THE DINNER
Arriving at the Royal Hotel, Boyle for the
Reunion Dinner. All former Jivenaires to attend. Had not
seen most of them since 1968 or earlier. How had the years
treated them, would I recognize them, would they recognize
me? Anticipation and apprehension. Some advantage in having
seen Sean Kenny, Monty Montomery and Pat Hoye on the
Website recently.
Inside Hotel meet Sean who lives up to his
website image. Mutual instant recognition and the exchange
of hearty greetings. Christy Regan clearly recognizable and
in typical good form. Ricky McCaffrey greets me, fail to
recognize him instantly - not that he has disimproved,
quite the opposite, having a much better physique than in
his younger days. Michael Kennedy now sporting a beard
resembles his younger brother Sean which can’t be
bad, but Michael quickly straightens me out. Less trouble
with Monty, Pat Hoye and Liam Conroy (who has not changed
in build but whose tighter hair style and spectacles add a
certain distinction). Had wondered how over two decades of
married life in Italy would have affected Evelyn, find that
I recognize her immediately. As the Boyle based organizer
who knows the who, the what, the where and the when, Sean
is the host of the evening and carries it off with the self
assurance which is his trademark and which is to add so
much to the evening’s events.
Move into the diningroom but postpone
starting meal until Pat Hever arrives. Contact by mobile
establishes he is almost here. Duly arrives to round of
applause. No trouble recognizing him as he goodhumouredly
offers an explanation for the delay No interest in
explanations, we are just glad to see him, and not merely
because the meal can now start. No better man to make the
grand entrance. My brother Michael (former London based
English Agent of the band) is also present. Danny Murray
who was so active in instigating the reunion and in helping
to organize it and establishing the website unable to
attend, detained in hospital until 1st June. Everybody
agrees “What rotten luck”, not only for Danny
but for everybody else who had been so looking forward to
meeting him. His wife Maureen and daughter Deirdre are
present. Everyone grateful that they made it. Pat Feely the
only deceased member of the band who died in his 40’s
is fondly remembered and is represented by his wife Peggy.
Spouses and other family members make up the balance of the
group.
Sean distributes to each band member
souvenir metal badges bearing the immortal words
“Still Jiving” and around the circular badge
the words “2002 Jivenaires Reunion 31st May”
followed by the Jivenaires.com website address. Clearly
badges of honour and rare collectors items..
Enjoyable meal and conversation follows, too
little time to catch up adequately on a 35 year backlog.
Sean asks me to say a few words. Welcome Evelyn back from
Italy with husband Roberto (loud applause), Pat Hoye back
from Boston (more applause) and everybody else from
different parts of Ireland. Read from letter received from
original member Andrew McKeon who recalls old memories and
regrets he cannot attend. He mentions all the original
members including Evelyn “and her travelling
companion Irene Murray” (Irene is now the travelling
companion on life’s journey for her husband Monty).
Following some more mostly relevant remarks photographs are
taken by Christy Regan. All band members sign a Get Well
card for Danny so that Maureen and Deirdre can take it back
with them. Before long we find ourselves vacating the Royal
to move to the Forest Park Hotel for the main event - the
Jivenaires Reunion Dance.
The Dance
A good number of tickets had been sold in
advance – but would the people actually turn up, and
if they did would they be disappointed? After less than two
days of rehearsal would the band gel well together and
would it be safe to present a selection of music from the
1960’s?
It was clear from an early stage that people
were arriving in large numbers and soon all available
seating was gone. The hall was packed to capacity by the
time the MC Eddie Murphy announced to an expectant crowd
“Give a big welcome to The Jivenaires back in Boyle
after a short interval of 35 years!” An enthusiastic
round of applause and the band breaks into the old
Crystals’ number Da Doo Ron Ron with Evelyn on vocals
sounding as vibrant as she did in 1967 when she last sang
the song with the Mystics as the Jivenaires had then
become. Pat Hever is superb on drums, the whole band joins
in the chorus and Pat then supports Evelyn on the
“Yes his name was Bill” line with a crash of
cymbals that commands attention from those outside the hall
as well as inside. Sean, Monty and Pat make it clear that
none of them has been in retirement and the years of
experience have come to the surface to achieve a remarkable
tightly knit performance. The dance floor has become
animated with energetic dancers, the band sings the last
chorus, the music comes to a stop – and there is a
positive roar of approval and prolonged applause from the
crowd. This is the defining moment of the night. It is not
just like the old days – it is better. . The crowd
have not been disappointed and they make it clear that the
band are among friends.
