All About The Memories
(1963-2005)
Photo Gallery -
Band Lineups -
Discography
- Audio samples -
Where Are They Now?
The Story
(More to come)
One of Ireland's most beloved pop
bands, the Memories humble beginnings came together via
St. Vincents School in
Glasnevin. Mick Swan, Daire Doyle, Jim Barry and Colm Harpur had
all attended the school and knew each other well, but their
paths didn't come together musically until the early 60's when
Jim joined the local church choir at St. Peter's in Phibsboro
where the other three lads were already members.
Mick, Daire, and Colm had been
involved in various vocal harmony groups as teenagers, the
members of which seemed to vary with alarming frequency, and
were keen to set up something a bit more permanent. Wanting to
tape themselves to see how they sounded (a difficult task in the
early 60's for teenagers without any money), they had a major
problem. Luckily (for us) they discovered new choir member, Jim,
owned a tape recorder and their problem was solved after
offering Jim a position as lead singer with the band. The four
lads continued to rehearse and it was starting to sound good....
with one little problem, the material they thought they sang
best - The Beach Boys, The Lettermen, Mamas and Papas - needed
more than a piano accompaniment.
It was 1963 and the boys had
been going out to socials and hops for a couple of years and
they had seen a group a few times that they admired. One of the
members of the group, Ray Crowe, went to school with Jim and as
luck would have it the group was about to split so Ray was at a
loose end and it turned out to be the perfect opportunity to add
an extra voice (and a guitar) to the fledgling band. Thus the
original Memories line up whose first professional gig (for a
staggering £8) was at the interval of a bingo session in St.
Peters Hall, Phibsboro in 1964. Billed as a "vocal group," they featured heavily in cabaret
and within a couple of years they appeared on The Late Late Show with Gay Byrne.
In the early sixties in
Ireland that were really only two "scenes" the ballrooms and the
folk/cabaret circuit. The Memories had put together a class act which
featured close vocals harmonies that were more suited to the
cabaret scene, which also at the time featured a lot of folk
acts. It didn't take long for the lads to realize that the "big
money" was in the ballrooms and they decided to make the jump.
At that point the lads
put
down their acoustics, left the cabaret scene and added a drummer to
hit the ballroom circuit. Chris Heenan was added to the lineup on
drums and the band was set. With their soaring harmonies and upbeat
brand of pop and rock music, the Memories were soon one of the top
draws in the country.
They released their first
single, A Summer Song, in 1967 to little response.
However, their follow up, Oh No, was a hit and reached
the Irish Top Ten in 1968, setting the way for the band's
success.
The band suffered a small setback in 1974 when bass
player, Daire Doyle, was injured in a car accident and could not
play for several months. Former Creature, Liam McKenna, was
drafted to stand in for Daire on bass and ended up staying on, switching
back to guitar, when founding member Colm Harpur left the band at the end of the
year.
As the seventies progressed, the band continued
to grow their fan base and adopted a very colorful stage presence
when Mick started dressing up as a preacher. Their rendition of
Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody became legendary across the ballrooms of
Ireland, a feat Queen themselves couldn't pull off live (resorting
instead to a taped rendition of the operatic section of the song).
Around 1978, the second founding member of the
band, Ray Crowe, left and was replaced by Dominic Green, formerly of
The
Sands on lead guitar. "Domo" added a new somewhat heavier sound to
the band, whose sound and reputation continued to grow, making them
one of the top three pop bands of the era.
As the 1980's started, change was in the air
for the Memories as well. In 1981, Mick, Daire, and Dom spilt from
the Memories to form The Message. The boys thought there was room
on the circuit for the two bands playing similar style music and Jim, Chris, and Liam
(switching back to bass) continued on as
The Memories. The band added Pat Coldrick (guitar), Tony Kelly
(guitar), and Peter Eades of the Miami (keyboards and guitar) as the
band's new musical director. Peter and Jim started writing songs
together and recording. The partnership eventually led to the founding of
Ireland's first 24 track mobile recording studio, Eerie Mobile
Music.
Meanwhile, although the bands competed for gigs for a while, it
wasn't long before they realized the scene was changing. In the
early eighties, the ballroom scene was under attack from discos and
bar extensions and promoters only wanted bands with the "name
recognition" as crowds dwindled. The Memories were back together by
the end of 1983. Now a five piece, the band's lineup was Jim, Mick,
Daire, Pat Coldrick (guitar) and Liam Bradley (drums) as Chris
Heenan decided to retired from the business. When the band reformed,
Liam McKenna and Tony Kelly decided to move to the UK to continue
performing. Peter Eades continued to work in production, becoming
one of the Ireland's top producers. He also formed Jump The Gun
which represented Ireland in Eurovision a few years later.
It took the band nearly 27 years to reach
number one in the Irish charts when their single, The Game,
hit the top spot in 1990. The band enjoyed its greatest record
success in the mid seventies when four of their singles reached the
top ten. Although temporarily
sidetracked in the early 80's when several key members left to form
The Message, the band eventually reunited and continued to play
together until fairly recently. Lead singer Jim Barry recently
retired and now lives in Spain, but bass player Daire Doyle and
keyboard player Mick Swan continue to play together from time to
time.
More to come.......
click on thumbnails for full image
Discography 1967-1990
Singles:
A Summer Song / Words I Remember
Rex Records - R.11028 - 1967
Oh No / Wearin' of the Green -
#10 Irish Charts
Rex Records - R.11035 - July, 1968
Indian Lake / Be My Girl
Rex Records - R.11039 - 1968
Where's The Playground Suzie / I'm Losing You
Rex Records - R.11049 - 1969
Exodus / A Summer Song
Rex Records R.11053 - 1970
She / Wish and Want and Wonder
Rex Records - R.11069 - 1971
Say Good Morning / Sing A Happy Song
Rex Records - R.11075 - 1972
Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me / Baby Let Me Take You In My Arms
Rex Records - R.11079 - 1972
Don't Pretend Anymore / The House Fell Down -
#7 Irish Charts
Rex Records - R.11089 - November, 1973
Lay It On Me / D'Ja Gerra -
#7 Irish Charts
Rex Records - R.11091 - May, 1974
The Likes of Heffo's Army / Never Goodbye -
#7 Irish Charts
Rex Records - R.11093 - August, 1974
Part of the Road / Singalong Song
Rex Records - R.11099 - November, 1974
What Ya Gonna Tell Your Mama / He Was A Young Boy
Stop Records - OP1001 - 1975
Skyin' / All I've Got -
#9 Irish Charts
Hawk or Stop Records - HASP 390 - August, 1976
All The King's Horses / Skyin'
NEMS Records - NES 105 - 1977
The Main Attraction / We're Coming Back Again
Stop Records - OP1012 - December, 1979
Stairway to Heaven / Stairway to heaven (Extended) -
#12 Irish Charts
Ritz Records - RITZ 073 - May, 1984
Easy Come, Easy Go / Marianne -
#22 Irish Charts
Ritz Records - RITZ 091 - February, 1985
The Game / Black Betty -
#1 Irish Charts
Spex Records - SP 015 - June, 1987
Albums:
The Time Is Now
Rex Records - RPS.106 - 1972
Time To Go On
Hawk Records - HALP.163 - 1977
Audio Clips
Coming Soon
Where Are They Now?
(Coming Soon)
