The largest digital showband archive in the world!
Based In Sligo, Ireland / email: showbands@gmsproductions.com

CLICK FOR:     FREE FORUM        HOME PAGE        GUESTBOOK      MAKE A DONATION

Flamingoes Showband (1961 - 1970?)

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 this story based on 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 mention of the Dundalk-based Flamingoes Showband we found was on April; 22, 1961 when a small advert appeared in the Drogheda Independent newspaper announcing the band were "flying your way" and playing in the Abbey Ballroom in Drogheda on 29th of April. Based on the adverts we could find for the band's gig, they seemed to stay more or less around their home town during that first summer, playing quite often in the Abbey Ballroom. The band was managed by Patrick Keating of Dundalk.

By the end of July they started to branch out playing some summer carnivals in neighboring Cavan as well as gigs in the Pavilion Ballroom in their hometown, Dundalk. They would continue to build their reputation, traveling further afield and eventually making their way in the midlands.

As with some other bands. researching the Flamingoes is somewhat difficult as they shared their name with the exotic pink bird as well as the famous ballroom in Ballymena and several fashion shops and coffee houses/bars/clubs around the country. We do know that Des Wilson, who would eventually join the Cotton Mill Boys was part of the band for a time. 

Throughout the next few years, the band would continue to enjoyed success, and continued to expand their territory across the country. We should acknowledge that our ability to fully tell the story of any band (from researching newspaper archives) is always hampered by a lack of adverts featuring the band. We can assume this to be a lack of success or gigs, but this is not always the case, so we try to assume that a band which does not appear very often is still busy enough to stay on the road and this is the case with the Flamingoes. Additionally, we have not been able to find a feature about the band which mnight give us the names of the lineup, so we apologise for not have that info.

After 1969, we could find very few adverts for the band playing ballrooms across the country., However, in 1971, the name started to appear in adverts for the Embankment although we can not be sure it was the same band. They would appear there weekly for several months so we can assume they were the resident band with various "guest stars" every week.

It would seem that the band may have gone off the road sometime late in 1970, or possibly took up the residency in the Embankment after downsizing, one way or another, we could not find any reference to them after 1972. 

More to come.....

Photo Gallery

click on thumbnails for full image

Flamingoes - 1961 Flamingoes - 1961 Flamingoes - 1965 Flamingoes - 1968 Flamingoes - 1970
Flamingoes (PL) Flamingoes (RF) Flamingoes (RF) Flamingoes (RF) Flamingoes (RF)
         
Coming Soon Coming Soon Coming Soon Coming Soon Coming Soon
Years Vocals Guitar Bass Drums Keyboards Sax Trumpet
  Des
Wilson
           
               
               
               

Discography

S - #3 Irish Charts
M

Audio Clips

         
Coming Soon Coming Soon Coming Soon Coming Soon Coming Soon

Coming Soon

Where Are They Now?  

Band Member:
Band Member:
Band Member:
Band Member:
Band Member:
Band Member:

 


© 2002-2020 GMS Productions

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