Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement

 
 
Friday, 21st November 2008

Premium Article !

Your account has been frozen. For your available options click the below button.

Options

Premium Article !

To read this article in full you must have registered and have a Premium Content Subscription with the Londonderry Sentinel site.

Subscribe

Registered Article !

To read this article in full you must be registered with the site.

Nostalgic return of showband era at 'The Mem Hall'



Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date: 23 July 2008
'DO Ye Mind The Mem?' - If you do then keep free Saturday, August 2, at 8pm, for a night of nostalgia
- and if you happen to still have your 60s fashion then give it a spruce-up and be prepared to dance your stilettos and winklepickers off.
The 60s was the undisputed golden age of the showband and dance hall scene, and those of a certain vintage wi
ll remember that people from all parts of the city would dance in the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall, better known as the Mem.
'Do Ye Mind The Mem?' is a night of nostalgia and fun designed to evoke the showband era, and will feature 'The Signetts' - Jack Molloy, Trevor Keys, Frank Robinson, and Roy Arbuckle - who weren't just one of the bands that played there in the glory days - they were resident band.
The members of the Signetts will not only be playing 'oldies' but will be bringing some of their current music collaborators with them, so you'll hear great music from Frank Robinson & friends, The Derry Jazz Quartet, the Trevor Keys Band and the Roy Arbuckle Band.
The event will be filmed by Besom Productions for BBCTV and proceeds are in aid of The Fountain Primary School.
One person looking forward to the event is musician Roy Arbuckle, who will be teaming up with his former band buddies for the event - and is even daring to dust down his suit for the occasion."It seems to be the year for nostalgia, and the idea for the night came out of a conversation about the way the Mem used to be in the 1960s," he said.
"I know at the time I had been talking to Trevor and he was talking about the reunion of The Flamingos, but they were all scattered and he could not make it happen. We chatted about getting the Signetts back together again and everybody was up for it."
Joking that they had been practicing for the gig for 45 years, Roy confided that the quartet had had three rehearsals, and he was nervously excited about the prospect of playing the Mem again.
The playlist will include all the old tunes the band used to play, including cover versions of The Beatles and Elvis tracks, as well as examples of the contemporary work all four musicians have produced with their respective bands and collaborations since the Signetts heyday.
"I am going to do some of the Songs of the Fountain and whatever else," said Roy. "We used to play three nights a week at the Mem and were the resident band, and back then part of the craic was that it was a very mixed audience and division wasn't an issue - which is what we want."
Asked what he thought had prompted his recent musical wander down memory lane, Roy commented: "I've never thought about it, but right enough this last few years has been about looking back. There certainly isn't the same amount of live music there used to be, and a lot of people have shown an interest in this."
Revealing why some of the proceeds of the event would go to the Fountain Primary School - the venue for the recording of his latest CD, Songs of the Fountain - Roy simply commented: "The school is one of the hopes for the future".
Those with a hankering for a return to the days when music really was music and not processed through a computer, then Saturday, August 2 is the night for you. The humble admission fee is just £5.



The full article contains 620 words and appears in Londonderry Sentinel newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 23 July 2008 11:02 AM
  • Source: Londonderry Sentinel
  • Location: Waterside
 
 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
 
  

 
 


Sister Newspapers:
Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.