Ronan Collins on the showband era: 'The Cork audiences were very discerning'  (2024)

He continues that mission with a new stage show, Showband Hits and Stories, which comes to the Everyman Cork on Friday, November 22.

Collins feels showbands are held to a different standard than their peers in other countries.

There was nothing unusual – much less backwards – about the Irish music scene of the late 1950s and early 1960s, where musicians would cut their teeth playing popular favourites from America.

Have we forgotten how The Beatles and The Rolling Stones started?

“One of Bob Geldof’s criticisms was it was a bunch of guys in shiny suits playing covers. That goes back to 1959, 1960… when the showband thing started,” he says.

“He’s exactly right. That’s what it was. But the funny thing was that across the water in England, there were dozens of groups wearing shiny suits. I’m talking about The Beatles. I’m talking about The Stones. They played rhythm and blues. They all looked the same. And then they created their own identities, as did the showbands.”

Showbands are today remembered as cover acts. That is only part of the picture.

“Tommy Swarbrigg [of Roscommon sibling duo The Swarbriggs] wrote all the b-sides of Joe Dolan’s first eight singles. 'Baby, I’m Your Man', which is an iconic showband hit from 1966 by Dickie Rock was written specifically for Dickie by Shay O’Donoghue, who’s the father of Danny O’Donoghue from The Script.”

In Showband Hits and Stories, Collins shares anecdotes about the scene and prominent figures such as Joe Dolan and Dickie Rock and performs highlights from their catalogue.

Collins, the popular anchor of RTÉ Radio One’s midday slot until 2022 and now a host on RTÉ Gold, brings an insider’s take. He isn’t merely a fan of these acts.

As a young drummer in the 1960s and 1970s, he played with many of the artists to whom he is paying homage – including the aforementioned Dickie Rock.

“I was with Dickie Rock’s band from 1976 to '79, and I’m very proud of the fact that I have a unique perspective. I’ve been able to play his songs on radio through the years. I played with him live as well, and I saw him from both sides – both from the bandstand and from the audience point of view. It was a unique position to be in.”

Showbands were part of Collins’ life since his childhood on the northside of Dublin.

“The showbands had a unique fascination for me because they were the first live bands that I ever saw as a 10 or 11 year-old-kid. I saw them in St Peter’s Hall in Phibsborough in Dublin, which is where I grew up. And I saw them on the way up before they were big stars. I saw Joe Dolan before he had his first hit.”

He isn’t the only prominent figure who believes showbands represented a major, if historically overlooked, chapter in 20th-century Irish history.

Collins was recently interviewed by U2’s Adam Clayton for a documentary about showbands. Clayton has described Joe Dolan, Brendan Bowyer, and others as “the beginning of the concept of stardom in Ireland” and draws a direct line between them and U2.

“There’s a TV spectacular on the way called Ballroom Blitz, which is presented by Adam Clayton,” says Collins.

“They are interviewing lots of people about the showband phenomenon in Ireland of the 1960s and talking about the social aspect of it as well as the musical aspect and about how it changed Ireland because it did change Ireland.”

That change was to introduce glamour and colour to a largely monochrome country. Collins feels subsequent generations were too quick to erase the legacy of the showbands.

“It was airbrushed out. Hot Press [the influential Irish music magazine] would have airbrushed it out. I’m not saying anything I haven’t said before – but Hot Press dissed the showbands completely and said they were rubbish. Bono said it was the dark days of music in Ireland. He didn’t know what he was talking about.”

Showbands were an all-Ireland phenomenon – but the Cork market was crucial, says Collins. There were venues all over the county: bands knew that if they could make it in East Cork, West Cork and the city, you could make it anywhere.

“If you broke big in Cork, then you captured the country. The Cork audiences were very discerning. They had every reason to be. They had their own bands and their own musicians. They had great venues. The Arcadia in Cork city. But then all around the county of Cork – The Majestic in Mallow, The Ballroom in Macroom, The Red Barn in Youghal, The Majorca in Crosshaven, The Lilac in Enniskean... onwards to Clonakilty, Glengarriff, Skibbereen, you name it. Cork towns and some villages all had ballrooms. It was a great circuit in Cork.”

The showbands also have a cameo in the story of Cork blues icon Rory Gallagher.

“A guy called Jim Conlon, who was the guitar player in The Royal Showband, had a beautiful Fender Stratocaster – a 1959, with a wood finish. He used that for quite a few years, up until 1963 when he wanted to change his Stratocaster. He wanted to get a Red Strat, the same as Hank Marvin had in The Shadows. So he went into Crowley’s [the famed music store] and traded in his wood finish Strat, and he got his Red Strat. Crowley’s put [the wood-finish Strat] in the window. And Rory Gallagher bought it and proceeded to use it in the Impact Showband, which he was in. From little humble beginnings came great things.”

Gallagher, considered one of the greatest ever blues guitarists, was proud to have played in a showband and never forgot the opportunities they offered him early in his career.

“There’s a man I was lucky enough to speak to in 1971. I mentioned showbands to him. He was effusive in his praise. He thought, what a way to learn, what a way to develop. He thought the showbands were fantastic. He went off in a different direction, but he didn’t turn his back on what he had done originally. He just described them as great place to learn. That’s what I love to hear.”

• Ronan Collins: Showband Hits and Stories is at the Everyman Cork, Friday November 22

A Question of Taste

Books: I read biographies. I’m currently reading Mel Brooks’ All About Me! I’ve been a fan of Mel Brooks for years – back to when I saw the original Producers, with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. I was so taken with his work. Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein – he’s a great storyteller.

Television: I recently watched Baby Reindeer on Netflix. I found it extraordinary on so many levels – compelling viewing but very dark and very disturbing. Entertaining is not quite the right word. It was intriguing. You couldn’t not watch it. I’m also watching the second series of The Old Man, with Jeff Bridges. I’m a great fan of his.

Films: We went to The Apprentice the other night [the film about the young Donald Trump]. The person who is portrayed – I wouldn’t hold a lot of grá for him. But it’s a fantastic movie.

Music: I still hear as much new music as I ever did. There’s a lot of good stuff around – I’m quite amazed how many of the bands who started 15 or 20 years ago are still going, still doing great work. Bell-X1, Snow Patrol…They’re still terrific.