Sean Lucey, Terry McCarthy: Blackpool, Dixies Showband

showbands-collection.jpg

Title

Sean Lucey, Terry McCarthy: Blackpool, Dixies Showband

Subject

Interview exploring the ‘showband era’ (late 1950s to early 1970s) in Ireland from the perspective of Cork-based musicians and family members.

Description

Seán Lucy was born in 1936. Seán is from a family of four. He started work as a radio and television repairman in 1950, before becoming a professional musician in 1960. He played the clarinet. He played with the Butter Exchange Band, a brass and reed band that started in the late 1940s.
Terry McCarthy was born in 1948. Terry is from a family of eight. He became a stonecutter in 1963. He joined a band in 1968 and began a career in music; he was a vocalist. Both were educated by the Christian Brothers at the North Monastery.

Seán and Terry talk about the Irish showband scene, and their band, the Dixies. The band started playing Trad Jazz as the Dixieland band, copying English bands who copied American bands. Terry had been in a band called The Sunset; joined the Dixies in 1985. The Dixies went professional in 1961, toured England and America. Showbands had to leave the country during Lent and play elsewhere. They identify the heyday of the showbands as being approximately from 1965 to 1971. Seán’s favourite venue in Cork was the Arcadia, in Lower Road, later the CIE club, with audiences of 3,000. They played in Northern Ireland before The Troubles began.
Rory Gallagher played support to The Dixies when he was very young. Terry saw Rory’s band Taste play their first gig, at the Cavern Club, Leitrim Street.
The arrival of discos killed the live music scene.
They discuss the extent of the Northside area.
They topped the bill at Carnegie Hall, New York in 1964. The band has an entry in the Guinness Encyclopaedia of Popular Music.

Date

9 December 1996

Identifier

CFP_SR00051_dixies_1996

Coverage

Cork: Ireland; 1930s-1990s.

Relation

Showbands Collection Catalogue Numbers:

Accession number for collection [CFP Acc. No. 1997-004];
CFP_SR00052_rooney_1997;
CFP_SR00053_nolan_1997;
CFP_SR00054_power_1997;
CFP_SR00055_foley_1997;
CFP_SR00056_various_1997:

Source

Cork Folklore Project Audio Archive

Rights

Cork Folklore Project

Language

English

Type

Sound

Format

1.wav File

Interviewer

Duration

52min 32sec

Location

Pa Johnson's Public House, Cork

Original Format

.wav files [digitized at 96kHz, 24-bit audio from 90-minute cassette tapes]

Bit Rate/Frequency

16bit / 44.1kHz

Transcription

The following is a short extract from the interview transcript, copyright of the Cork Folklore Project. If you wish to access further archival material please contact CFP, folklorearchive@gmail.com

S.H: What was your introduction to the band, Terry?

T.M: To this band the Dixies? Ah well, I mean as I said, I was pretty young when the Showbands took off in the early 60's, now, you know. I didn't join a band until 1968 so, then I was with that band for about six or seven years, local band here in Cork.

S.H: What were they called?

T.M: The Sunset. Then I moved on to the cabaret scene, because there was a big demand for cabaret spots in clubs and places all over the place you know, so that suited me fine, and I did that for many years. And then I got an introduction to sing with the Dixies, they needed a singer and at that stage I'll be honest…

S.L: When was that?

T.M: '85, it was 1985.

S.H: So you really have been in awe of these guys, because you had been around. you respected them obviously.

T.M: Oh yes, definitely, I mean..

S.L: They played relief to us he was in the relief band (both laugh)

T.M: The Dixies were the big Showband from Cork and at the time it was a bit of an honour to be asked to join them you know, and I enjoyed it, and I'm still with them now eleven years later. I joined as the youngest member of the band, I was the baby of the band, now I'm the oldest member of the band, they're all retired; a couple of them died actually.

S.H: Yeah. Do you think the phenomenon was something that seemed to be gathering momentum gradually, or something that happened fairly quickly?

S.L: Yeah well...

T.M: Once it took off it took off, it took off pretty quick.

S.L: We went professional, we packed in our jobs, our good jobs, our day jobs, and went professional in 1961. It took off from there.

Collection

Citation

Cork Folklore Project, “Sean Lucey, Terry McCarthy: Blackpool, Dixies Showband,” accessed March 28, 2024, https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/56.