‘Singalong Songbook’ revisits the magical showband era

‘THE Singalong Songbook’ pays homage to the magical showband era in Ireland.

In this heady tribute to pure nostalgia, ‘Those Hucklebuck Days – The Songs We Danced To’ revisits those hits that played each day on the radio and dominated the ballrooms of romance.

The brilliant ‘Singalong Songbook’ team, joined by showband legend Art Supple of the Victors Showband, will help you relive magic memories as they remember the crazy showband days in Ireland, particularly Dublin.

This week, The Echo sat down with Linda Kenny from the ‘Singalong’ team to discuss this performance, which will be performed in the Civic on May 17.

It is expected to be 135 minutes long with an interval, and booking details can be viewed on the Civic website.

What can you tell us about ‘The Singalong Songbook’? Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration and story behind it?

‘The Singalong Songbook’ is the longest-running popular music series in the country.

Now in its 23rd year in Cork’s Everyman Theatre, the team began touring our unique brand of show back in 2018.

And The Civic in Tallaght was one of the first audiences we had outside of Cork. We adore everyone from the staff to the people in the audience.

They couldn’t be nicer and more welcoming.

‘The Singalong Songbook’ celebrates, in song and story, the lives of movie and musical icons and projects photos/video and the song lyrics onto a giant screen for the audience.

On Sunday May 17, at 3pm, we are celebrating the great showband craze that took place in Ireland from the end of the 1950s to the emergence of discos in the late 70s.

We tell the story, relive the memories, and sing the songs, inviting the audience to join in with us. It is one of the most high-energy, fun shows we have ever done. Brace yourselves!!

The concept of ‘Singalong’ has been in the Irish cultural DNA since time began, and the original concept for the shows was based around the old Repertory touring companies (who had the same team perform multiple different shows) and ‘The Good Old Days’, a TV variety show from that had Leonard Sachs in the role as Grand Master of Ceremonies and involved audience participation.

So our team is essentially the same from show to show, moving seamlessly between themes like Burt Bacharach, Jim Reeves, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Rat Pack, Doris Day, Neil Sedaka and more.

When a theme requires it, we invite a special guest to join us.

What inspired this particular edition of ‘The Singalong Songbook’?

‘Those Hucklebuck Days: the Songs We Danced To’ celebrates the showband years, the great performers, the songs, and the memories.

It is an epic soundtrack.

And the era was so significant to people here, both socially, emotionally and economically, given there was a dancehall in practically every small town in Ireland.

What has been the group’s favourite parts of working on this show and why?

I think we would all agree that working with showband legend Art Supple has been revelatory and inspiring.

And the high-octane energy of the songs from the showband era has everyone bopping from the opening moments of the show.

My legs were SO sore after our first outing of the show in Cork. The energy midway through the first half was like the end of the show. Off the charts!

What have been some of the biggest challenges involved in this production so far, and how has the group navigated them?

To be honest, we are a well-oiled machine at this stage.

So, for the team, the biggest challenge is generally logistical, as the team is split between Dublin and Cork.

We usually rehearse in the Midlands Hotel in Portlaoise, which is bizarrely a halfway mark for us all.

However, as this show had more performers based out of Cork, it meant rehearsal happened there and we were able to have a relaxing dinner afterwards, which is very much a rarity for us as we are always dashing off home after each performance.

Art Supple of The Victors showband will be performing on the night as a special guest; how did you go about recruiting a showband legend for this performance?

I have had the privilege of working with Art over the last number of years in a variety of musical projects.

He is an exceptional performer (now in his 68th year of gigging!) and an even nicer gentleman.

I asked him to sing with us for our Jim Reeves celebration a few years ago, and since then, he has joined us on stage on a few occasions.

Most recently, for our memorial concert to our beloved ‘Songbook’ narrator, the late Alf McCarthy, who was most at home on the Civic stage with the wonderful audiences.

What is next for ‘Singalong Songbook’ after this performance?

Our next show is ‘Keep it Country: 100 Years of the Grand Ole Opry’, which is exactly what it says on the tin. We tell the story of this iconic musical institution and sing the songs. And, hopefully, the audience will help us all the way.

Who would you like to thank for making this performance possible?

The fantastic staff at the Civic, who are like family to us.

And to our writer Cathal MacCabe, who wrote a superb script for this show.