Joe Dolan:Joe Dolan, who has died aged 68, was a singer and entertainer who came to prominence in the heady days of the showband boom. With his band The Drifters, he built a strong fan base, nationally and internationally. His recording of Make Me an Islandwas a British top 10 hit and topped the charts in 14 other countries.
He had a unique voice (it "never broke", he said) and sang his heart out on stage, making a point of staying on after gigs to talk with fans. Seeing many showband careers cut short by alcohol, he never drank before a show. His aim was to ensure that there was "no show like a Joe show".
"Well, it's up to me to be as good as I can," he said in an interview with The Irish Timesin 2002. "I never shirk on anything. Even if I'm tired and have had a hard day, that's got nothing to do with the audience. You just have to perk yourself up and go for it. If I sense that people aren't enjoying themselves, I don't blame them; I blame me. Because I reckon that the point of the music is entertainment. They like to sit back, hear something that they're going to like and have a bloody great time. I feel that if the people are not singing for me, then I'm doing something wrong. They used to call it send 'em home sweatin' but I call it send 'em home happy."
Born in Mullingar in 1939, he was the youngest of eight children. His father died when he was eight and his mother when he was 15. Educated at St Mary's CBS, he served his time as a compositor at the printing works of the Westmeath Examiner.
With his brother Ben he formed the Drifters Showband, playing guitar and singing. The band perfected a classic showband sound and in 1964, Dolan cut his first record, a cover of Del Shannon's The Answer to Everything; it reached number four in the Irish charts.
Other hits followed, including Pretty Brown Eyes, Tar and Cement, The House with the Whitewashed Gableand the comedy number The Westmeath Bachelor.
In 1968 the Drifters split when most of the members left to form The Times showband. Ben and Joe Dolan recruited new musicians and over the years the line-up included exceptional talent such as champion accordionist Séamus Shannon, guitarist Jimmy Murray and drummer Tony Newman. In recent years the band included two of Dolan's nephews.
He readily acknowledged the contribution of the original showbands to Irish popular music. "The shame," he said, "is that a lot of these bands never recorded. The Clipper Carlton was a classic, classic, classic band . . . it's a shame that now there is nothing there for you to listen to, to hear the brilliance of the musicianship."
In 1969 he stormed into the British charts with Make Me an Island, written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazelwood. The record reached number three and subsequent international hits included Teresa, It Makes No Differenceand Falling in Love.
In 1973 he teamed up with the Italian songwriter and producer Roberto Danova and established himself on the European pop scene. Sweet Little Rock 'n' Rollerwas the first of many hit records written by Danova and co-writer Peter Yellowstone. The collaboration resulted in further hits, including Lady in Blue, Sister Maryand Hush, Hush Maria.
The Drifters toured extensively. Dolan appeared at venues across Europe and in 1978 toured the Soviet Union, one of the first western acts to do so. In the 1980s the band did several residencies in Las Vegas. He also entertained audiences in South Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Canada.
He never forgot his domestic audience though. When the dance halls closed he turned to cabaret. He had many fans among the Irish in Britain and played to full houses at venues such as the Buffalo Rooms, Camden Town, Gresham Ballroom, Holloway Road, and the Galtymore Ballroom in Cricklewood.
Early in his career he attracted a strong following in Belfast and played many Christmas night gigs at the King's Hall. In Dublin he regularly played to capacity crowds at the Crystal and Ierne ballrooms and the Television Club.
The hits continued to roll out. More and Morewas followed by It's You, It's You, It's Youand Wait 'til the Clouds Roll By (Jenny). In the 1990s he set up his own record label, Gable Records, and built a recording studio in Mullingar. There he recorded the hit single Ciaraand the album Can't Give Enough. In 1997 his album Endless Magicentered the charts and he became the first Irish singer to have had top 10 hits in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
In 1997 he rerecorded Good Looking Woman, which had been a hit in the early 1970s. This time around he was accompanied by Dustin the Turkey and the record topped the charts.
In 1998 the critically acclaimed Joe's 90s was released. The album featured covers of songs by Blur, Oasis and Pulp, and Blur's The Universalbecame a hit single. The album was marketed with some style and wit, the singer represented by a hand-puppet dressed in trademark white suit.
His follow-up album 21st Century Joe, featuring songs by David Bowie, U2, REM and Bruce Springsteen, was equally successful. Most recently he recorded an album of classics from the swing era.
He is survived by his brothers Ben, Paddy and Vincent, sisters Dymphna and Imelda, nieces and nephews.
Joseph Francis Robert Dolan: born October 16th, 1939; died December 26th, 2007