Concert to mark 50 years of landmark Plattermen album

A special concert is set to take place in the Strule Arts Centre this weekend as part of Omagh Music Festival which will celebrate 50 years since the release of The Plattermen’s iconic album ‘Old Devil Wine’.

The album, which marked a change in the band’s sound following the departure of original singer, Brian Coll, saw the band exchange their original country and dance repertoire in favour of ‘going kind of heavy’, as they announced in 1971.

As a highly-regarded album for collectors of Irish rock music fans, the album has never been re-issued, making it one of the most sought-after and expensive records in the country.

Having previously released many singles and a ‘Best Of’ collection with Brian Coll, ‘Old Devil Wine’ would be The Plattermen’s first official album, and, most notably, their first recorded original material, despite the fact the band would break up a few short years later, in 1974.

The concert will celebrate the legacy of the album and feature some of Omagh’s top musicians, with singers, Niall Moore, Brian McNamee, Gerarda McCann and Joe Culby joining a spectacular band featuring Aidan Dunphy on drums, Michael McGinty on bass, Laurence Quigg on keyboards, Jerome McGlynn and Paul Maguire on guitar, and a phenomenal brass sections made up of Robert Goodman, Brian Morgan, Bob Quick, Jim McDermott and Paul Cutliffe.

The event will also feature a narrative from local musician, Tom Sweeney, who will explain some of the context of the album, and inform the audience on the development of the band from a fairly standardised Irish showband format to a band which, rather uniquely in Ireland, had the ability to perform music by their contemporaries in America and England, and also compose their own music.

Speaking with the UH, guitarist, Paul Maguire, reminisced upon his memories of The Plattermen, and what inspired them to take a leap of faith which saw them exchange their showband suits of the sixties for the loud guitars and long hair of the seventies.

“The Plattermen had been a very successful showband in the way we think of showbands in that era,” he said. “Brian Coll was a fantastic singer, and very well-known all over Ireland, so in the late sixties, he went out on his own.

“After he left, the country repertoire went with him, but Rob Strong, who was already in the band, was arguably a better singer when it came to rock music.

“In those days, they were young men at their height of their careers, and made a decision to not be shackled, in a sense, by catering to the standard Irish ballroom audiences.”

Taking an ambitious leap of faith, The Plattermen started writing their own music and playing colleges, theatres and touring in England, which ultimately lead to the recording and release of the ‘Old Devil Wine’ album in 1972.

“I remember two of their concerts,” recalled Paul. “The first was when I was a young boy in the old Town Hall, and then later on, they played an open air event, which took place outside what is now Danske Bank in Omagh.

“They played material from the ‘Old Devil Wine’ album, as well as stuff by Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chicago.

“There was a great buzz about the album at the time, because it was somewhat odd in those days for a local band to release an album like that, as most of the bands in those days preferred releasing singles.

“Most notably, it was very seldom for a local band to release a full album, let alone the fact that they composed the songs themselves. It really stood out.

“Alan McCartney and Rob Strong wrote a lot of the album, but Ray Moore played a major role in arranging for the band over the years.

“Very few people in Ireland could draw out the strengths of a band to their advantage like he did.”

As The Plattermen established themselves with a new look and sound, there was no denying that this somewhat divided fans who had followed them since their early showband years.

“There was a deep division between the country and dance music fans and the progressive rock fans,” Paul explained. “At that stage, it wasn’t clear who was going to come out on top.

“While there was a lot of interest in the album, there was always people who preferred the Brian Coll era.”

Throughout their career, The Plattermen shared the stage with such internationally-renowned acts as Roy Orbison, Dusty Springfield and Fleetwood Mac, so it only seems fitting that their legacy is remembered by some of Omagh’s top musicians.

Paul said, “It was Trombonist, Bob Quick, who pulled the show together.

“I’ve worked with Bob many times over the years.

“He is head of brass music in the Western Board, and very experienced in arranging When Bob heard ‘Old Devil Wine’, he thought it would be fitting to recreate it.”

As part of the upcoming Omagh Music Festival, ‘The Sound of the Showbands’ celebration of the ‘Old Devil Wine’ album will take place in the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh on Saturday, November 4 from 8pm.

Tickets are available via the Strule Arts Centre box office at £15 per person.