All About Tweed
(1971 - 198?)
Our thanks to Gerry Gannon
for additional info on the band
Ask anyone who was around in the '70's and
early 80's who the top pop bands were in Ireland and usually Tweed
will be mentioned as being in the top five. Formed by Brendan and Kenny Ryder and based
in Kilkenny, the band were the ultimate performers,
reproducing the hits of the day with amazing quality and detail.
During a period when "pop" bands in Ireland were increasingly
dropping their brass sections, in favor of synths and additional
multi-instrumentalists, Tweed maintained a driving brass section,
giving them an unmatched presence on stage. Of special interest to
fans were the powerful vocals of guitarist/percussionist, Brendan
Ryder.
The band was formed in 1971 from several
members of the Nomads and the original lineup included Brendan Ryder
(vocals), Kenny Ryder (guitar), Michael O'Grady (keyboards), Arthur
Connick (trumpet), Bertie Sherman (sax), Jeff Bourke (drums), and
Tony Ford (bass). The band was advertised as playing a wide variety
of musical styles including a heavy sprinkling of country and
western (which would soon disappear). Originally Brendan was
advertised as the "frontman" and the band as "The New Summer Sound."
Tweed were part of the "new sound" that swept
across the Irish Ballroom scene in the early seventies. As the
divisions between pop and country grew, and the showbands were
forced to make a choice between the two (but still trying to
straddle the line being "all things to all people") bands like
Chips, The Memories, Tweed, and the revamped Plattermen became pure
pop groups, bordering at time as rock bands. At the time, the word
"progressive" was used to described this new direction.
This all happened, of course, as the pop sounds
on the International scene of the Beatles, Monkees and the rest of
the late 60's gave way to bands like the Who, Jimi Hendrix, Led
Zeppelin and Atomic Rooster. Many would call this period the
"beginning of the end" of the showband era, and in some ways it was,
but more about that elsewhere on the site.
In 1972, the band added Johnny Scully on
trumpet, expanding to an eight piece band,a lineup which would stay
in place for the next few years. In June of 72, they released their
first single, Six Days, an original number which got some air
play, but did not hit the charts. For the next few years, it would
be the band's live set that gained them much attention and
notoriety. Like the Plattermen, the band featured driving rhythms
and featured Brendan Ryder on congas, something previously unknown
on the showband scene.
In October, 1974, Tweed placed an advert in
Spotlight looking for a keyboard player and sax player.
Kenny left
the band in the late seventies and formed his own Kenny Ryder Superband. Seanie Ryan tells us that today Kenny still lives in Thurles and
plays across the country with his band, Knight Ryders.
In 1979, the band entered a song in the Irish
National Song Contest, No Restrictions, which placed fifth
and was beaten out by Cathal Dunne's Happy Man. It would be
the band's one and only foray into the Eurovision world.
By 1983, both Brendan and Kenny were no longer
with the band and Gay Brazel and Johnny Scully were the only links
to the Tweed of old, although all the original members of the band
were gone.
Click on thumbnails for full images
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Kenny Ryder: Kenny
formed his own Superband after leaving Tweed and continued
to play. Today he still lives and plays around Thurles and
the rest of the country with his band, Knight Ryders. A
check of the Internet in May, 2010, showed Kenny had a band
called Gogga in late 2009.
If you have
more info please email us
. |
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Brendan Ryder:
Brendan Ryder is playing with Dave Hallisey and Robert Bible
in the wedding band, The Paddies. If you have
more info please email us |
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Tony Ford: Unknown - if you have info please email us |
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Jeff Bourke - RIP:
Jeff sadly passed away in November, 2006. |
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Michael O'Grady:
Sean Hughes writes to tell us that Michael is a lecturer in
industrial design at the Institute of Technology in Carlow. If you have
more info please email us |
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Bertie Sherman: Unknown - if you have info please email us |
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Johnny Scully: Unknown - if you have info please email us |
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Arthur Connick: Unknown - if you have info please email us |
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Gay Brazel:
Gay kept Tweed going well into the 90's with the band using
two names, we think, both Tweed and the Whole Shebang. Today
he has a two piece band called The Dreamers which continues to play
pubs, weddings and corporate functions. For a time in the
mid 00's, he was a regular
member of Isla Grant's touring band when she came to
Ireland, but we understand he is no longer with Isla as of
mid 2009. |
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Pat Kelly: Today, Pat
plays in Robert Mizzell's Country King's band and also
manages Robert (from his son, Pat) |
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Gerry Gannon: James
McIntosh wrote to tell us Gerry now lives in Australia. A
check of Gerry's website shows he started working in radio
while still in Ireland, operating CBC Radio in Tipperary,
which we have to assume was a pirate station as there were
no licenses for local radio that early. He left Ireland in
1983 and went to Australia where he settle in Perth and
worked with ABC Radio for many years. Today, Gerry is a
professional corporate facilitator/ MC and media skills
trainer. |
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Dave Hallisey:
Dave left Tweed in 1985 and went
to the United States. While there, he played on the Irish
music scene in Texas. He returned to Ireland in 2002 and is
now playing with Brendan Ryder and Robert Bible in
the wedding band, The Paddies. |
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Seanie Ryan: After
leaving Tweed, Seanie emigrated to the United States where
he met up with former band mates Kim and Gerry Gallagher in
California. He married an American girl, Pamela, has two
children, and after many years in Oklahoma, he now lives in
Houston, Texas where he still plays with local bands. |
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Dave Flynn: Unknown - if you have info please email us |
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Robert Bible:
Robert was playing with Brendan
Ryder and Dave Hallisey in the wedding band, The Paddies up
until recently (early 2010), but we are unsure whether he is
still in the band today. If you have
more info please email us |
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Brian O'Driscoll: Unknown - if you have info please email us |
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Donal Duggan: Donal
is still playing on the scene and is currently the keyboard
player with Mike Denver. |
