Hootie & the Blowfish is an American rock band formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band went on hiatus in 2008 until they announced plans for a full reunion tour in 2019 and released their first new studio album in fourteen years, Imperfect Circle.
Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The band is led by singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. They have released thirteen studio albums, spanning from Picture Book (1985) through Time (2023), all of which have peaked within the top ten on the UK Albums Chart; with the albums A New Flame (1989), Stars (1991), Life (1995) and Blue (1998), along with their Greatest Hits (1996) album, reaching number one. Their 1991 album Stars is one of the best-selling albums in the United Kingdom.
Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 after 14 years and later reunited in 2018.
Boyzone is an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's The Late Late Show. Its most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating, and Shane Lynch. As of 2018, Boyzone had released seven studio albums and nine compilation albums.
Rock music in Ireland, also known as Irish rock, has been a part of the music of Ireland since the 1960s, when the British Invasion brought British blues, psychedelic rock and other styles to the island. The Irish music scene in the 1960s and much of the 1970s was dominated by the unique Irish phenomenon of the 'Showbands' which were groups of professional performers who played at dancehalls and clubs across the country putting on a professional 'show' and playing all the American and British hits of the era. From the mid-1970s onwards rock music in Ireland has followed a similar path to rock music in Britain.
The Irish Showband was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the 1950s to the 1980s, with its peak in the 1960s. These bands typically featured seven to ten members, including a rhythm section, a brass section with various combinations of trumpet, saxophone, and trombone, and were fronted by lead singers, sometimes engaging in comedy skits. Their repertoire spanned rock and roll, country and western, dixieland jazz, big band tunes, Irish Céilí dances, Latin, folk, and more. Showbands were noted for their live energy, chart-topping covers, and sometimes choreographed performances. Originally touring within Ireland, successful bands later performed in Britain, the US, Canada, and on the German nightclub circuit and U.S. military bases in Europe.
Linda Martin is an Irish singer and television presenter. She is best known as the winner of the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest during which she represented Ireland with the song "Why Me?". She is also known within Ireland as a member of the band Chips.
The Camogie All Star Awards are awarded each November to 15 players who have made outstanding contributions to the Irish stick and ball team sport of camogie in the 15 traditional positions on the field: goalkeeper, three full backs, three half-backs, two midfields, three half-forwards and three full-forwards. They were awarded for the first time in 2003 as an independent initiative sponsored by a hotel group and accorded official status by the Camogie Association in 2004.
Brendan Bowyer was an Irish singer best known for fronting the Royal Showband and The Big Eight, and who had five number one hits in Ireland. He was also renowned for having The Beatles open for the Royal Showband at a concert on 2 April 1962 at the Pavilion Theatre, Liverpool, England, some six months before the release of The Beatles first single "Love Me Do", in October 1962. Bowyer was regarded as one of the first headlining Elvis impersonators. Elvis Presley himself was a big fan of Bowyer's performances and would often attend Bowyer's concerts in the Stardust Resort & Casino, Las Vegas during the 1970s.
"I've Been Waiting for You" is a song recorded in 1974 by Swedish pop group ABBA, released first as the B-side to the single "So Long". It was included on their album ABBA, released April 1975.
Brian "Red" Hurley is an Irish singer. Hurley's career includes singing lead for bands such as The Colours, The Wheels, and The Nevada. He had a series of number one records in the 1970s while performing with The Nevada. Hurley also represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1976 with the song "When".
"California Sun" is a rock song first recorded by American rhythm and blues singer Joe Jones. Henry Glover is credited on the original 45 rpm single as the songwriter, although Roulette Records owner Morris Levy's name sometimes incorrectly appears on re-issues. In 1961, Roulette issued the song with "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" as the B-side. The single reached number 89 on Billboard's Hot 100.
The Miami Showband were an Irish showband in the 1960s and 1970s led firstly in 1962 by singer Jimmy Harte, followed by Dickie Rock and later by Fran O'Toole. They had seven number one records on the Irish singles chart.
"Who Do You Wanna Be" is the eighth single by the Dutch girl group Luv', released in the autumn of 1979 by Philips/Phonogram Records. This song appears on the formation's debut album With Luv' and their first compilation "Greatest Hits". It was the trio's closing release under their contract with Philips/Phonogram just before they joined CNR/Carrere Records.
The discography of English boy band JLS comprises five studio albums, one greatest hits album and sixteen singles.
Cathal Dunne is an Irish singer. He is most famous for representing Ireland in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Happy Man". He has since gained a following as Cahal Dunne, performing traditional Irish songs in the United States, where he now lives.
The Original Rudeboys (O.R.B.) are an acoustic pop/hip hop group from Dublin. They are notable for their debut album This Life which was released in 2012 and debuted at number one on the Irish iTunes Charts, and their single "Stars in My Eyes", which hit number 2 on iTunes and received national airplay. They have played at venues such as the Olympia Theatre and at festivals such as Oxegen and the Reading and Leeds Festivals.
"When We Were Young" was a number one hit single by the Irish showband The Airchords, featuring Pat Lynch on lead vocals. Written by Barry Mason and Les Reed, it reached No. 1 on the Irish Singles Chart on 10 April 1971. The song remained at the top of the charts for just the one week, but was to return to the No. 1 position on 8 May of that same year, this time for a period of four weeks. Lynch and the Airchords had already broken up before the song was released. The song became a stadium anthem for Cork Hibernians F.C.
Earl William Gill was an Irish trumpet-player and bandleader who, with the Hoedowners, achieved fourteen Top 20 hits in the Irish charts between 1966 and 1973. As "Tim Pat", he also had a solo hit in 1971 with a novelty song, "Poor Poor Farmer".
