Last Saturday, Don Everly passed away at his home in Nashville aged 84.
Don, along with his younger brother Phil who himself passed away in January 2014 at the age of 74, were better known as the Everly Brothers – one of the most influential musical acts of their generation.
The Everly Brothers were one of popular music’s pioneers from the mid-1950s onwards who shaped the landscape of rock’n’roll.
The Everly Brothers’ Irish tour of 1966 is arguably the most comprehensive concert tour that this country has ever witnessed by a prominent, internationally successful rock’n’roll group.
This was a tour where they performed twenty-three concerts across seventeen counties on the island in just over two weeks, including one in county Laois which Portlaoise hosted in the Danceland Ballroom.
Isaac Donald Everly (born 1st February 1937) and Phillip Everly (born on 19th January 1939) came from a rich musical background.
The career of the Everly Brothers reached its peak between 1957 and 1962 during which time they sold close to eighteen million records and generated in the region of $35 million from sales.
It was for their unique style of two-part harmony singing that the Everly Brothers achieved an acclaim that still continues to this day.
Bye Bye Love gave the Everlys their first smash hit when it was released in 1957.
The hits followed with songs such as Wake Up Little Susie, All I Have to Do Is Dream, Claudette, Bird Dog, Devoted to You, Problems, Take a Message to Mary, (‘Til) I Kissed You, Let it Be Me, Cathy’s Clown, When Will I Be Loved, Lucille, So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad), Ebony Eyes, Walk Right Back, Temptation, Crying in the Rain and That’s Old Fashioned: all of which established the Everly Brothers as a world-class act.
The Price of Love gave the Everly Brothers their only ever Top Ten hit in the Irish charts when it entered the charts here on 21st June 1965 and stayed there for 5 weeks, peaking at Number 3, and this would not have escaped the attention of Mr. Vic Lewis of the Vic Lewis Organisation, who was the Everly Brothers’ booking agent in Britain.
He arranged for the Everlys to visit Ireland in April 1966. The tour was announced earlier that February.
The Everly Brothers flew with Aer Lingus from New York to arrive in Dublin Airport on Thursday, 14th April where they were greeted by George O’Reilly, who would manage their Irish tour, and he brought Don and Phil from the airport to the Gresham Hotel on O’Connell Street in Dublin city centre for a reception to publicise their extensive tour:
On this tour the Everly Brothers were mostly booked to play in two separate venues on the same night. Generally, they would be advertised to appear onstage around 11:00pm in the first venue and 12:30am in the second.
This would involve a madcap dash from one venue to the next – sometimes with a significant distance to be covered – in a car usually driven by the ballroom manager.
Whilst they were in Ireland, the Everly Brothers appeared on Telefís Éireann’s The Showband Show and they also later featured in an article from the June edition of New Spotlight magazine.
Just as 2014 saw the loss of Phil Everly, it too witnessed the passing of former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, whose Danceland Ballroom it was where the Everly Brothers performed their concert in Portlaoise.
Albert Reynolds, along with his brother Jim, built their very first ballroom in Roosky, county Roscommon, called Cloudland in the late-fifties. Cloudland would be the first of fourteen ballrooms that Reynolds Dancing Limited would own in the country. Apart from Danceland in Portlaoise, these included Dreamland in Athy, Lakeland in Mullingar and Rockland in Borris-in-Ossory. Reynolds Dancing Limited rented many other ballrooms also.
Danceland, the building of which no longer exists, was located on the Well Road beside the present Timahoe Road Roundabout on James Fintan Lalor Avenue at the site of the current set of traffic lights on the route which leads from this roundabout towards SS Peter & Paul’s Church.
In a previous incarnation it was known as the Coliseum Ballroom before Reynolds Dancing Limited took it over.
