Collins still loves putting on a show

By Finnian Cox

Though most people would be ready to relax after one of the nation’s longest careers in radio, it is immediately clear that Ronan Collins is not your average person.

With 32 years of radio presenting under his belt, rather than taking things easy for a moment, Collins instead chose to take his greatest passion, the showband, on tour.

His latest show Ronan Collins: Showband Hits and Stories has seen him travelling the length and breadth of the country, heading to Cork’s Everyman Theatre on 22 November.

“I’m up in Portlaoise, then I’ve to go to a show in Naas, and then I hope to be in Navan for the solstice,” he says, adding that his daughter’s wedding is falling in the middle of all this.

I remark on his busy schedule, something Ronan accepts - however, he also takes the opportunity to point out that he has the freedom to place all his focus into this passion.

“It’s quite well placed in that way, you know? I wouldn’t have been able to do this when I was doing a daily radio programme, because you can’t do both with any kind of enthusiasm.”

Ronan’s career in radio has been a long one, making him a household name in Irish broadcasting- but before he hit the airwaves, he took to the stage.

Performing as a part of Dickie Rocks’ Showband in the ‘70s, he is well used to being busy on the road, providing vocals and drums for the group, although he admits it’s nowhere near as intense now.

“You a have the physical element of travelling, and the exactness of the timing - 2 hour shows with no intervals 6 times a week,” says Ronan.

“I’m glad I was a young fella doing it. I would have found it hard to keep up in my 30s and 40s.”

Make no mistake - though he describes it as demanding, it’s evident that Ronan has nothing but fondness for the time he spent on the road. So infectious is his affection, I ask how it came about.

“I was a drummer who sang, but now looking back I was probably more of a singer who drummed,” he says, laughing.

First encountering a drum kit belonging to his uncle in his nana’s house in the ‘50s, he immediately developed a fascination with them, teaching himself to play.

“Any opportunity I got I would be fiddling around with them, and eventually joined a band in ‘71, called The Others,” says Ronan, recalling the details as though he had just come from rehearsing with them.

“They had a beautiful drum kit, and I really started to work hard,” he says, breezing past the fact he was able to teach himself well enough to get on a stage.

“Dickie offered me a job because his drummer was leaving, but then no sooner had he offered me it he came back to me afterwards and said the drummer had changed his mind and was staying.”

“He did then later, and I took the job.

The real reason I took it was to get on the road, because I hadn’t been a part of a travelling band at that stage. I really wanted to experience it and did for just over 3 and a half years.”

The more he talks, the more the appeal of the show takes shape - while a big part of each performance is the music, Ronan also dedicates a big chunk of his stage time to telling anecdotes from the golden days of the show band era.

Naturally, his encyclopaedic knowledge of the time makes these anecdotes all the more special, as he recalls unique details with ease.

Ever humble, he credits a lot of the show’s success to the musicians around him, but as he describes the shows, it becomes clear that the audience hang on to his every word.

“The songs are very well received but I’m fascinated by how attentive the audiences have been when I’m telling the stories and giving the background,” he says.

“It’s fantastic seeing the smiles on their faces, and the recognition of names and locations from their youth, and that’s great, because it’s a pure nostalgia trip for lots of people.”

Asking him what he has in store for his Cork show in the Everyman yields a good example of this knowledge, as he effortlessly rattles off intricate details about the county’s dancehall heyday.

“The county itself was a huge part of showband music. You have 3 ballrooms in the city, and then the Red Barn in Youghal, the Mallorca in Crosshaven. If you clicked in Cork, you made it all the way.”

The show focuses on the peak of the genre’s popularity, which fell between 1961-68, featuring songs from the biggest names - with an emphasis on Brendan O’Brien and the Dixies for the Cork show.

“We chose to focus on them because they were the showband legends in Cork. To do it in the Everyman is hugely nostalgic - it’s a beautiful old theatre, so I’m looking forward to it very much.”