Johnny McEvoy was undoubtedly the golden boy of the 1960s.

The singer was No 1, in-demand and flying-high for some time. He recounts to Irish Country Living the day Muirsheen Durkin went to No 1 and changed his life forever.

“The Top 10 was the big music programme at the time. Larry Gogan and Brendan Balfe used to present it on a Monday,” remembers Johnny.

“The same day I was in the old Raidió Éireann studios at the back of the GPO doing an interview for Céilí House.

"I did the interview and I was walking down the corridor. Brendan Balfe passed me and said: ‘Hello, John.’

Walking down towards the door, he called me, and when I turned around he just gave me the thumbs up. I knew I was No 1 then. I went out that night to Clontarf Castle and played to about 30 people – that was all there was in the place. I think I got a £5 for it. By Saturday I was playing to 2,000 people.

Superstar

After that, Johnny became something of a superstar, people swarming him as he entered and left venues.

He toured Ireland, the UK, the US and beyond. His success was huge and it stayed that way for some time.

In the late 1980s, the first hurdle came when his throat began to get sore and his voice hoarse.

This was a huge worry for Johnny, and he put off getting it checked out for some time.

When he finally plucked up the courage to go to the doctor, it turned out he had nodules on his vocal cords. Fortunately, the singer-songwriter made a full recovery after laser surgery.

The slump

But, in quick succession, another hurdle came.

In the mid-1990s, the man who had been so adored, went into decline. Johnny explains that the music business had changed and it took him some time to adapt.

One of Johnny McEvoy's publicity photos for Muirsheen Durkin.

One of Johnny McEvoy's publicity photos for Muirsheen Durkin.

“I was writing all of my own songs and this, in fact, didn’t suit the dances. Crowds were falling off, and I was getting depressed with this.

"I didn’t want to do what I was doing, I was unhappy,” says Johnny solemnly. “I stopped doing the dances, and unfortunately the only place to go then was into the pubs.

The pub, that was a bad scene for me, because you are competing with drink, you are competing with the noise of the bottles in the bin and you are competing with people who, as the night goes on, get noisy.

Johnny seriously considered packing it all in, but with no trade or other qualification, the Offaly man was left with little options.

After playing in a pub one night with no cover charge, and the owner refusing to pay him in full because he had not announced the raffle (that he did not know was taking place), he knew things had to change.

Happy days

Johnny decided to change tack. He went back gigging in theatres and on a number of tours with Brendan Grace.

Things were starting to look up, he was happy again and hasn’t looked back since.

“Things started to pick up then. I started to play the right places. Suddenly I wasn’t just playing a theatre here and there, I was doing tours of 20 or 30 dates.

"That was building up my confidence again, I was getting to enjoy it again, I was getting crowds again.

"Then I started playing hotels with a seated audience. I wasn’t able to go back, but I picked up where I left off.”

Johnny is now back on top and at the age of 72 is busy as ever.

Before Christmas he released a book, Johnny McEvoy: My Songs, My Stories, My Life in Music. Deciding to go a different route to the traditional autobiography, Johnny’s book incorporates short stories, his songs and some poems. Next month the singer also begins a nationwide tour.

Beats Banagher

Although Johnny spent most of his life in Dublin, the singer makes it clear that he is still an Offaly man at heart, as he lived in Banagher during his early childhood years.

Even after his family moved to Dublin, he used to spend his summer holidays at his grandparents’ farm in nearby Clonfert.

During the height of his success, Johnny still retained his association with Banagher.

After he first rocketed to fame, he returned to play a gig in his hometown and it turned out to be an expensive occasion.

“Afterwards, of course, my uncles were there: my uncle Sonny and my uncle Dan,” Johnny says with a smile.

They were all there in the pub and said; ‘Sure, John, because of who he is, he’s making a few bob, he’ll pay for the drinks.’ That’s what happened, I had to pay for all the uncles, aunts and all the people in the pub. I didn’t mind, though.

Well over 50 years later, Johnny has lasted the test of time.

He has seen through his battles and still enjoys success in the music industry, and he intends to keep it that way as long as he sees fit.

“As long as I stay healthy, as long as the voice is OK. If it gets to the stage where I find it too hard to do or if it gets to the stage where the voice starts to go, I’m not going to be the guy hanging on for another minute for the last round of applause,” smiles Johnny.

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