The Leinster Express covered the ballroom’s subsequent re-opening as Danceland in December 1962:
Local Laois author John Joe Dunne gives us his memory of attending Danceland during the sixties:
“The girls were lined up on one side of the hall and all the men were on the other side. When the band announced the next dance, a quick-step or a foxtrot or a waltz, the men stormed across the floor to ask a girl to dance.
“As there generally were two or three boys to each girl, many boys were disappointed. Bank holiday weekends or holiday periods were special as many more girls, home from working in Dublin, lined the floors.
“If one got a second or especially, a third dance from a girl, it looked good and left the opening to offer her a mineral. If she said ‘yes’ the outlook was positive. The showbands bridged many gaps and took people outside their parochial confines.”
It would have been a typical Spring day with near normal temperatures for the time of year when the Everly Brothers visited Portlaoise.
There were some April showers early on, but it was mostly dry weather spreading from the West during the afternoon, along with some fresh southerly winds, which was forecast for the Midlands on Friday, 22nd April 1966.
Portlaoise town was a hive of typical Friday evening activity with the bustle of two-way traffic passing Aird’s Hotel in the town centre – predominantly coming from Dublin where the cars’ drivers were returning home for the weekend from the “Big Smoke” – and snaking their way along the Main Street which was lined with cars parked on both sides in a time of the town’s history before link roads, relief roads, multiple roundabouts and by-passes took the traffic away from this central artery.
The ever-increasing stretch in the evenings and a general thank goodness its Friday feeling all contributed to the excitement already felt by those in town who strolled along Main Street with a literal spring in their step as they looked forward to seeing the Everly Brothers later on in Danceland.
Lent was now over so dancing in the ballrooms was returning to its usual schedule and this period of abstinence had left a few extra shillings jingling in the pocket that was just waiting to be spent.
The ballrooms brought a great deal in terms of commercial spin-offs to the towns around Ireland where they were situated, as Albert Reynolds explains:
“It was also an industry welcomed by the towns. Whenever there was a dance, all the local businesses benefited: the ladies’ hairdressers, fashion shops, bars and restaurants, suppliers of soft-drinks and refreshments, even the local petrol stations and bars – they all made money.”
Portlaoise businesses would have been no different, and apart from the normal Friday afternoon grocery shopping taking place (fish naturally being a high priority on shopping lists given the day of the week) in Hipwell’s, Dermot O’Sullivan’s D.O.S. Supermart (Portlaoise’s first supermarket) and in Cole’s Green Star Superstore (officially opened the previous December by Sir Terry Wogan, then of Telefís Éireann, who was just plain old Terry Wogan at that time), there would have been plenty of other consumer activity brought about by the concert later that night.
The latest record releases on display in Blacks’ and Donegan’s would have been perused and perhaps even purchased, while the discerning music fan would have also compared the prices in Gaze & Jessop’s and RTV for the latest Regent record player or the Discation – a new portable record player that “plays as you walk” which was the Spotify equivalent of the time.
A fresh packet of smokes for later on, and maybe a £1 Sweeps ticket if you were feeling particularly lucky, along with the latest edition of New Spotlight magazine would have been bought in Fortune’s to be later dissected from cover to cover over a bite to eat in Fitzgibbon’s Cafe or the new Wimpy Bar diner on Lower Main Street which had opened the previous year.
An orderly queue formed in Rocky Scully’s barbershop, which had a tidy row of bicycles neatly propped up against the wall outside, while inside the menfolk browsed the headline story in the day’s newspapers which focused on the Labour Court’s suggested guideline that national wage negotiations should focus on reaching an agreement where wage increases should not exceed £1, and, more importantly, the men also discussed Leix’s chances in the All-Ireland that year.
Just down the street in Shaws, both the guys and the gals going to the concert later on are picking out something suitably modish to wear that hopefully will enhance their chances.
Similarly in Kennedy’s pharmacy, aftershaves such as Old Spice and Yardley Jaguar and perfumes like Chanel and Chantilly are being tested for their greater potency.