Monty sings the Kinks’ Dedicated
Follower of Fashion, Sean delivers the Stones Honky Tonk
Woman, Pat Hoye sings the Merseys’ 1966 hit Sorrow
and Pat Hever goes back to the 1950s for Jackie
Wilson’s Reet Petite. The place is rocking at this
stage. Sean announces greetings from time to time for
dancers celebrating their birthdays – not for 20th or
21st birthdays as was the case the last time the Jivenaires
played but for 54th and 55th birthdays and 30th and 35th
anniversaries.
Pat Hever who had been drummer for the first
ever appearance of the Jivenaires and then had to depart
was now making a big impression at the last Jivenaires
performance – not just as a drummer but as a rock
singer. A rock medley of Buddy Holly’s Oh Boy and
Rave On with a number of Elvis’s hits Teddy Bear,
Don’t Be Cruel etc. are subsequently followed by some
of the more difficult Elvis songs to deliver with
conviction – Jailhouse Rock, Wear My Ring Around Your
Neck and Such a Night are performed with a respect for the
originals that you would get only from a dedicated Elvis
fan.
Sean encourages people to introduce
themselves to one another and talk – he had no need
to worry as people all over the hall are meeting friends
they had not seen for many years. I am grateful for the
opportunity of meeting so many people who are good enough
to introduce themselves or who I recognize, but time for
talk is very limited. This is a night for wallowing
unapologetically in nostalgia and savouring every minute of
it. The feelgood factor is palpable.
Sean invites up on stage the other former
members of the band who are in the hall – Christy
Regan, Michael Kennedy, Liam Conroy and Ricky McCaffrey. He
plays a tape of Pat Feely singing Love’s Gonna Live
Here recorded in The Eamonn Andrews Studios in Dublin in
1965 which gets a generous round of applause. Sean invites
me to say a few words and I thank the people who had come
in such numbers, Boyle Celtic Football Club who had
promoted the event and made it possible, the Roscommon
Herald who had not only reported news but had helped to
make it by publishing that interview with Pat Hoye and Sean
which ultimately lead to the suggestion for the reunion. I
say that we remembered not only the Jivenaires but all the
bands of that era – the Royal, the Capitol, the
Miami, the Cadets, Pat McGuigan and the Big Four, the
Dixielanders – they know them as well as I do and if
they don’t they will find them on the Jivenaires
website for which I say a big thank you to Danny Murray and
refer to the tragedy of his absence. Also recall Pat Feely
who would have loved this gathering, that he is, no doubt,
here in spirit and we certainly remember him.
Ricky McCaffrey who had apologized for being
able to stay only a short time is still here after midnight
and comes up on stage to sing two Beatles songs. Michael
Kennedy joins the band for a short time and plays guitar as
if he had never stopped and Liam Conroy does a spell on the
drums. Liam of quiet temperament adopts a different persona
when he finds a pair of drumsticks in his hands and belts
it out with the best of them. He has not changed in this
respect.
The band take turns at the hits of the
60’s – Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl
from Pat Hoye, Mighty Quinn the Manfred Mann hit from
Monty, Dusty Springfield’s I Only Want to Be with You
from Evelyn, Johnny Horton’s North to Alaska from
Sean – the list went on and on.
Sean introduces Evelyn singing the
Locomotion with a brief reference to Little Eva – no
acknowledgment here of Kylie Minogue’s 1980’s
version. And Evelyn does Those Boots Were Made for Walking
just as she had done on RTE television’s Showband
Show in 1966. She is singing so well that Sean feels she
should get full credit by announcing that she has not sung
in public in 35 years and has hardly spoken any English in
over 20 years in Italy.
It’s nearly 3 a.m. and the atmosphere is getting even better. The crowd join in the chorus for the Gary U.S. Bonds hit New Orleans and again for Hang On Sloopy. The final dance is played and the crowd call for more. Again and again the band plays more on request and finally and reluctantly plays the national anthem. Well wishers shake hands with the band members and photographs are taken. Jivenaires and Mystics posters on the walls are taken down as souvenirs. I recall some words I overheard earlier in a conversation between two men – "the nostalgia is great all the same, isn’t it?."
And it was!
William B. Devine
