Dermot Hegarty is celebrating his golden jubilee in showbusiness this year, and the Longford man is enjoying every moment of it.

The highlight of the year was his guest performance at the Galway Sessions in Salthill earlier this month. Dermot chose the Sessions as the location where he wishes to celebrate the momentous occasion. Family and friends travelled from England, Scotland and Ireland to join him for the big night, including his grandchildren, Hannah and Drew.

Dermot put on one of the performances of his life and was rewarded with a standing ovation at the end of his half-hour set.

“It was one of those special nights that you can never forget,” said Dermot.

“I prepared well for it and I was conscious of the fact that this was a huge milestone for me in showbusiness. The audience were superb and they loved my choice of material on the night.” Matt Doyle, whose artistic flair is in a league of its own, presented Dermot with a portrait he did some weeks earlier. A native of Wexford, Matt now resides in Charlestown and is part of the musical duo Break Free, along with Kieran Donoghue from Headford.

“Dermot was part of a special era in Irish showbusiness and I was delighted to get the chance to surprise him with a portrait on his big night. I think he was quite chuffed and taken aback by it and that was great,” says Matt, who hosted an exhibition of portraits of some well-known folks from the Irish showbusiness scene during the Galway Sessions.

Dermot Hegarty is among a group of artists who will feature on the Showbands Down Memory Lane Tour, which will play a number of dates at various venues in the coming weeks. Others on the show include Dickie Rock, Frankie McBride, Gloria, John Glenn and Muriel Day. CL

Mel Tillis dies in America

American country singer Mel Tillis, who died in his native Florida last week at the age of 85, was regarded as one of the veterans of the golden era of country music in the USA.

Mel enjoyed plenty of chart success back in the 1970s and remained active in the business in the decades since then. He was an accomplished songwriter and penned a number of classic songs that have become standards with the passing of time.

Chief among them were Detroit City which topped the US charts for Bobby Bare and was also a major hit for Tom Jones. He also penned Ruby Don’t Take Your Love To Town which was a massive song for Kenny Rogers, as well as The Brand New Mister Me which was covered very successfully here in Ireland by Ray Lynam. Another popular song composed by Mel was The Snakes Crawl At Night, one of Charley Pride’s early hits.

Mel Tillis commanded huge respect on the country circuit and was a renowned live performer, a man who loved the stage and who had an easy rapport with audiences. His daughter, Pam, is also a well known singer, songwriter and actress.

The Arms of an Angel

The gentle and tranquil voice of Gina manifests itself beautifully in her latest single release, Arms of an Angel.

Back in the late 1970s, Gina, Dale Haze and The Champions were absolutely huge on the dancing circuit. The Cork outfit packed venues all over the country and held down the number one position as the leading middle of the road pop band for close on a decade. The Champions have come together for a few reunion dates and their loyal followers always come out in big numbers for these shows. One of those gigs was the Comeraghs Wild reunion.

Chase Rice for Whelan’s date

US singer-songwriter Chase Rice, whose album Lambs & Lions was released last week, is playing his first UK/Ireland tour this December. He is performing at Whelan’s in Dublin on 6 December.