Paddy Cole - A Little Bit Of Showband

Known as Irelands King of Jazz, Paddy Cole first entered the world of showbiz at the tender age of 9. He spent his formative years entertaining audiences throughout Ireland and the UK until the emerging Showband craze caught up with him. The newly formed 'Capitol Showband' had decided to create an 'All Ireland' appeal by having members from all over the country and Paddy was one of the lucky few to be invited to join the band as their saxophone and clarinet player. They became an overnight success.

The 'Capitol Showband' went on to become the first Irish band to record an LP and were also the first Irish band to appear on 'Sunday night at the Palladium' where they performed to a television audience of 30 million. Their popularity soared throughout the 1960's and went beyond Ireland and the UK as they also did extensive tours of the United States. In spite of this, after many years at the top, the band eventually succumbed to the changing social scene in Ireland as the Showband Era dwindled in the late 1960's/early 70's.

Just as this happened Paddy was given the opportunity to join other Showband stars to form a new band called 'The Big 8.' The band concentrated on the bright lights of Las Vegas where they lived and performed for 7 months of each year. But after several very successful years playing to sell out crowds on the 'Strip' Paddy decided that he wanted to return to life in Ireland. On his return he was asked by irish country music tycoon Tony Loughman to set up his own band and along with his old friend 'Twink', 'The Paddy Cole Superstars' was born. The band concentrated mostly on the North of Ireland, and quickly became very popular. After several years on the road Paddy decided to give up showbiz entirely and went into the pub business in his hometown of Castleblayney where he worked for 12 years. But music was in his blood and he eventually found himself back performing and returned to the limelight where he has remained as one of the country's top entertainers to this day.

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