“Where’s Spidgey? - asked one of the group of lads standing around outside Uncle Larry’s - “Probably showing some Yanks around the old Castle telling them tall stories or sneaking in the side door and dodging Bella in the Cinema” came the reply.
I suppose in every generation there are lads “fit for anything going” and Frankie McEnhill (Spidgey) was one of those - diving off the bow of the coal-boats into Donegal harbour, climbing up to the turret in the old Castle, robbing orchards - always the leader in mischief. Some of these guys were older - some younger than myself – the likes of Matt Kee; Chris Meehan; Francis Kennedy; Johnny McAllister; even my own brother Joel and, of course, Frankie McEnhill - all endowed with great personalities and charisma - and a streak of roguish boldness. In every town/village were such lads.
For those of you who do not know - Uncles Larry’s was a small café (where the Blueberry now is) run by Lawrence Gallagher in the late 50s. The café was a meeting places for the younger generation, attracted by the jukebox in the corner. As a youth Frankie McEnhill would take his well saved “thrupenny” bit and head for the jukebox to play the old 45 record “Great Balls of Fire” belted out by his idol, Jerry Lee Lewis – whilst at the same time miming the words and dancing around the café, much to the amusement of all assembled and, in particular, Mary Jane and Philomena behind the counter.
As an underage boxer Frankie was a member of the Donegal Town club, run by the late Dave Hanna Senior, fighting alongside such local luminaries as John (Tucker) Dunnion, Terry Woods, John Hanna and Seamus McGarrigle.
Pictured: Prince Vince and Anthony Timoney on the Diamond
So in this final episode on the Pavesi – it is only fitting that Donegal Times pays tribute to Frankie McEnhill, who, along with his brother Brendan, contributed so much to the national showband scene in its heyday.
Born into a family steeped in Irish music, the natural career move for the McEnhill brothers from Castle Street, was to enlist in the Irish Army School of Music at the Curragh, Co. Kildare. But soon after he arrived at this academy, Frankie was moonlighting, playing double bass in the Chris Conneely Ceili Band, a local Kildare outfit. After a year, he joined the Jimmy Dunny Orchestra - a more high class outfit, resplendent in dress suits and dickie-bows doing the rounds of midlands society dances and hunt balls.
In 1961, a lad called Tommy Lundy, who also played with Jimmy Dunny, told our man that he had an offer from an outfit called Paddy Kearns and the Boyne Valley Stompers to go to Ballybunnion to play the month of July. There was an opening for Frankie if he wanted to go. Did he what? Packing a little bag with a couple of shirts and a tooth-brush, Frankie bade goodbye to the army (illegally) and a few hours later was standing on the side of the Naas Road waiting for the boys to pick him up. For a young lad on the road for the first time, Ballybunnion was ‘like heaven’ - he enjoyed every moment.
In 1962, his brother, Brendan, by now a fully trained and talented musician, had left the army and was instrumental in founding the Kings Showband. Frankie was invited to join – not fronting the outfit but playing bass guitar. The line-up was Brendan McEnhill, fiddle/alto sax; Tommy Lundy, rhythm guitar; Tom Fitzpatrick, lead guitar; Frankie, bass guitar; Dusty Young, trombone & C&W singer; Barry Cluskey, tenor sax/clarinet; Ronnie Reynolds, drums. However it was not long before our man’s talent as a singer and a rebel rock ‘n roller was recognised and he was invited to front the band as lead singer – adopting the stage name of “Prince Vince”.
Bookings flooded in – hit records followed and the band was hitting the big time, backing international stars like Little Richard and Bill Haley & The Comets. Vince told me Bill Haley was the first man he ever saw wearing make-up on stage. One night in Limavady they played warm up to his old idol Jerry Lee Lewis, and went off stage. Later there was a fall out between Jerry Lee and his backing group - so the superstar asked the Kings to back him – which they gladly did. Little did Vince think when he put his “thrupenny” bit into Uncle Larry’s juke box that one day he would share the same stage as his idol.
But it was not to last. Arriving back at his digs one evening, the landlord informed him that detectives had been at the door looking for him. That’s right - the army had caught up with the Prince.
To shorten the story, Vince gave himself up, reverted to Private McEnhill and, convicted of desertion, was sentenced to six months imprisonment, which he served in the Curragh. Incidentally one of the judges on the court martial was a Captain Deeny, an army chaplain and a brother of Fr Deeny, who will be well remembered by many in town.
Avid fans of the Kings Showband were soon asking as to Vince’s whereabouts and begging for his comeback. A hasty statement was issued by his management claiming that, jumping off a piano one night, the Prince had fallen through a stage floor and hurt his back - and he would be recovering for six months.
Upon serving his detention, Vince contacted his former band mates and enticed them to send on £200 which he needed to buy himself out of the army. Two days before Christmas he was back playing with the band in Youghal, Co. Cork.
