The Leader, Márta 1989

THE STORY OF THE LA SCALA BIG BAND- 11 At the start, none of the band had day jobs, except Padraig who was a hack– ney driver and they all lived off the music. The La Scala charged 8 Guineas a night in the beginning, later going up to 10 Gui– neas. Cathal Murray remembers one dance-hall owner who used to pack 400 to 500 into his hall. At the end of the night, he'd come to Padraig who looked after the band's finances, and he'd count out ten pounds and Padraig always had to re– mind him that the fee was ten Guineas. He'd have it in his back pocket all the time, and he'd hand it over and say "there, that's my profit all gone"! "This particular character was once let down by a band from Derry", says Cathal, "so he'd be so nervous come dance night we'd meet him two miles out the road and give him a lift in. But he'd always give you a good meal in the middle of the night, no matter what !". During Lent of course, everything came to standstill, apart from the odd night in Maggie Neill's. In those days, there were no fancy buses and the means of transport for a band were the huge big cars of the day. Cathal fondly remembers and old Chevy, registration number IU 9877, but their usual transport was a Ford Custom Line with a big V8 engine. They got special springs made for in in Bishopsgate in Derry - to carry up to 10 band members and all their kit. "We'd all just pack in", says Cathal, "and you'd get pins and need– les between here and Mayo, so we'd have to stop to stretch the legs a couple of times. At one stage during the 50s, the Gweebarra bridge went down, and the band had to walk across the river with their instruments where they were picked up on the other side by McHugh's taxis from Clooney and taken to the dance. AMAZING T.V. PRICES 31 MODELS ON DISPLAY * Free Microwave Oven (volue £140) with the new Mitsubishi TVNideo Combination just arrived . * 20" TVs slashed by !50 £389 - £339. * £60 off list price on "new Sanyo 14" CTV. * 14" Colour Portables from £199 to clear. * Black & White Portables £100 - now £75 - £85. * Special offer on Sony Black Trinitron 21" FST Full Remote Control. Slashed by £40. SUPER VIDEO VALUE * The new Mitsubishi Twin Digital reduced by £50 with on-screen calendar and graphics. * Remote Control Videos from £385 or £3.48 per week Easipay. No deposit. Free Tape. Your~ in 3 years. * Panasonic G40 Video complete with Digital Scanner and Free £29 Battery/Mains Radio. * Easipay system available on all goods. * High Grode Video Tapes £4.59. 3 for £11.99. Part Two by John O'Dwyer The popular numbers in those days were "Henry Lee", "Fraulein", "Zam– bezi", "Sail Along Silvery Moon", "Saxa– phobic", and the most requested song was "Oh Mine Papa". Another popular one was "Buttons and Bows", which was Mar– garet Murray's first song on stage. The first number was always a quick step, followed by an Old Tyme Waltz, and a foxtrot. There'd be two "mixed-grills" in the night, consisting of a quick-step, tango, samba, rumba, barnd– ance, highland, donkey, one part Siege of Venice and finished offwith a quick step. There'd also be a full three part tango in the night. And of course there were the "ladies' choices", and the men would al– ways be coming up asking for Ladies' Choices to be played. Also popular were Ladies and Gents "Excuse Me" dances - where you tapped your desired partner on the shoulder. A lot of the halls were run by the clergy in those days and strict rules were enforced. It was not uncommon for a las– sie to be marched out of the hall in front of everyone for talking to, or getting friendly with a member of the band. Al– cohol was frowned upon, but even so some men usually turned up more than a little intoxicated, and if they got into the hall, it wouldn't take much to start a good scrap - perhaps a request read out by the band ( which may have looked innocent enough). Of course, the few drinks were handy to drum up the courage to cross the floor because the girls stood on one side of the hall and the men on the other side, and it took a lot of nerve to cross that floor to ask a girl to dance. The trouble was, she might refuse and you'd have to walk back again ! In some places a very elabor– ate sign language developed and a nod might do the trick or even sticking out a shoe when asking a lady out to dance. Money was scarce, and hall owners would tell you about different tricks that used to be played - like medals appearingwith the top filed off them, and shilling hammered flat to make them look like two shilling pieces. Cathal remem– bers Sadler's Iona Hall in Ardara was 1/9 admission on a Sunday night. They put it up to two shillings and the following Sun– day night hardly anyone turned up. Pa– draig said to the owner "you better go back to 1/9 next Sunday or you'll have to close". Sadler wouldn't agree. "They'll be back !", he said. And so they were. From then on, the dances would go up 6d, maybe, and nobody would question it. But the 60s brought the end to an era. The music changed. Along came the Beatles, the Mersey sound and the Roll– ing Stones. "The Beatles put a tin hat on it", reflects Cathal. "Guitars came on the scene and finished the brass". The show– bands made a dramatic appearance on the Irish music scene. Very soon, the Lounge Bars also appeared - and social life in Ireland was never going to be the same again. The La Scala weren't inter– ested in changing the music and so they went their separate ways with some of the members joining other bands. But such was their appeal that they never really hung up their instruments. People kept asking them to play at Charity dances and other fund-raising functions and they have been doing that until this day. In– deed over the years, the La Scala have helped to collect upwards of £25,000 for charity. They have brought joy to thou– sands of people down through the years with their distinctive sound. Long may their music continue ! BENDIX WASHING MACHINES CAMCORDERS PANASONIC M7 * Ex-Rentals V2 Price. MICROWAVES · *A great offer while stocks last. *Electrolux, listprice£160, sloshed by£40, now£129. SATELLITE DISH SYSTEMS * Panasonic 600 watt Auto Weight Control £253, Brown or White. * Special Offer only £399. Capable * Model NN 5307 now only £189. 3 years od receiving 32 channels. guarantee on Magnatron. 13 Models. 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