Alan's Early Days In Music:

Alan first played music with the Blanchardstown Brass and Reed Band in the early 1960's. That's him on the right in the photo. Based on his progress, the band's teacher, Mr. Smith, suggested to his parents that he had gone as far as he could with his lessons in the small band, and Alan would be better served attending Dublin's School of Music.  His parents were elated and enrolled him in the school, where he studied trumpet for a number of years. Somewhere along the way, between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Alan also picked up the guitar and started experimenting with the "wilder side of music."

When Alan was about fourteen, he got his first taste of "rock n' roll" when he abandoned the trumpet temporarily and took up guitar to join The Silver Clouds with three of his friends, Bernard Fagan, Leslie Norris (Leslie sadly passed away Feb. 15, 2006 in the South of Spain), and Shay Martin. After a taste of life in a band, Alan was hooked.

By the late 1960's Alan had established himself as a professional musician, playing with several well known national showbands, including the The Sahara Showband from 1968-1970 and The Victors from 1970-1972 (pictured below). The Victors toured throughout Ireland, England and Germany. However, Alan hit it big when he became a central player with a band called Stage 2.

Stage 2 originated from members of one of Ireland's most famous showbands, The Dixies, who enjoyed years of  success with a string of hits in the mid to late 60's, sung by Brendan O'Brien.  In 1972, O'Brien and drummer/comedian Joe McCarthy headed out on their own and formed Stage 2. The members of the band were, Joe McCarthy (drums), Brendan O'Brien (vocals), Dermot Ryan (saxes/flute/vocals), Des Hickey (lead guitar/vocals), Mike Shortt (bass/vocals), Mick Dunne (keyboards/vocals) and of course Alan on vocals and trumpet.

Originally, Stage 2 leaned towards a heavy brass sound in the genre of Chicago, and Blood Sweat and Tears. But they found it was not the best "dance" music for the ballrooms at the time, so they switched to the Top 40 and a mix of pop and rock n' roll. This got the dancers back on the floor, big time. The band played to thousands every night for many years after that and became one of the top ten lineups in the country.

Alan stepped up front as lead vocalist in 1974.  They released "You've Grown Up" with Alan on vocals (written by Mr. Sean Sharkey of Dublin's Television Club fame), which had great success and kept the fans flocking to the ballrooms in their thousands.

The band toured throughout Ireland and England. The crowds were great for the band and they played packed houses every night. The band slogan was "All the Worlds a Stage, 2".

The End of The Showband Era:

Yes it came to pass, the days of "Send Them Home Sweatin" were on the decline. What with hotels and pubs getting their closing time extended and their licenses changed to "cabaret" it became increasingly more difficult to fill the huge alcohol free ballrooms and maintain the larger six-plus piece showbands.

Alan left for Canada in 1976, the band split not long after and all went their separate ways, but oh what a time they had and have never forgotten.

And so began a new adventure for Alan on the music scene in North America. After spending time on the west coast (Vancouver), he eventually moved to Red Deer, where he lives today. These days, Alan spends much of his time playing the "casino circuit" in Canada, and across the border in the United States. He continues to record and has released several CD's in recent years. He appears on his own, doing a solo set, and sometimes with Wanda Felland in a group they call "The Scales of Just US."