In association with the Irish Bands’ Archive at irishshowbands.net, the Curious Cat Library has announced the publication of ‘From Tango To Twist – An Almanac of 20th-century Irish dance-bands, bandshows and showbands’.
A hardback, with 336 pages, it is packed with photographs of 865 different Irish bands from every corner of the island (most with bio and a list of personnel), 160 vintage dancing and music cuttings, and selected discographies for all bands who recorded. The book includes a 12-page index with 1,500 entries including bands, towns, villages and singers or featured artistes.
A quality production, it is the ultimate reference book for those with an interest in the social history of Ireland or an ideal gift for a relative who may have played in a dance-band or showband or one who just enjoyed dancing. There are roughly 5,000 musicians’ faces in the book so he or she might even be in there.
The author, Francis K. Beirne, toured as a showband musician and has been collecting press cuttings, magazines, records, photographs and memorabilia since he was a teenager. He has had articles on the subject published in various publications and was a consultant for the RTÉ series ‘A Little Bit Showband’ and the 2005 TV film, ‘Showbands’. He founded the irishshowbands.net web archive in 2002.
Books may be pre-ordered at www.thebookshop.ie where it’s priced at €28.00 and this includes postage and packing. It will be delivered after the launch date of July 1 next. Email irishbandsarchive@gmail.com for more information.
