF) Claxton (RF)
Claxton - 1966 (RF) Claxton - 1962 Claxton (RF) Claxton - 1964 Claxton - 1965
Claxton - 1965 Claxton - 1966 Claxton - 1967 Claxton - 1967 (RF) Claxton - 1967 (RF)
   
Claxton - 1967 Claxton - 1968 Pio McCann - 1982 Coming Soon Coming Soon
Years Vocals Guitar Bass Drums Keys/Trmbn Sax Trumpet
Oct
1961
  Brendan
Sweeney
Pio "Patsy"
McCann
Robert "R.J."
Catterson
Frank
Donnelly
Peter
Brown
Hugo
Hughes
Nov
1962
Mike
Kelly
Brendan
Sweeney
Pio "Patsy"
McCann
Robert "R.J."
Catterson
Frank
Donnelly
Peter
Brown
Hugo
Hughes
1963 Jimmy
Magee
Brendan
Sweeney
Pio "Patsy"
McCann
Robert "R.J."
Catterson
Mike
Kelly
Peter
Brown
Frank
Donnelly
1964 Jimmy
Magee
Brendan
Sweeney
Pio
McCann
Robert "R.J."
Catterson
Colm (Guitar)
Devine
Patsy
Gormley
Shane
McGahan
July
1966
Jimmy
Magee
Brendan
Sweeney
Pio
McCann
Freddy
Armstrong
Colm
Devine
Patsy
Gormley
Gerry
Quinn
Jan
1967
Tommy
Fee
Brendan
Sweeney
Pio
McCann
Freddy
Armstrong
Colm
Devine
Patsy
Gormley
Gerry
Quinn
Sept
1967
Jimmy
Magee
Brendan
Sweeney
Pio
McCann
Freddy
Armstrong
Colm
Devine
Patsy
Gormley
Gerry
Quinn

As the first Buckaroos

June
1968
Brian
Coll
Brendan
Sweeney
Pio
McCann
Freddy
Armstrong
John
Trotter
Gerry
Quinn
Kevin
McGinty

Discography

S - #3 Irish Charts
M

Audio Clips

         
Coming Soon Coming Soon Coming Soon Coming Soon Coming Soon

Coming Soon

Where Are They Now?  

Brendan Sweeney: Brendan went with Brian Coll to become a member of the first Buckaroos line-up. He would also join the Huskeys in 1971 and go on to Frankie McBride's Rio Grande around 1972. He would later join Gloria and Mississippi. Following his showband career, Brendan formed a local pub group.
Jimmy Magee - RIP: Jimmy retired from the road and went back to his motor repair business in Irvinestown. At the end of the 1990's he moved to Enniskillen and sang in cabaret and pubs with is own Capitol Band. He then teamed up with Cecil Kettyles of the Skyrockets playing summer seasons in Bundoran. Sadly, Jimmy passed away on November 23rd, 2014 after a short illness. 
Pio McCann - RIP: Along with Brendan, Pio joined up with Brian Coll in the first Buckaroos before moving on to play with Hugo Duncan and the Tallmen. In recent times, he join the ranks of radio DJ's and for many years presented a show on Highland Radio called The Pio McCann Country Show. Pio sadly passed away October 9th, 2020.
Robert "R.J." Catterson: Unknown, please mail us if you have more info
Frank Donnelly: Unknown, please mail us if you have more info
Peter Brown: Unknown, please mail us if you have more info
Hugo Hughes: Unknown, please mail us if you have more info
Mike Kelly: Unknown, please mail us if you have more info
Colm Devine: After the band broke up, Colm worked in pubs for a while before returning to his day job as a dental technician and as far as we can tell, he is still running his business as a dental lab in Ballybofey as of late 2017. 
Patsy Gormley - RIP: Patsy continued his musical career after leaving the Claxton and would eventually team up with Pio McCann in a three piece group called The Blarney Roses. He sadly passed away shortly after playing a gig in Ederney which was his adopted home in August, 1998. He was only 53. 
Shane McGahan: Unknown, please mail us if you have more info
Gerry Quinn: Unknown, please mail us if you have more info

 


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In Loving Memory of Grant Gallagher: Sept. 21, 1990 - Nov. 18, 2006