Only the gals, however, are buying L’Onglex nail polish in Kennedy’s, but both they and the guys are stocking up on Ponds Fresh Start in order to minimise the chances of a breakout before the dance.
Later that night, the bars in the town would have been extremely busy due to the fact that alcohol was not served in the ballrooms so you would have to fill up, as it were, before you went in.
One Portlaoise bar in particular which would have done a terrific trade on nights when bands were playing in Danceland was Hume’s, which was the closest bar to the ballroom in the town as it was situated on the corner of Main Street and the Well Road.
Proprietor Noel Hume recalls: “Then came the showbands and as we were the closest pub to Danceland up the road Friday nights were brilliant and as busy as any Christmas Eve. We had them all in here, the Royal, the Miami, the Drifters, the Capitol.
“I got to know loads of them. Then one night there was an all-girls band over from London, the Ivy Benson All Stars Girl Band, and they had mini-skirts up to you know where, there were aul’ lads nearly lost the sight out of their eyes with the amount of leg showing.”
On the night they played in Portlaoise, the Everly Brothers were performing first in the Mayfair Ballroom in Kilkenny City, where they were due to be on stage at 11:00pm sharp.
When they left the stage in Kilkenny the Everlys and their backing trio would have been driven in a hectic rush on the T6 road out of the city to join up with the T14 that would take them the remainder of the thirty-or-so miles to Portlaoise in order for them to be on stage in Danceland at the scheduled time of 12:30am (although realistically it probably would have been later than this when one takes the inevitable hold-ups and delays into account).
To keep the audience who had paid their 7/6 admission fee entertained until Don and Phil arrived, the Atlantis Showband were booked to ensure the dancers were kept busy from 9:00pm in Danceland that night. The Atlantis were a Dublin showband who were fronted by Cyril Shane.
Before Don and Phil took to the stage, there would have been a tangible air of anticipation in Danceland among the audience.
Those who queued outside to enter the ballroom earlier in the evening – with the considerable arc light illuminating the ballroom’s name which was impressed in large bold letters high on the wall above – knew they were going to see an exceptional rock’n’roll act later on inside those very walls, and now that time was almost upon them. They were going to see the famous Everly Brothers in the flesh at any moment.
The ladies looked fabulous in their astonishing A-line dresses, breathtaking beehive hairdos and stylish yet practical flat shoes, that are more suited to hours of dancing than heels, as they mingle with the fellows sporting neat haircuts and who look smart in their two-piece suits, crisp shirts, slim ties and freshly-polished shoes.
The main topic of discussion naturally being the rate of success in the advances both made to and received from the opposite sex over the course of the night so far.
A heady mix of Brylcreem, hair lacquer, perfume and aftershave intermingle in the effusive warmth of the ballroom, and tinged with traces of the sweat which the dancers have worked up on the Canadian maple dance floor, this creates a magical elixir that, if it were possible to capture, could seemingly possess the secret of eternal youth: a one-way ticket to Tír na nÓg.
A permanent haze of cigarette smoke creates a foggy shadow around the multi-coloured lights affixed to the ballroom’s ceiling.
Some of the fellows discreetly take a sip from their hipflasks that are inconspicuously concealed within the inside breast pocket of their jackets as they try to keep alive the flame of that unmistakeably soft and warm glow which was ignited in the pub a few pints earlier.
The mineral bar is doing a roaring trade in Club Orange and assorted Thwaites soft-drinks, along with Jacob’s chocolate biscuits and sandwiches for those who worked up a hunger as well as a thirst from dancing to the Atlantis Showband.
All of a sudden, a flurry of activity grabs everyone’s attention and the shuffling sound of feet is evident on the dance floor as the audience is drawn towards the stage as they stake out their spot for the main event, and those situated upstairs congregate around the balcony ledge so as to obtain the best vantage point possible.
