2009 Hooley in the Sun

Declan Nerney's 8th Hooley in the Sun , proved to be the most successful to date  ,being held this year in the Rey Don Jaime Hotel in Santa Ponsa , Majorca . 350 fans from almost every county in Ireland as well as some from England and Scotland enjoyed 7 great days of entertainment and sun .

Highlight of the week was an open air concent on the Wednesday night , at the request of the hotel , as many of the other residents wanted to experience what was happening on the Hooley .

Over 900 people enjoyed a star studded show with Mickey Joe Harte , Sean Wilson , Philomena Begley , TR Dallas , Brendan Shine , Larry Cunningham and Declan and his band .

Other artists who appeared during the week were Hugo Duncan , Brian Coll , Mary Darcy , Gerry Keenan and Noel Briody .

The general opinion of seasoned"  hooley goers " was that this was the best one yet with the hotel pulling out all stops to ensure that everyone enjoed themselves . Plans for the 9th Hooley in the Sun are aready ongoing and it should sell out fast .

Glen Curtin

We were saddened yesterday morning to hear of the passing of our dear friend and colleague of many years, Glen Curtin. Glen took a turn for the worse last weekend at his home in Baldoyle, Dublin and was taken to Beaumont Hospital. His condition deteriorated over the weekend and Glen passed away Sunday night 20th September. Glen was 65 years old and at the time of his death was in the company of his wife of over 40 years, Concepta. Glen's three children are Stephen, Clare and Anne.

Biography

As a boy Glen started singing with his family who were very musical, playing instruments such as the piano, violin and guitar. Later he moved with them to London, where after winning a talent contest there, he joined a group called The Nomads and stayed with them for nine years. In 1971 he returned to Ireland to team up with a band called Xanadu. Glen and the band members paid for the cost of a record to be made in Dublin, and the subsequent release of Little Children earned Glen the position as lead singer with The New Blues. They toured New York and Boston and Glen had a No.1 Irish hit with them, I'd Love You To Want Me.

 

Glen fronted The New Blues and The Nevada Show band before he came together with Bob Condon, and formed his own band in 1975. The following year he appeared on the very popular ITV show New Faces, and became the only Irish singer to win this show. Glen Curtin had one asset going for him shortly after he started out with his new band early in 1979. He had a single, 'Love Letters In The Sand', which shot to No.3 in the Irish charts. It was a record, which was to firmly establish the likeable Cork singer at the top of his profession. Glen is a singer who is equally at home with pop or country, fast pop songs or soft romantic numbers. It is not every singer who can boast of that claim.

 

During 1981, ‘Tears On The Telephone’ appeared in Ireland's Top 30 for a total of fifteen weeks. ‘You There On The Radio’, ‘Lay Down Beside Me’, ‘Me And The Elephant’,  ‘Love Letters In The Sand’ and 'Red Sails In The Sunset' all later entered the charts in Ireland. In his heyday, Glen was no stranger to television. His RTE television appearances include Country Star Time, Non Stop Pop, The Late Late Show, Christmas At The Castle, Caught In The Act, Like Now, Our Times, Cabaret (with Sonny Knowles), The Anna McGoldrick Show, Who's Baby, Startime (with Roly Daniels). He has also appeared a number of UK shows on ITV and BBC including Good Evening Ulster, Come Sunday, New Faces and Colour My Music. Glen has recorded a number of albums including ‘Everything Is Going My Way’, ‘Love Is’ and ‘Ireland’. In recent years Glen enjoyed entertaining audiences aboard Caribbean and Mediterranean cruises on an annual basis. In 2008 Crashed Records released The Very Best Of Glen Curtin [2CD] and The Irish Side Of Glen Curtin [2CD].

The one and only Charley Pride

Adoring fans will get the chance to get a glimpse of Charley Pride in November.

Pride is a timeless everyman, revered by his musical peers and adored by countless millions of fans around the globe. His golden baritone voice has transcended race and spanned the generations.

Between 1969, when he first hit number one on the singles chart with “All I Have to Offer You (Is Me)” and 1984, when he commanded the top spot again with “Every Heart Should Have One,” Pride notched up a staggering 36 number one country singles!

Over the past thirty years, Pride has remained one of the Top 20 best-selling country artists of all-time. His incredible legacy includes 36 number one hit singles, over 70 million albums sold, 31 gold and four platinum albums - including one quadruple platinum. On RCA Records, Charley Pride is second in sales only to Elvis Presley.

Dozens of Pride’s chart toppers now stand as modern classics. “Kiss An Angel Good Morning” went on to be a million-selling crossover single and helped Pride land Country Music Association Awards as Entertainer of the Year in 1971 and Top Male Vocalist in 1971 and 1972.

Other memorable Pride standards include “Is Anybody Goin’ To San Antone?” “I’m So Afraid of Losing You Again,” “Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town,” “Someone Loves You Honey,” “When I Stop Leaving I’ll be gone,” “Burgers and Fries,” and “You’re So Good When You’re Bad,” to name but a few. His moving performances of Hank Williams’ classics “Kaw-Liga” and “Honky Tonk Blues” on his number one album, “There’s a Little Bit of Hank in Me”, were also certified Gold.

World Pemeire of “Goodbye Venice , Goodbye 

A Musical Tribute to the life of the late Joe Dolan,

Joe Dolan was one of Ireland ’s finest ambassadors in the music industry. His career began in the mid sixties during the showband era and continued for over 40 years.

The above musical is a fitting tribute to the life and music of this superb entertainer, who packed ballrooms and dance halls in Ireland and beyond. 

The World Premiere of the musical takes place on Saturday, 10^th October 2009, at The Hazel Hotel, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare. www.hazelhotel.com

The reason the show is doing it’s premiere in a midlands venue is to accommodate patrons travelling from all over Ireland and beyond. Tickets for this show are extremely limited and will be sold on a first come first served basis. It is hoped that there will be fans from all 32 counties in attendance for this World Premiere. 

‘Goodbye Venice , Goodbye’ could easily be described as Joe Dolan’s anthem. Over the years all Joe’s Shows concluded with this famous number which was written by Italian songwriter Roberto Danova. 

The songs in this musical will be performed by Paschal Brennan and his Band. The show will be narrated by Geraldine Conroy. Paschal has been described as possessing a God given voice similar to that of Demis Russos and Joe Dolan. Paschal’s backing band recreates the authentic sound of all Joe’s Music. 

Special guest at the premiere will be Italian born composer Roberto Danova who was Joe Dolan’s most successful song writer. It was the continental style of Roberto’s song writing which helped Joe Dolan become an international success. ‘Sweet Little Rock ‘n’ Roller’ was the first of many hit records and was followed by others including ‘Crazy Woman’, ‘Sister Mary’, ‘Most Wanted Man in the USA’, It’s You, It’s You, It’s You’, ‘More and More’ and of course ‘Goodbye Venice, Goodbye’.

The show will also be attended by personalities from the entertainment world and many other walks of life.