The showbands sent the crowds home sweating

By Tom Gillespie

THIS photograph, taken in the 1960s, demonstrates how socialising has changed dramatically over the decades.

Mostly at the weekends, thousands of people flocked to ballrooms in every corner of the country to dance to the top showbands of the day.

And they did so in an alcohol-free environment with only a mineral bar to quench their thirst - a far cry from the late night venues, pre-Covid, that operate today.

The photograph is typical of the sardine-like conditions in all the dance halls.

At the height of the showband era there were up to 600 bands - maybe 3,600 musicians, roadies and managers - on the road, with about 80 major ballrooms.

Once the pubs closed at 10 p.m. on a Sunday night the queues began to form outside the ballrooms.

A relief band got the punters on the floor before the main showband took the stage around 11 p.m.

The maple floors withstood the the waltzing, twisting and jiving as the band played a three-set routine.

The ritual was for the ladies, dressed in their finest, to line up on one side of the hall and the gents on the other. There would be a stampede towards the ladies as the men sought out a dancing partner.

So concerned were the ballroom proprietors that they installed a protective crash barrier to prevent the ladies from being trampled.

The main band played until 2 a.m. and each ended the night with their own individual signature tune and signed off with the usual ‘Goodnight, God bless and safe home’ as they sent the punters home sweating.

The showband era involved hundreds of musicians and was a huge industry for 20 or so years.

In most towns there were several bands of six or seven members, with probably Tuam, for its size, leading the pack.

Talented musicians were always on demand and it was not unusual to have one poached by another band.

I recall writing a story for the Evening Press in the ‘70s where there was a scarcity of saxophone players and the sub-editor attached the following heading: ‘Showbands have no sax appeal’.

The line-up usually featured a rhythm section of drums, lead, rhythm and bass guitars, a keyboard instrument, and a brass section of trumpet, saxophone and trombone. The band was fronted by one or two lead singers, who were assisted by other band members on backing vocals.

The band's basic repertoire included standard dance numbers and covers of pop hits. The versatile music ranged from rock and roll and country and western songs to traditional Dixieland jazz and even Irish céilí dance, folk music and waltzes. Key to a showband's popular success was the ability to perform songs currently in the record charts.

Many of the top bands like The Dixies, Capitals, Royal, Drifters, Mainliners, Cadets, Pacific, Mighty Avons, Miami, Royal Blues, Freshmen and Clipper Carlton recorded ‘covers’ which charted for them, making them even more popular with the public.

However, the influence of the Church then saw laws introduced which prohibited dancing on Saturday nights and nights before a church holy day, as well as during Lent - with an exception for St. Patrick's Day.

The Lenten break meant the musicians were redundant and to combat this they toured the UK and America for that period.

Locally, Paddy Jennings' Royal Ballroom in Castlebar was a Mecca for dancers, as was The Starlight in Westport, Pontoon Ballroom, Moyland, Ballina, and the Palm Court in Belmullet.

Mayo, too, had many of the top bands in Brose Walsh (Manulla), Royal Blues (Claremorris), Tony Chambers (Newport), Jack Ruane and the Tom Kelly Trio from Ballina.

The town halls in Castlebar, Westport and Ballina were dancing venues, as were the Gaiety in Islandeady, Arcadia in Belcarra, Pavilion, Westport, and the Browne Memorial Hall in Foxford.

But it was the bigger ballrooms who attracted the larger audiences and they had a cartel that guaranteed the bigger bands work provided they did not play for the opposition.

St. Stephen’s night and new year’s eve were the biggest dancing nights of the year when you could see up to 3,000 packing into the Royal Ballroom in Castlebar.

Many of the top international acts appeared at The Royal including Tom Jones, Roy Orbison and The Tremolies.

March 17 always attracted large numbers but the most popular bands would be abroad because of Lent.

At the end of the dance the band members would hand out photographs of the band which they would autograph.

Then, when the dancers had gone home and the musicians had changed out of their shiny suits they would have carry out and pack their equipment into their band wagon and hit for home.

Monday was the only night off for the top bands and for the rest of the week they travelled the highways and byways of Ireland, north and south. The premises and crowd-pullers usually worked on a 60/40 percentage and their manager would regularly check the number of dancers who paid in with the box office.

The popularity of discos in the 1970s, the opening of hotel music lounges and cabaret rooms with alcohol licenses, and changing musical tastes sounded the death knell for most of the showbands, though some, like Brose Walsh, have survived to this day.

In July 1975 members of the Ulster Volunteer Force killed three members of The Miami Showband, one of the biggest on the scene, including lead singer Fran O'Toole, and wounded two others.

The killings, which occurred as the band was returning from a show in Banbridge in the North, became known as the Miami Showband killings. Cross-border band touring dropped significantly as a result, which hastened the decline of the showbands.