The main lights in the ballroom are dimmed so that the stage lights can operate to their maximum effect and a hush descends upon the venue as the Everly Brothers’ backing trio take up their positions and the compere makes his way from the side of the stage to the solitary microphone stand positioned in the centre:
“Ladies and gentleman. This is the moment you have all been waiting for. You know all of their hit songs. They have sold eighteen million records and have played to millions of fans all over the world and are one the most successful recording artistes of all-time.
“Here they are, direct from Hollywood on their first ever visit to Ireland; please give a huge Danceland welcome to…….THE SENSATIONAL EVERLY BROTHERS!”
The audience cheers elatedly and enthusiastically as drummer Jim Gordon grabs both his sticks and pounds heavily on his snare three times…..THUD, THUD, THUD…..to count the rest of the band into the intro for the Everlys’ traditional show-opener: a raucous cover version of Little Richard’s Lucille.
Don and Phil emerge from the wings strumming their trademark Gibson Everly Brothers Flattop acoustic guitars and make their way to the microphone stand to smile and acknowledge the ecstatic welcome they are receiving.
Phil, always on the left, turns his body in restive angles as Don pulls his acoustic guitar neck high, pushing the songs’ rhythms boldly or brushing the strings with a vulnerable sweep.
They then split from the centre to each take a side of the stage to smile and courteously nod to the audience, taking the time to survey this sea of excitable, flushed faces that ebbs and flows before them and that stretches out beyond the front of the illuminated stage.
They then both return to the microphone together with split-second timing to harmonise the opening lyric of the song:
Luc-iii-illle, you don’t do your daddy’ s will…….
The audience, apart from a gentle sway to the music or a tapping foot keeping time to the beat, mostly stand to attention so as to carefully examine this truly charismatic duo as they perform their hits – a combination of ballads and fast-tempo numbers – in quick succession over the next forty-or-so minutes.
The Everlys radiate charm. Between songs Don engages the Danceland crowd in polite banter and rehearsed repartee. The brothers are wearing matching black Chesterfield-type suits, tailored into a tuxedo style, with deep velvet cuffs and collars on the jackets.
Black bow-ties and white shirts with black cufflinks complete the look. Their hair is immaculately coiffured and the stage lights shimmer brightly off their black guitars and their dazzlingly shiny black shoes.
Time stands still underneath the “Danceland” sign which is prominently displayed over the stage, and while the Everlys perform the audience is transported to an other-worldly place: a place of the silver screen, of hit records, of teen magazines, of glamour, of fame, of fortune; they are transported to a place that belongs out of the ordinary and out of the routine of the everyday. They are transported to a place of dreams, and this place is a million miles from home.
Then just like that – with a metaphorical puff of smoke – they are gone and the show is over.
Introductions to the members of their backing trio and a series of curtain calls and synchronised bows to the audience in gratitude for their rapturous applause signals the end of the show before Don and Phil Everly leave the stage of the Danceland Ballroom together.
The opening strains of Amhrán na bhFiann signify the end of the night as the hordes of jovial dancers burst out of the ballroom where a sobering chill greets them as they make their way onto the streets of Portlaoise.
This concert would have been one of the last big nights in Danceland.
A changing social scene in Ireland in the late-sixties meant that most ballrooms became redundant. The end officially came for Danceland in March 1970 when Laois County Council submitted a notice to the national newspapers inviting tenders for its demolition.
Those who were in Danceland that night on Friday, 22nd April 1966 should take it as a compliment that, in spite of the gruelling and indistinguishable nature of life on the road which Don Everly experienced from having circled the globe many times as one half of the Everly Brothers, their Irish tour that year is one which stood out fondly in his memory:
“In the late sixties we did a lot of hard work. We worked everywhere and spent a lot of time in clubs and touring.
“Ten years of really heavy road work. I wouldn’t want to do it again. I loved tours of England and Ireland but the road’s the road. You ain’t at home.”
SEE ALSO – Drugs and cash seized in raids in Laois town under Operation Tara
