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Crickets Showband Feature (1961-1965)

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

The Story

Written by Gerry Gallagher and Thomas Harrington

The first reference to the Crickets Showband we found was in November 1961 when they were part of a two band session in Finglas, Co. Dublin. The advert featured the band as "The Crickets Showband with Michael Harrington." Interestingly, we could not find a reference to the band again until January, 1963.

Tommy Harrington, the band's drummer, told us in 2015 the story of the band's earliest days:

"It was a humble beginning. One day in the mid-fifties I came home from work at the factory and as I opened the living room door I heard a rock and roll song being played on our little Philips radio. The song was Rave On from Buddy Holly. I don't know why I reacted in this way but I went to the dresser in the kitchen and took out 2 forks and began to accompany the song with the forks on the kitchen table. My sister Betty said to my mother that I was crackers. That was my second encounter with rock and roll. The first was Bill Haley in Rock Around The Clock.

A few days later there was a knock at the door and when I opened it there was a teenager (Kevin Glover) with an acoustic guitar standing there. He was a boy who lived a few doors up the street. He said Tommy your sister told my sister that you play the drums. I was astounded that my sister should tell such lies to her friend. Come in I said and we went into the parlour. He prepared to sing and play a song for me and I said wait a minute. I discovered a short while before a wooden box under my bed and it came to my mind that I should get it with the 2 forks. He sang Wake Up Little Susie (Everly Brothers). He was great!

Within a few days there were many knocks on the door with boys with guitars wanting an audition. I felt important for the first time in my life. From then on the cacophony which came out of our parlour at 87 Mellows Road, Finglas West, Dublin 11, Ireland was sometimes very hard to bear. None of the fellows who wanted an audition became members of the band. They didn't meet up to our expectations. Why I don't know.

However, life became more interesting for me. Then came Jimmy Boylan with his guitar and wanted to join the band which we were putting together for a talent contest at the Parochial hall in Finglas village. My mother was very fond of him so he could play at the talent contest. Kevin could play his 5 chords very well: C, F, G and Am and Dm. Jimmy was a beginner. nevertheless, we got the 3rd or 4th place and suddenly we were well known in Finglas West Dublin 11, Ireland. The audience was great and applauded nearly non stop for every act.

On the following week I got on the 40 bus and went into town and bought a side drum for approx. 25 shillings in a
second hand shop in Parnell street or Capel street. The drum was at least a hundred years old with goatskin. Kevin and I practiced from then on. Jimmy Boylan wasn't making progress on his guitar so I had to tell him that we didn't need him anymore. He was so disappointed and my mother too.

A few months before my brother Mick had bought a guitar and practiced nearly every day and night. I noticed that he was progressing very well and I asked him if he would join up with Kevin and me. For some reason or other he said no.  He didn't want to join up with Kevin and me. I was very disappointed. Another guitar player was not in sight so I asked my mother to convince him to join the Crickets and he finally did.

Things began to turn out for the better. Mick sang in the choir of the Christian Brothers School, Strand Street and sang for Pope Pious the 12th in Rome in the early fifties. Later he could sing the songs of the Platters very well. Kevin didn't want to buy an electric guitar with amplifier so he backed out. News got around and a new class of musicians came a knocking at the door. Christy Emmet (rhythm guitar), Pat McCann (vocals) and Shay McCarthy (lead guitar) were now Crickets. I think my brother Mick brought them along. They were already very good musicians and with Mick on the bass and me on the drums we became a beat and rock band. Then Mick brought along Dermot Latham (manager). We played a lot of gigs in and around Dublin for about a year till Dermot decided that the showband scene was growing so he augmented the Crickets with a brass section to form a showband.

The brass section comprised of Jack Sherlock (trumpet), Phil Cole (sax) and Billy Bowles (sax) who had very good compere qualities. they were also very good musicians from the Irish Federation of Musicians. We all had to become members of that organisation to play (work) in Ireland. "

In early 1963, the band seemed to resurface (as far as newspaper archives are concerned) and got a few write ups in the Tempo column in the Evening Herald. They apparently spent £200 on a float advertising the band, which was an unusual move back in those early days of the era. It seemed to work as they were soon playing all around Dublin, although not yet venturing outside the area. 

