T.R. Dallas (Tom Allen) Story (1970 - present)
Finnavons - Nightrunners - Sailors - Mainliners -
TR Dallas
Photo Gallery -
Band Lineups -
Discography
- Audio samples -
Where Are They Now?
The Story
The story of T.R. "Tom Allen" Dallas is a little piece of showband
history, and a success story unlike any other during the era. The
Moate born singer is the brother of Tony Allen (1/2 of the legendary
folk duo, Foster and Allen). Tom got his start in the showband era
in July, 1970, when he joined a newly revamped Finnavons Showband.
Former lead singer, Gerry Black had left the band, along with
several other musicians and the Castleblaney-based band had to
regroup. They added Tom on vocals,
along with Gerry O'Rourke (guitar), Sean Hughes (bass), Frankie
Lynch (drums) and Brian O'Neill (sax).
In February, 1972, Doc Carroll of
the Royal Blues had just released his final single with the band
(called "Night Runners") and he announced he was leaving to form a new
band. He drafted both Allen brothers, Tom and Tony (who would soon
be half of Foster and Allen). The Nightrunners hit the road
in St. Patrick's night in Pontoon Ballroom. We're unsure whether Tom
came to the band directly from the Finnavons as newspapers
carry conflicting reports and on March 19th, 1972, there was an
advert for a pub in Streamstown (just down the
road from Moate) for "Tom
Allen and his Group" (see below).
The Nightrunners did well for Doc
Carroll but in late 1975 he decided once again to move on and formed
a new band called the All-Stars. The remaining members of the
Nightrunners moved Tom's brother, Tony, to the lead vocalist spot
and soon-to-be-famous Mick Foster joined the band which remained a
six piece.
About six months later things
changed again for the band as Tony and Mick left the band to form a
new group called Liberation along with Sean McCormack and Vincent
Keenan. The band would play a mix of Chieftains and Dubliners music.
The Nightrunners kept on going after the loss of two major members
of the line-up and at this point they were being managed by Michael
Flanagan from Athlone. They would soon drop their two bandmates and
become the world famous folk duo, Foster and Allen.
The next stop for Tom gets a
little confusing as we know the Nightrunners remained on the
road for some time, but in November, 1976 an article appeared
announcing a new band, Tom Allen and the Sailors. They
actually hit the road in July, 1976. At the time there was confusion
about who exactly Tom was (see article below). It also says the
members of the Sailors were ex-members of the Nightrunners, but we
can't find any other articles to confirm that statement.
Interestingly, in 1977, adverts for the Nightrunners once again
included Doc Carroll, so we assume he returned to the band. Tom
released what we think must have been his first single, "Ghost
Story." It's also tough to say what kind of band the Sailors were as
they appear to have played quite a few pubs gigs in the following
months, they also played locally and did not travel very far from
County Westmeath based on our newspaper research.
The Sailors were in high demand
for pubs, dances and concerts through 1976 and in 1977, however in
May, 1978, the Irish country scene was rocked when John Glenn (who
had replaced "Big Tom" McBride in the Mainliners in 1975), left to
form a new band, The Wranglers. The band needed a replacement
and Tom got the call. We are not sure of what happened to the
Sailors. The Mainliners issued a single featuring Tom called
"The Family That Prays," but it did not do
very well sales-wise, but it did introduce Tom as the band's new
lead singer. Actually, the Mainliners would not have another record
in the charts ever again.
Although much heralded and
publicised in 1978, Tom's time with the Mainliners would be brief.
In April, 1979, he and the Mainliners parted company. An article by
Donal K. O'Boyle in the Donegal Democrat reported that Tom
"was not the instant hit the Mainliners had badly required, his two
singles were not chart toppers (note: neither even made the
charts) and many of the fans felt that he did not have the style
of the departed Big Tom or John Glenn." Tom would end up going back
to Athlone and reforming the Sailors.
It was at this point that one
might be forgiven for thinking Tom was done. He had his shot at the
golden right and was now back playing local gigs again, but fate has
a strange way or working. However, by July, Tom had formed a new
band (or possibly rebranded the Sailors, we don't know) as the Tom
Allen Band. In December, 1979 an article in the Western Journal
claimed Tom was "now fronting the Sailors."
A few months later, Tom was being
managed by Donie Cassidy, who by coincidence was also managing
Foster and Allen at the time. At this time, Dallas was one of the
top shows are RTE television with much of the population tuning in
weekly to see the exploits of the fictional Ewing family in Texas.
In the season finale in April, J.R. Ewing was shot by a mystery
assailant. The question, "who shot J.R.," took the world by storm.
Legend has it that a Corkman named Rocky Stone wrote a song called
"Who Shot J.R. Ewing" but it was Donie Cassidy's name that appeared
on the record. One way or another, the story goes that Donie offered
the song to other top stars who refused and finally Tom Allen
reluctantly recorded it and a week later he was on the Late Late
Show wearing a Stetson cowboy hat (just like the real J.R.) and
had magically become (courtesy of Donie) T.R. Dallas. As they say,
the rest is history.
The record climbed to the number
10 spot in the Irish Charts giving Tom (now going exclusively by the
name T.R. Dallas) his first hit single. He would follow this up with
a much bigger hit, "It's Hard to be Humble" which had been a hit in
the United States for Mac "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" Davis, who
wrote both songs. Tom's second record went to number six in the
Irish charts staying on the charts for 20 weeks. He was now a bona
fide star.
By 1981, TR Dallas was firmly
established as a name on the Irish ballroom and cabaret circuit. For
the next 35 plus years he has been touring the country playing his
own brand of Irish country. In his spare time, he became a
Fianna Fáil councillor for the
Westmeath County Council. He continues to play gigs on the lucrative
Social Dancing circuit across the country...one of the select group
of singers of the era to have stayed the distance and entertaining
fans for almost 50 years.
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