| Big Tom and The Mainliners | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Castleblayney, County Monaghan, Ireland  |
| Genre(s) | Country, Country and Irish |
| Years active | 1966 - 1975 1989 - Present |
| Members | |
| Big Tom Seamus McMahon Henry McMahon John Beattie Cyril McKevitt Ginger Morgan Ronie Duffy |
|
| Former members | |
| Robert Browne, Dermot McBride, Peter McCarthy | |
Big Tom and The Mainliners is a Country and Irish Showband from the Castleblayney area of County Monaghan, Ireland.
Contents |
Timeline
1966 - 1975
Originally named as "The Mighty Mainliners", the band became famous after appearing on RTÉ Television in 1966 performing their hit song Gentle Mother which reached number 7 in the Irish pop charts. In the early seventies, the band changed their name to "The Mainliners", however soon afterwards they adopted the name "Big Tom and the Mainliners" in line with other Irish Showbands where a single man was used to take centre stage.
Original line up 1966
- Big Tom - Lead vocals, Saxophone, Rhythm Guitar
- Seamus McMahon - Lead guitar, Fiddle, vocals
- Henry McMahon - Tenor sax, vocals, Bandleader, percussion
- John Beattie - keyboards, Piano
- Cyril McKevitt - Trombone, vocals
- Ronnie Duffy - drums, vocals
- Ginger Morgan - Bass guitar, vocals
Irish Top Ten Songs
| Title and Position reached | Entry Date | |
| Gentle Mother | 7 | 30 Jan 1967 |
|---|---|---|
| Old Log Cabin For Sale | 4 | 21 Oct 1967 |
| The Sunset Years Of Life | 3 | 23 Jul 1970 |
| Broken Marriage Vows | 1 | 19 Feb 1972 |
| I Love You Still | 1 | 04 Jan 1973 |
| Old Love Letters | 1 | 16 May 1974 |
1975 - 1989
In May 1975, lead vocalist Tom McBride (known as "Big Tom") left the band and formed a new band "Big Tom and the Travellers" under the management of Top Rank Entertainment (owned by country music tycoon Tony Loughman). The band subsequently used other lead vocalists, including John Glenn, Tom Allen and Jan Lynch, and occasionally performed without a front man.
1989 - 1998
Big Tom rejoined the band.
Since 1999
Due to their advancing years the band have only had occasional 'comeback' tours.
In 2004, Big Tom’s son Dermot McBride took Ginger Morgan's place on Bass Guitar, Peter McCarthy took Ronnie Duffy's place on drums and Robert Browne, a second keyboardist in the band, appeared to took Cyril McKevitt's place on Trombone (however both were performing for the band in their Q4 2005 tour). In 2005, the band recorded a hit single The Same Way You Came In. In November 2006, McBride suffered a sudden heart attack, jeopardising plans for future tours, however doctors later gave the all clear for him to have a mini tour of Ireland in February, 2008. [1] It is believed that the band will revert to the seven original Mainliners for this tour [2].
Current line up (2008 Tour)
- Big Tom - Lead vocals, Rhythm Guitar
- Seamus McMahon - Lead guitar, Rhythm guitar, Fiddle, vocals
- Henry McMahon - Bandleader, Tenor Sax, vocals, percussion
- John Beattie - keyboards, Piano
- Cyril McKevitt - Trombone, vocals
- Ronnie Duffy - drums, vocals
- Ginger Morgan - Bass guitar, vocals
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