By August, 1963 adverts for the band declared they were "now fully professional" and their manager was Dermot Latham. This coincided with what appeared to be one of their first trips "down the country" as they were playing at the dancing festival in Carrick-On-Shannon. During late 1963 the band continued to slowly build their reputation playing outside of Dublin more often and playing in some of the bigger ballrooms around the country, but still mainly playing in and around Dublin it would appear.

An advert in the Irish Independent advertised the band's Lenten "tour" of ballrooms in England which was pretty standard for most of the showbands back in the day as the Irish circuit more or less shut down in the run up to Easter. When the band returned from England they was playing all around the country  from Drogheda to Kilkenny to Waterford.

In May, 1964 the band was hired to play the famous Star Club in Germany and in a most interesting move they received a one-and-a-half page spread in the Evening Herald, which (based on our years of research) was quite unusual for any band back in those days. They had been booked to play for a month in the club which had been made famous several years earlier when, after opening in 1962, they booked The Beatles, a move which many say helped the legendary band hone their playing skills at a critical time in their history.

At the end of May, a blurb in the Evening Herald reported the band had beern asked to stay on in Hamburg, which they did until late July, 1964 when there was a report that they had been robbed while finishing up their stint in Germany (see below). It was reported that the band came home except Christy Emmet who stayed behind to help police with their work on the theft.

On their arrival back home, the band played a few gigs, but we can find no adverts for them gigging in Ireland after August 1, 1964.

Tommy takes up the story again:   

"We went to Germany and were one of the resident bands in the Star Club, Hamburg. We toured the Star Club circuit in Germany for a year and in early summer 1965 we broke up in London. Billy went back to Florida, Christy went to Australia, I stayed in Germany, Mick and Jack stayed in England and Pat, Shay and Phil went back to the Emerald Isle.

Last but not least I would like to mention two great musicians who had short (intermezzos) with the Crickets: John Hardy of the best Dublin showband ever," The Blue Clavons" and Barry Richardson who played with Bluesville.

About ten years later in 1976, another "Crickets Showband" appeared on the scene, but we are confident they were not the same band, nor had anything to do with the original band.

More to come.....

Photo Gallery

click on thumbnails for full image

Crickets - 1961 Crickets - 1963 Crickets - 1963 Crickets - 1963 Crickets Showband (JD)
Crickets Showband (TH) Crickets Showband (TH) Crickets (RF) Crickets - 1963 Crickets - 1963

Crickets - 1964 Crickets - 1964 Crickets - 1964 Crickets - 1964 Crickets - 1964

     
Crickets - 1964 Crickets - 1964 Crickets - 1964 Crickets - 1964 Crickets - 1964
Years Vocals Guitar Bass Drums Guitar Sax/Keys Sax Trumpet
1959 Pat
McCann
Shay
McCarthy
Mick
Harrington
Tom
Harrington
Christy
Emmet
     
March
1963
Pat
McCann
Shay
McCarthy
Mick
Harrington
Tom
Harrington
Christy
Emmet
John
Hardy
   
Early
1964
Pat
McCann
Shay
McCarthy
Mick
Harrington
Tom
Harrington
Christy
Emmet
Phil
Cole
Billy
Bowles
Jack
Sherlock
                 
                 

Discography

S - #3 Irish Charts
M

Audio Clips

         
Coming Soon Coming Soon Coming Soon Coming Soon Coming Soon

Coming Soon

Where Are They Now?  

Tommy Harrington: Tommy would remain in Germany and has lived there ever since.
Mick Harrington: If you know any more about him, please email us.
Pat McCann - RIP: We received an email from Pat's son, Pat Jr. telling his father died of natural causes on April 7th, 2015. .
Shay McCarthy: Shay would return to Ireland and go on to play with the Trixons SHowband and the Grassroots. If you know any more about him, please email us.
Christy Emmet: If you know any more about him, please email us.
John Hardy - RIP: John sadly passed away on July 28th, 2011.
Phil Cole - RIP: If you know any more about him, please email us.
Billy Bowles: As far as we know Billy returned to the USA (Florida) in 1965.  If you know any more about him, please email us.
Jack Sherlock - RIP: Jack passed away in 1995. If you know any more about him, please email us.

 


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