Sands Showband
(1967-1981)
The story of the Sands
in many ways reflects the story of the showband era. Formed
following a break from one of the country's biggest showbands, and despite major changes in personnel, breakups and
splits, the Sands managed to stay both relevant and popular for over
a decade.
The founding members of the Sands were originally from the
Miami Showband, which featured showband legend, Dickie
Rock. In August 1967, several key members of the Miami, led by Murty Quinn,
split away and formed their own band (as did several other showbands in the late
1960's as the scene began to change). Murty, along with Dennis Murray, Martin
Phelan and Tommy O'Rourke formed the core of the new band. Guitarist, Clem Quinn,
was reported to also be leaving, but remained with the Miami in the end. Leaving Dickie behind, the
lads needed a new
front man.
In September 1967 rumours had it that Butch Moore, who had left the
Capitol, might be the front man with the new band (reported in Spotlight), but
they finally decided on Tony Kenny, an ex-butcher from Dublin who had been
with the beat group the
Vampires for two years as their lead singer. Tony's start on the showband
scene came in a roundabout way. He had been with the Mexicans
Showband, but left the band as he had not wanted to turn
professional at the time. He then went on to the Arran Showband,
where he mimed on television to another singer's vocal track (which
he revealed in a July, 1968 interview with B.P. Fallon in Spotlight)
but stayed for less than a month before as he and three other
members left to form The Vampires. The Vampires had been one of the
top groups on the Dublin beat scene, including appearing on the same
bill as the Beach Boys. Very much a "pop" singer back then, his first two
singles (starting in 1967) were covers of Help Me Rhonda, and Yummy Yummy Yummy.
Earlier in 1967 it had been rumoured that Tony might be taking over as the lead
vocalist with the Debonnaires, but this never came to pass.
To complete the new outfit band leader, Martin
Phelan, added guitarist Bobby Kelly and drummer Fran Byrne. Both
musicians, like Tony, had been playing on Ireland's growing "beat
scene." Bobby had previously been with
The Greenbeats as well
as The Chosen Few and had actually stood in with the Miami when
guitarist Clem Quinn had his appendix removed. The Sands made their
debut on the ballroom scene
on Friday the 6th of October, 1967 in the Adelphi Ballroom in
Dundalk. Within a short time they were one of the top bands in the country,
partially because of the reputation their founders had enjoyed as
part of the Miami, but mostly
because of the band's youthful and energetic music, as well as the
good looks and vocal talents of Tony. Their first
single, Help Me Rhonda, was a hit and reached number 9 in the
Irish Charts. (You can hear it below).
The band was managed by one of the management
giants on the Irish scene at the time, T.J. Byrne, who had guided
the fortunes of the Royal Showband for over a decade. Within a short time, they were rivaling their old band, the Miami, for top honours in attendance and popularity. Each of their first four singles cracked the Irish Top
Ten. They borrowed heavily from major American
pop acts such as Tony Orlando, releasing covers of songs such as Venus, Dance
Dance Dance, Candida and Knock Three Times.
For the remainder of the late sixties and early seventies Tony and the Sands
were a huge success on the ballroom scene, packing them in wherever they played.
In March, 1969, the boys went to England where they appeared on the
Dick Emery Show doing a Frank Sinatra number, I'll Never
Smile Again. While in England they also did Radio One's Dave
Cash Show and One O'Clock Club and there would be many
more TV and radio appearances in the following years. A short piece
in the August 2, 1969 Insight column of Spotlight
magazine said the Sands were making the switch from wearing suits on
stage to casual gear, which had been done by the Freshmen a few
months earlier.
In October, 1971, the band announced (via an
article in Spotlight) that they had signed a three year deal with
RCA. The recordings would be supervised by Mews Music, run by Phil
Coulter and Bill Martin. The single, Lend A Helpin' Hand,
written by Coulter and Martin, was released in October with Murty
Quinn on lead vocals and the song reached number 7 in the Irish
charts. In 1972, She Is Me was also released on RCA, but as
far as we can tell, that was that last Sand's record released
by RCA.
In late 1972, Bobby and Fran
decided it was time to leave the band. Bobby spent a year living in
Spain, but he would return at the end of 1973 and form Stepaside and later would work for a time
backing ex-Dubliner Ronnie Drew. Fran
joined Bees Make Honey who were then based in London. He stayed on
in London and eventually joined Ace which featured Paul Carrack. He
was with them when the group had their worldwide hit, How Long. Bobby would reunite with Tony in the
late seventies in the
Tony
Kenny Band.
Before the split, the Sands introduced their
"Rockin' Road Show," their tribute to the music of the fifties.
Performed only twice in Dublin, the show was put to rest after the
band split.
In the September 7th 1972 issue of Spotlight it
was announced that the Sands had split just short of five years on
the road. Although initially it was reported that Tony and Murty
would form a new band, Murty decided to stay on and along with
Denis, Martin and Tommy, they kept the Sands name going by
recruiting female vocalist Tara (real name Noreen Tracy) along with Stan McKee on guitar and
John O'Neill on drums. Stan had left the Hoot'nanny's a year earlier
to join Frankie Carroll's Ranchers which disbanded when Frankie
joined Brendan Shine's Superband.
