IRISH SHOWBANDS a really great information website & forum

[James James]

         

This site was recently mentioned by Belfast forum member White dee in a post on the music thread in the Lounge.

This is a really great information site about Irish Showbands... but it also has lots of information about all sorts of Irish popular music and performers.

http://www.irish-showbands.com/index.html

and... it also has a forum. !    http://www.irish-showbands.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl

and a guestbook,

http://www.irish-showbands.com/warning.htm

http://www.irish-showbands.com/book.htm

[James James]

Addendum about the Irish Showbands website which White dee originally posted,... this is a similar, and also very good site.
http://www.irishshowbands.net/index_show.htm

Not quite as well laid out and easy to navigate as White dee's site though, but it does have lots of very useful sources and information, e.g. ...

A list of individual artistes and what their musical specialty was...
http://www.irishshowbands.net/directory.htm

A list of showbands... http://www.irishshowbands.net/SBC.htm

[James James]

A poster on youtube called  hymacfive, jimmy fitzgerald ... has posted a lot of Irish Showband music videos.    https://www.youtube.com/user/hymacfive/videos

There are probably lot's of other youtube posters who have posted similar videos.

If you know of any such posters, please feel free to add a link to their youtube page.

[James James]

This is a 1998 RTE documentary "The Story of Irish Showbands"
https://tinyurl.com/yc34dflb        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_showband

[White dee]

Some great links there James 

[sj]

  It is said that the Showband era hindered the growth of Irish music.       It was a great time and some great sounds.  The Freshmen were my favourite and was a great way to keep fit and meet girls.

[Astor]

I was at a 60th birthday last night and they played this song which takes me back to some great years of Irish Showbands.

Joe Dolan, It's You, its you, its  you.

https://youtu.be/ptcCbb-LhD4

[Bigali]

I found my big brothers photo on this site with his bands a few years ago but I haven't been able to find it since 

[White dee]

I was at a 60th birthday last night and they played this song which takes me back to some great years of Irish Showbands.

Joe Dolan, It's You, its you, its  you.

https://youtu.be/ptcCbb-LhD4

Ach my favourite Irish singer Astor 

[Astor]

I wonder who he wrote this song for   

[Astor]

I found my big brothers photo on this site with his bands a few years ago but I haven't been able to find it since 

Aww Ali, I got my ljnks  on YouTube not on the earlier links on here. What band were your brothers in?

[Bigali]

Aww Ali, I got my ljnks  on YouTube not on the earlier links on here. What band were your brothers in?

Astor I found them a few years ago on the site before the site was posted on here and I've noticed that a lot of photos and other info has now gone.

One band was the State Showband and the other was the Pillarboys /Pillarmen

[Astor]

Astor I found them a few years ago on the site before the site was posted on here and I've noticed that a lot of photos and other info has now gone.

One band was the State Showband and the other was the Pillarboys /Pillarmen

James James might be able to help you, I can't find anything on youtube.

[Bigali]

James James might be able to help you, I can't find anything on youtube.

Ack it's no big deal there are plenty of photos in the family archives of the bands . They wouldn't mean a lot to most folks on here anyway as The State were the resident band / warm up band for bigger acts in the Flamingo in Ballymena and Kelly's Barn as it was then known in Portrush , they also played the Arcadia Ballroom inPortrush the odd time . The rest was mostly played in wee parochial halls / orange halls / community halls in counties Londonderry and Donegal. Not too sure where the Pillarboys would have played.

[Astor]

Ack it's no big deal there are plenty of photos in the family archives of the bands . They wouldn't mean a lot to most folks on here anyway as The State were the resident band / warm up band for bigger acts in the Flamingo in Ballymena and Kelly's Barn as it was then known in Portrush , they also played the Arcadia Ballroom inPortrush the odd time . The rest was mostly played in wee parochial halls / orange halls / community halls in counties Londonderry and Donegal. Not too sure where the Pillarboys would have played.

The only one I've heard of one of them and that's the Arcadia in Portrush but was never in it.