Kings Showband Feature (1962-1970)
Photo Gallery -
Band Lineups -
Discography
- Audio samples -
Where Are They Now?
The Story
Our thanks to Dusty Young for his story of the Kings Showband
The Kings Showband formed in 1962. From Naas Co. Kildare, they
were a started and managed by Paddy McGarr who also owned the
Gallowglass Ceili Band. Paddy knew that although Ceili bands (along
with the orchestras on the 40's and 50's) had been one of the
dominant forms of entertainment on the Irish scene, especially in
rural areas, their days were numbered in the new dancing
environment. Most of the original members of the band came from the
Jimmy Dunny band from Newbridge in County Kildare. The Dunny band
had been one of the old fashion "orchestras" that were extremely
popular until the dawn of the showbands in the late 50's.
The original lineup included Billy Dempsey (trumpet),
Ronnie Reynolds (drums), Barry Cluskey (sax), Brendan McEnhill
(sax), Frank McEnhill (aka Prince Vince - bass and vocals), Pat
Braiden (vocals), Tommy Fitzpatrick (guitar), and Tommy Lundy
(guitar). Within a short time, Billy left and was replaced
by Dusty Young on trombone. The band played its first gig on
Christmas Night, 1962 in the Danceland ballroom in Portlaoise.
Dusty's first gig with band was
at Sharrocks Ballroom in Manchester at the start of a Lenten tour.
For those who don't know, Lenten tours were necessary because during
lent in Ireland most of the dancehalls closed down for the 7 weeks
and many of the showbands went to England to play in the Irish
dancehalls. Names like The Galtymore in Cricklewood, Bamba in
Kilburn, Blarney on Tottenham Court Road, Gresham in Archway, The
Lyceum on The Stand and some of the dancehalls in Birmingham,
Manchester and Leeds get the Irish bands going.
The band was constantly on the road,
up and down the country. As Dusty explained,
"we followed the normal pattern for a showband in those days...travelling all over Ireland. We never got the art of linking up
dates so we would maybe play in Skibbereen one night, go to Donegal
the next night, back to Killarney the next night, and perhaps Belfast
the next night so we did a lot of miles but we were young and
enjoying it so we didn't really mind."
More to come.....
I joined 1961 I left and joined Walter Lewis in 1966, went to Jimmy
Johnston 1969, went to Glover 1970 for a few months. Then joined in
with Tony Morelli and Gerry Rice (who had played tenor sax with
Glover and The Witnesses) to play resident in The Trocadero Club in
Belfast. Gerry didn't want to come to England so George Galway took
his place and that's when we called ourselves The Kings for the
English Cabaret circuit and that's about it. The original Kings
Showband played with many of the big American acts and in fact we
backed Jerry Lee Lewis in the Castle Ballroom in Banbridge. Jerry
was the headliner on the show but his pick up band never turned up
so he asked us to busk his set. So he came on shouted the key of
Bflat and and we did his hour set with him without any rehearsal. In
those days you could do that because we knew all his stuff anyway
and we were always good buskers in Ireland. Yes it was Eamonn
Campell from The Dubliners who played for a while with Kings and
from them he went to the Dubliners. I sat beside Barney McKenna in
school for 5 years and hung about with him when he was learning the
banjo from his uncle. I would have loved to have played with them
but it wasn't to be!
The second photo was taken after
Tommy Fitzpatrick left and his place was taken by Reggie Dunne on
guitar he is middle front next to Billy Hopkins on right who came in
as a bass player leaving Vince to be main singer as Pat Braiden had
left and gone to England. Billy Hopkins who was the brother of Dessie
Hopkins of The Johnny Flynn Billy went on to play with Brendan
Bowyer and The Big 8 in Las Vegas The next photo was the original
line up as in the first photo. I moved up to Northern Ireland and
started with the Walter Lewis Showband. The Kings kept going for a
few more years bringing in Butch Moore who had left the Capitol as a
featured singer. Vince went to England and joined the Chris Lamb
Band before having a go with his own band and finished up playing
resident in The Hilton Hotel on Park Lane and finishing up playing
in The Dorchester Hotel London until all that work fizzled out. I
went from playing with Walter Lewis to playing with the Jimmy
Johnston Showband and ending up doing to last few months of The Dave
Glover Showband. I was playing in a cabaret band in Belfast until
the troubles got so bad and all the clubs and dance halls started
closing and ended up coming to England in 1972 with the remains of
The Witnesses Showband including George Galway brother of James and
Tony Morelli who had been the guitarist and singer with the
Witnesses. We called ourselves The Kings until we finally split up
the banThe original d and I went into comedy. That's the story so
far. All of the original Kings showband are still alive.
Dusty
I got married and moved to
Northern Ireland and started with The Walter Lewis Showband and on
to the other bands I told you about in my last email and there were
more leavings and changes in The Kings over the next few years and
that's when Reg Dunne joined along with Billy Hopkins and Butch
Moore and for a while the guitar player who joined the Dubliners
Eamonn he was called I don't know his second name I think it's
Coughlan but he is the one with the grey afro hairdo and is still
with the Dubliners along with my first cousin Patsy Watchorn. After
a little while I joined Jimmy Johnston and Dave Glover bands and
then moved onto the Belfast cabaret circuit playing as resident band
in various clubs around the city until as I said in 1972 with the
troubles getting worse we decided to try the English club circuit.
That went well for a few years but then we started to go our
different ways George Galway went into teaching in Manchester and
Tony Morelli went back to Belfast and played in the pubs and clubs
which were starting to reopen. I enclose a couple of pictures of The
Kings who came to England the include me, George Galway, Tony
Morelli, Tommy Smith and Alec Matthews. Tommy and Alec never really
played in Showbands they were a product of the Belfast club and pub
scene. I have a poster photo of the final incarnation of The Kings
which feature me, Dave Glover and also Jim McDermott who had played
with The Johnny Quigley and Gay McIntyre bands and later with The
Dave Glover Showband.Jim is the one with goatee beard. I can't
attach the photo for whatever reason my computer won't have it but
if you let me have an address I can send it by post. That's the
story so far and as you know I continue to work as a comedian and do
pretty well at it. Most of my time is spent working on cruise liners
which pays quite well and is a good standard of work.
More to come.....
click on thumbnails for full image