Tony Kenny started his solo career
and enjoyed chart success in England when he recorded Heart of
Stone using a falsetto voice. The number,
a Coulter-Martin composition produced by Phil Coulter and Mickie Most, reached
number 11 in England. The record was a huge success and he followed it up with Give It To Me Now which also charted.
However, despite gaining international acclaim, Tony abandoned
the idea and returned to Ireland. In the meantime, the records had been so successful that producer Mickie Most, took a local English
5 piece band named Chuff and renamed them
Kenny to capitalize on Tony's initial success. They went on
to have several chart singles in the UK in 1974 and 1975, but ended
in a court case several years later.
Tony decided
to pursue a career on the Dublin musical stage when he took the lead
in Jesus Christ Superstar and later Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He would later
return to the ballroom circuit in the late 1970's with his own
Tony
Kenny Band.
Meanwhile, the Sands continued, as Murty Quinn took over
lead vocals and the band enjoyed success as one of
the original "crossover" bands. Following Tony's departure, they drafted
female vocalist, Tara, who shared the spotlight and lead vocal duties
with Murty.
The rest of the band's history would be best
described as "up and down." As was the case during the showband era,
a successful "name" carried a lot of weight with promoters and
punters. Therefore, whenever the founding members of a band would
move on, the remaining members did everything in their power to
carry on, even though there were no members left who had been with
the original band. The Sands was just such a name. Along with The
Plattermen, Mainliners, and others, lineup changes came fast and
furious, but gigs were still available as long as a certain
acceptable level of talent was kept in the band.
The
end of 1973 was a tumultuous time for the band. In September, Tara
left and was replaced by Eric Murray on vocals. Stan McKee (guitar)
also left the band and was replaced by Stuart Bingham, one of the
most traveled musicians of the year. He moved from Paul Lyttle's short
lived Lyttle People to The College Boys and then on to
the Sands, all within 12 months. Original member Tommy
O'Rourke also left and was replaced by ex-Gentry
member Gerry Mulryan (trumpet). Around this same time, Murty and the
band released a new
single, Lonely Lady which managed to reach number 15 in the
Irish charts.
However, in a strange move, as Lonely Lady was
being advertised in Spotlight, the October 25, 1973 issue announced
that Murty and Martin Phelan, were both leaving the band to go to
Canada. In the same issue, Julie Boyd confirmed in her column that
Stan McKee, Tara and Tommy O'Rourke had all left the band within the
past six weeks. Stuart Bingham would leave very quickly to join a
reformed Sunshine and was replaced by Tony Adams-Rosa on guitar.
In November, 1973 an article in Spotlight
attempted to clarify the band's status after rumours circulated that
they had broken up. Tommy O'Rourke had taken over managing the band
and strongly denied any rumours about the band's breakup. Eric
Murray was lead vocalist, Tony Adam's Rosa from Spain was on guitar
and two member's of Dickie's band, Fran Dennis (trombone) and Kevin
O'Brien (sax) were now with the Sands.
There is some confusion about this period as it
was reported in Spotlight in November 1974 that Murty had returned
to Ireland after 10 months in Canada and was forming a cabaret act
with Stan McKee and John O'Neill. Murty would play the cabaret scene
in and around Dublin for the next few years, featuring regularly at
the Talk of the Town in Terenure.
At this point Dennis Murray
remained the only original member of the Sands to still be on stage.
However, Julie Boyd announced in her Spotlight column in
October, 1974, that Dennis was leaving the band before Christmas to
emigrate to the United States where he was going to take up a
residency on the Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach, California. He was replaced
by Noel Sheridan on bass. A blurb in Julie Boyd's Scene column in the
February 28th, 1974 issue of Spotlight reported that Tony Adams-Rosa
(guitar), Fran Dennis (trombone) and Kevin O'Brien (sax) had left
the band.
In June, 1974, Eric Murray left the band and
was replaced by Fran Troy. By late 1974, guitarist Tony left the band and was replaced
by Dominic Greene. Around the same time, drummer Jimmy Compton, who had
been with the Real McCoy a year earlier was contacted by Tommy
O'Rourke, who was now managing the band, but no longer on the road
himself. Jimmy replaced drummer John O'Neill. The band put out a single,
Is There Any Chance, which received decent airplays, but did
little to enhance the band's success.
Jackie Kelly became the new lead singer and was
featured in their advert in Spotlight in June, 1975.
By the early 80's the Sands were, like many
of the showbands, only a memory. If you know any details
about the last few years of the band, please email us and let us
know.
More to
come....
