The Story So far

In 1965 a small group of musicians called the Mainliners were booked to played at the INTO dinner dance to be held in the Riverdale Hotel in Ballybay Co Monaghan.

The fee for this dance was the grand sum of £12.00. Among the guests at the dance that night was John Mc McCormick and his wife from Rockcorry co Monaghan.
John was the owner of The Maple Ballroom in Rockcorry, and he ran a very successful Sunday Night Dance.

 

John took a great interest in the band and being the astute man he was he saw what Louise Walsh and company now call the X factor.

John got talking to the boys and the end of the night and gave them a date in the Maple at the unbelievable sum of £25.00, to make a long story short john soon became the manager of the band and started looking for dates outside their native Co Monaghan, John's cousin Tommy Mc McCormick had a dance hall in Cavan and gave him some dates along with John Mc Givern in the Ballroom of Romance in Glenfarne Co Leitrim.

Further a field John got in touch with one of the big dance promoters in Dublin Christy Gunn who booked the Ierne Ballroom in Dublin, in those days relatively unknown bands and newcomers played the Sunday night Dances in the Ierne and when you were well-known you got to play The Saturday Night.

So with the Mainliners becoming more well known John Mc McCormick got in touch with a friend who had connections in RTE.
Around that time RTE were running a very popular TV show called The Show band Show and each week they had what they called "The Newcomer Spot"

The Mainliners were booked to appear on "The Newcomer Spot" among the songs performed were Ginger Morgan singing "Let the 4 winds Blow" and Ronnie Duffy singing "Johnny Be Good" Big Tom sang a little known song called "Gentle Mother" when the show was aired on Saturday 26th May 1966, on a 17" Black and White Television the life of these 7 young county Monaghan men would never be the same again and a new name would be added to the list of great Irish Entertainers "Big Tom"

In 1966 in a Music scene of slick pop bands which included some of the Irish music greats like Dickie Rock and the Miami Brendan Bowyer and the Royal Show band, Joe Mac, Brendan O Brian and the Dixie's, along with Larry Cunningham and the Mighty Avons, Big Tom and the Mainliners were among the very few bands doing Country and Irish music. Music Fan's who were not into pop and rock and roll found idol's in Big Tom and the Mainliners.

All the Mainliners were Co Monaghan Born and Reared, the Mc Mahon Brothers Henry and Seamus were neighbours of Big Tom living less than a mile from him, John Beattie, Ronnie Duffy and Ginger Morgan were all from Castleblayney with Cyril Mc Kevvitt living only 4 miles out of Town in Broomfield.

With The Huge interest the Show Band Show generated and the reaction to "Gentle Mother" Big Tom and the Mainliners became a national phenomenon, playing all over Ireland in marquees and carnivals the length and breathe of the country. With Big Tom and the Mainliners among the biggest singing stars in Ireland the Band with the Magic Beat soon set their sights on England and beyond.

Big Tom has won many major awards in his career

He was the 1st Irish Artist to sell 50,000 Albums

He was the 1st Irish Artist to record a full 12 track CD "Blue Wings" in Nashville the songs on the album were written by fellow Irish Man Johnny Mc Cauley.

Big Tom has had numerous number one recordings among them the Old Log Cabin For Sale, Ashes Of Love, Four Country Roads and of course The Same Way You Came In.

Big Tom represented Ireland in the World Music Festival which was held in Fort Worth Texas, notable the singer representing England was another Tom, the Great Tom Jones!

After a career spanning over 4 decades Big Tom Continues to be one of the most requested Irish Artist on the Irish Music Circuit.

 

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