Everything about Irish Showband totally explained
In
Ireland, from the mid
1950s to the late
1970s, the main source of music at
dance halls was the
showband (
Irish:
seóbhanna). These were initially smaller imitations of
Dixieland big bands, with 6–12 musicians and one or two singers; later the repertoire expanded to include
cover versions of whatever was popular on the
radio:
rock and roll,
country and western,
jazz standards and
Irish traditional music. Many showbands featured a brass section, one of the hallmark sounds of the genre. They toured constantly around the country, and the more successful bands also went to
Britain and the
United States.
Famous Bands
The first showband to play while standing rather than seated was the Clipper Carlton.
Brendan Bowyer, Tom Dunphy and the Royal Showband had a hit in
1965 with
The Hucklebuck.
The Freshmen, led by
Billy Brown and Derek Dean, produced lush harmonies in their covers of hits by
The Beach Boys and
Jan and Dean.
Dickie Rock performed
Elvis Presley songs with appropriate gyrations.
The most famous of the showbands attained legendary status in Ireland and names like The Royal Showband,
Clubsound, Dickie Rock and the
Miami, Butch Moore and the Capitol,
Joe Dolan and the Drifters, became household names. Many of the stars of the era continue to perform today.
Northern Ireland
Showbands regularly crossed
the border while touring. As
the Troubles developed from the last 1960s, audiences in
Northern Ireland for southern bands were predominantly
Irish nationalist and dances often included
rebel songs and ended with
Amhrán na bhFiann, the Irish
national anthem. This caused some resentment among
loyalists, suspicious of border-crossing as an activity frequently undertaken by
Republican paramilitaries. The
Miami Showband killings in 1975 occurred when a
UDR attempt to
frame the band as
IRA members was botched, and instead band members were shot dead. This episode horrified many, greatly reduced cross-border touring, and hastened the decline of the showband industry.
Dance Halls
The dance halls were usually simple barn-like buildings at the edge of town, painted in bright colours inside and out. They had fanciful names such as "Fairyland", "Dreamland", "Wonderland", etc. Each hall in smaller towns would only host a dance every several weeks, with patrons arriving in shared cars or by bicycle from the surrounding towns and countryside.
Halls were constructed cheaply by local entrepreneurs. Many in the midlands were operated by
Albert Reynolds, who would later become
Taoiseach.
Halls didn't have licences to sell
alcohol; besides being too expensive to obtain for a venue that was rarely used, the
Catholic Church feared that mixing alcohol with dancing would increase the likelihood of
sexual
vice. The parish priest often patrolled the surrounding car park and fields for evidence of "company keeping". Within the dancehall, men and women stood on opposite sides of the hall with their same-sex friends while not dancing. In later years these strictures eased greatly, though alcohol remained unavailable.
At its height, the industry employed thousands of workers and there were as many as 700-800 bands traveling the country. In the 1970's the showband phenomenon was faltering and the showbands generally revamped themselves into either pop or country bands as a combination of discos, hotels and bar extensions brought the ballrooms, and the industry to an end.
Legacy
Several Irish musicians who crossed over to international rock success began their careers with showbands, including
Van Morrison and
Rory Gallagher.
From the mid 1960s exposure increased, especially in urban centres, to newer forms of rock and pop music, performed by original artists. This was due to access to British television and radio stations,
pirate radio, and new record shops catering to these tastes. Young people increasingly saw showbands as old-fashioned and rustic. The dance halls began closing in the mid 1970s, although some of the original bands continue to perform into the
21st Century at smaller venues for their loyal if aging fanbase.
William Trevor's
1972 short story
The Ballroom of Romance, made into a
TV movie by
RTÉ, is a much-
anthologised account of the stultifying limitations of rural life in Ireland in the 1970's, set against a night at the eponymous local dancehall.
Many former patrons have happier memories of the "showband era", and a nostalgic Irish cliché holds that most married couples of a certain age met at a dance where one of the showbands was playing.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Irish Showband'.
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