Photo
Gallery
Click on thumbnails for full images
 |
Tony Kenny: Tony left
the Sands to embark on his very successful solo career,
first in Dublin theatre, then back in the ballrooms in the
late seventies and early eighties and finally as one of
Ireland's most successful cabaret artists. These days, he
splits his time between Ireland and the United States where
he tours regularly. His Jury's cabaret show has been
extremely popular with tourists for many years. He
recently appeared on the bill at the 2007 "Do You Come Here
Often" concert series. |
 |
Bobby Kelly - RIP: After
leaving the Sands Bobby
played with Stepaside followed by a stint with the Freshmen
and then the Tony Kenny Band in the late 70's. He eventually went on to join Chris Meehan's
Redneck Friends with whom he played from time to time
over the past 30 years. Bobby relocated to Strandhill, Co. Sligo
in the mid-90's and played with a variety of
bands. He often teamed up with
Francie Lenehan (ex Cotton Mill Boys/Ranchers) with various
lineups. He retired from performing in 2018 and sadly passed
away after a battle with cancer on September 5th, 2019. He
will be sadly missed by wife, Catherine, his family,
friends and fans across Ireland and the rest of the world. |
 |
Denis Murray: Denis
left the band
around 1974/5 and emigrated to the United States' west coast
and for a while, he played a residency on the Queen Mary in
Long Beach. He later formed an Irish ballad group. He is still in Southern California
and works with the Los Angeles Department of Health
Services. |
 |
Fran Byrne: Coming
soon. If you know more,
please let us know. |
 |
Martin Phelan - RIP: Des
Hickey wrote to tell us a while back that Martin had a five piece band in
Dublin doing mostly weddings and corporate gigs.
His son, Tagart, was on keyboards, daughter Leanne sang and
the band's guitarist was Brian Harris (ex-Creatures). On
drums was Martin Branigan who played with many bands. From
time to time, Des sat in on guitar when Brian was away.
Martin's daughter Emma, recently wrote to say Tony Bogan was
on drums before emigrating a few years ago. She also told us
Martin was living in Dundrum. After
leaving the Sands, Martin also went into the hotel business,
purchasing a hotel in Dalkey. Sadly, Martin passed away on
July 17, 2010. |
 |
Tommy O'Rourke: If you know more,
please let us know. |
 |
Murty Quinn: Murty left
the band in 1974 and they eventually faded away. Although we
know Murty is still in Ireland and continued working in the
music business, we are unsure whether he is
still playing. An email from James Hosey in Oct., 2014
tells us Murty currently works in the transportation sector
in Dublin. An email from Murty's son, Mark, in late 2015
tells us Murty went into cabaret after the Sands and retired
from show business a few years ago. |
 |
Tara (Noreen
Tracy):
Ryan Higgins writes in September, 2012 that
Tara left the Sands in 1973 and came back to
her hometown of Cork where she sang in a few
bands, the last band being the New Dixies,
which traveled to Canada and Spain.
Eventually she left the band and started a
band with her family called Jackson which
played the Southern circuit around Cork for
a decade. Tara is now retired from music and
still living in Cork.
|
|
|
Fran Troy: Coming
soon. If you know more,
please let us know. |
|
|
Stuart Bingham: Coming
soon. If you know more,
please let us know. |
|
|
Gerry Mulryan: Coming
soon. If you know more,
please let us know. |
|
|
Jackie Kelly: Jackie
is semi retired and now plays with a two piece band - Basil
Kelly. |
|
|
Eric Murray: We
received an email from Eric's daughter, Erika in March 2017
telling us Eric became a photographer after leaving music,
but sadly passed away on March 25th, 2015 at the age of 67. If you know more,
please let us know. |
|
|
Tony Adams-Rosa: Coming
soon. If you know more,
please let us know. |
 |
Dominic "Domo" Greene:
Shortly after leaving the Sands, Domo became lead guitarist
with the Memories, When the Message split from the Memories,
Domo went with Daire Doyle and Mick Swan, but we are unsure
what became of him after that. If you know more,
please let us know. |
|
|
Noel Sheridan: Coming
soon. If you know more,
please let us know. |
 |
Tommy Mangan: We know
that in 2015 Tommy was the Director of the Ratoath School lf
Music and we think still gigging regularly. If you know more,
please let us know. |
 |
Jimmy Compton: After
the Sands broke up, Jimmy went to London where he played in
groups for a while. He returned to Ireland in 1978 to join
The Swarbriggs and then Sheeba. In 1980 he headed out to
Japan where he stayed for a few years before returning to
Ireland. |
 |
Anthony "Anto" Long:
After leaving the Sands, Anto teamed up with Rob Strong,
Kelley and Las Vegas before heading off with a band he
formed to tour Mexico. After a stint there, he returned to
Ireland and got back with Kelley in her band Klass
and then on to Laurie Hartz' Band. Finally, he joined
the Miami which eventually left Ireland to tour
Mexico as the Europa Show. After a year, the band
split but Anto remained in Mexico where he has been for the
past 20 years. In 2003 he "retired" from live performing,
although he still plays occasionally, but works full time in
the tourism industry in Mexico. |
|
|
Seamus Mahon: Now
lives in Galway - Basil Kelly |