If you were looking for a showband full of excitement – then Prince Vince and the Kings from Kildare were the ones. The Prince expounded more energy on stage than anyone I have ever seen, utilising to the full his fantastic voice and athleticism, gyrating from one side of the stage to the other. One of his feats to get the crowd going was to leap from the top of the Pavesi piano onto the stage, at the same time belting out a Rock ‘n Roll favourite. The Kings show-stopper was “Beautiful Dreamer” which displayed not only Frankie’s great voice but the band’s musical talent and indeed stayed close to the head of the Irish Top Ten for many weeks.
Vince stayed with the Kings until 1968, in that time doing many extensive tours of the USA and Britain. But he could see that the showband era was coming to an end, and, as he said to me “Fate weaves a pattern for everybody”.
In 1968, multi-millionaire promoter, Bill Fuller, recognising the young Donegal man’s talent, got him teamed up with the Phil Solomons agency in London. While touring the length and breadth of Britain, he met his future wife, Pam Danbury, a renowned singer in her own right who was starring in the famous Black & White Ministrels Show; she had also backed singer Bob Hope when he topped the bill at the London Palladium and other international stars such as Frankie Vaughan; The Bachelors and Dick Emery.
Vince and Pam married and settled down in London to raise a family. There he formed a small group and gained a residency in the Hilton’s renowned cabaret lounge, before eventually becoming resident in the prestigious London Dorchester Hotel, entertaining such celebrities as Elton John, Michael Jackson, Beth Midler, Barbara Streisand and Arnold Swartzneger. The famous Lionel Ritchie used to drop into the hotel each night after his shows to relax, have a drink and banter with Vince and the group.
Playing to a packed guest audience one evening, he noticed a couple out dancing and totally enjoying the music and song. At the end of the night, the man came over. It turned out to be Neil Diamond – who Vince and his musicians gladly shared a bottle of champagne with.
“I have had a great life” he told the Times “I now play just three nights at weekends which gives me plenty of time for my hobbies, and our greatest gift – our grandchildren”.
Finishing up, Vince told me that no matter where in the world he played - his greatest kick was to entertain in his home town and the Pavesi ballroom - and especially to an appreciative Donegal audience.
The showband era ends
By the late 1960s, the fine showbusiness combination of the late Paddy McGowan and Michael Cooney had come to an end – and the Pavesi was leased for a brief period, before being eventually sold to the late Packie Meehan and his son Roger from Dunkineely. But in the early 1970s the winds of change were sweeping across the country – young people were now flocking to “singing lounges” with music by small groups or one man bands – where they could have a drink and dance. The alcohol-free dancehalls, which provided much enjoyment and fun for so many, were left like deserted warehouses - with little or no crowds turning up to dance to the showbands they had idolised only a decade previous. It must have been heartbreaking for bands to turn up at a hall with only 30 or 40 out on the dancefloor when only a few years prior these same bands were enjoying crowds of up to 2000.
Of the 700 or so showbands throughout Ireland in the early 1960s only a very small few remained on performing – until “Father Time” caught up with them. Butch Moore eventually emigrated to the United States to perform on the cabaret scene, coming back to Ireland for the odd “Showband Show”. Sadly, Butch passed away last year . Brendan Bowyer and the Big 8 continued to enjoy fame in Las Vegas. Eileen Reid still does pantomime – her daughter is lead singer in the Showband Show. Brendan McEnhill came back to Donegal for a period to teach and play music, before eventually going back to England where he still plays in cabaret and at weddings. Eamon Monaghan has become a successful businessman with his “Elegant John” store in Dublin – specialising in high quality bathroom fittings and sanitary ware.
Before I conclude – I must also mention Micky Quinn, a guitar player from Greaghs Barr, Laghey (now living in Cork) – who played with many well known showbands over the years - and Mountcharles man Alec Glackin who featured on the local showband scene, founding the Paladin. Indeed one of the best musicians ever to come out of this town, Seamus Brogan, also played with this band.
In my journeys throughout the Northwest/Midlands and the West, I see many of the old halls, some converted to Community Centres – like the John Bosco (Pavesi); Fiesta, Letterkenny; Borderland, Muff; Butt, Ballybofey; and the Pallidrome, Strabane. Many more are now lying like dilapidated cattle-sheds – grass growing up around the doors - windows broken - the cold winds of age blowing over their once gracious wooden floors.
These were once the exciting, vibrant, entertaining Meccas where many men met their wives – girls found husbands – first romances flourished - and many, many, had their hearts broken – in these now forgotten Isles of Romance – Seas of Heartbreak!!!
P.S. - In answer to a query thrown out by Donegal Times recently, Con Boyle from Barnesmor told me that the first couple on the floor the night the Pavesi opened were himself and his partner, the late Kathleen Melly, Marian Villas. Concluded.
