Just Four Feature (1973-1983)

After the success of their first album, a second live album was recorded in July called ‘Welcome To Pedigree Corner,’ and once again it was released on Olympic records. It featured Just Four, playing alongside and also backing some of the other acts that evening. All the artists featured played regularly at Pedigree Corner.

The 23rd Of October saw the band appearing on RTE Television once again, recording the popular light entertainment program, The Likes Of Mike with host Mike Murphy. This show also featured singers Twink and Des Smith and was broadcast on the 7th November. In 1975, the band undertook several tours of English clubs in London, Liverpool and Birmingham, becoming a hit act on that circuit.

In June 1975, the band finally released its first single, a cover of "Glad All Over" originally by the Dave Clark Five with Herb Alpert's "Tijuana Taxi" on the B-side. The record would reach number 17 on the Irish charts but would only stay in the charts for two weeks, making it a minor hit, but a chart hit all the same, something not many showbands achieved back in the early 1970's. Around this time, the band signed with Dublin manager, Noel Carty, who was already managing the Magic Band and Brendan Shine.

As the band played gigs into 1976, everything was going well. They had several residencies but as the cabaret scene began to peak, they were traveling hundreds of miles every week and would go through several "wagons" in the process. In March, they did another brief tour of England around St. Patrick's Day festivities.  Their next single would not appear until 1977 when they released "Putting the Bad Times Behind Me" on the Ruby label but unlike their first offering, it did not make the charts.      

March 1978 saw the band release another record. This song called ‘The Tellyman,’ was a parody, written by Kevin Farrell from the Copper Beech in Edenderry, and released on the Bandbox label. It was a tongue-in-cheek effort aimed at getting people to purchase a television license. The song received considerable airplay on national radio, but it failed to make the charts.

1979 was probably the most notable and prestigious year in the band's history. In April, the ‘Irish Music Scene’ awards concert was held at the National Ballroom in Kilburn, where Just Four were the recipients of the top cabaret act to visit Britain for the year 1978/79. The show was hosted by BBC Radio D.J., Pete Murray, who presented the award to the band. October 1st saw the band fulfill what would be a dream gig for any musician, when they performed their show at London’s Royal Albert Hall. This event, known as the ‘Blake’ variety concert, was held to mark the ‘Year of the Child,’ with upwards of 5,000 people attending. After a few weeks at home, the band's whirlwind year continued as they were back in London in early November, to appear as special guests on the Val Doonican show, at the Wembley Conference Centre, where they played the first half of the show.

As the 1980's started, the Irish entertainment scene was in a tailspin. Money was tight and this would be the "beginning of the end" for both the cabaret and ballroom circuits. Two singles were released during 1981. The first was ‘Brian Boru,’ written by RTE broadcaster and TV sports presenter Brendan O’Reilly. Released on Glenside records, this song was entered for the Cavan International song contest in April 1980 and performed by Just Four, who duly won the competition. The second release was an attempt at the Christmas charts, with a song written by Showband veterans Danny Ellis and Red Hurley called ‘Will you Marry Me For Christmas.’ Produced by Dick Keating and released on the bands own label, Lillywhite Records. It didn’t receive much airplay on national radio and it would be the last record that Just Four released.

Although the band continued to tour the UK for the next couple of years, the writing was on the wall both at home and abroad. Some Irish bands would head off to places like South Africa, Spain or Mexico to stay solvent but most just threw in the towel. Just Four would be no different and in 1983, they decided to go their separate ways.  

Four UK tours were undertaken during the bands final year, and a unanimous decision was made to split up in the coming autumn. A notable highlight during this year was their appearance at the open air Irish festival concert in Roundwood Park, Willesden, with thousands in attendance. The very last Just Four performance was in Ramsbottoms Pub, in Stradbally, Co Laois, on Thursday 20th October 1983.

With no formal announcement preceding this gig in the press, Des just announced from the stage to the audience that this was to be their last gig as Just Four. The final song played by the band was a tune called ‘Stealaway,’ a recent chart hit for the Furey Brothers.

The lads just packed away their gear for the last time and went home. After 10 years and 9 months, the reign of Just Four was over. Undoubtedly Ireland’s best Cabaret act, they broke the mould when it came to live performances, and the rest could only follow their lead.

Des and Billy returned to the stage as the ‘Hopkins Brothers,’ and continued performing as a duo for the next 25 years. They would probably still be playing together today, were it not for the untimely passing of Billy in 2010. Des has always kept the flag flying for his first love, ‘Trad Jazz,’ and alongside his fellow Jazz musicians, they play regular gigs around the country. Most noteworthy is their yearly appearance every October at the Cork Jazz Festival.

Jimmy worked for a while in a bank, before returning to the music scene to play with artists like Two’s Company, The Big Three and also the Art Supple band. Nowadays, he’s still active, playing the music for his local pantomime troupe and teaching guitar in his native Castlecomer.

Arthur relocated to Doncaster in England where he worked as a bricklayer for a time. Later, upon returning to Ireland, he played with an adult dancing band called ‘Ena and the Moonshiners.’ From time to time, Arthur also stepped in as a guest musician with the Hopkins Brothers. He is still out there today playing his music at corporate functions and other events.