Big Tom
Encyclopedia
Tom McBride better known as Big Tom (born 18 September 1936 in Moy, Drumakill, Castleblayney
, County Monaghan
, Ireland
) is an Irish
country music
singer, guitarist
, and saxophone
player. Established since 1966 he is currently front man of the Irish showband Big Tom and The Mainliners
. He is affectionally known as 'Ireland's king of country music'
, in 1980 he undertook a sea voyage across the Atlantic Ocean
to record his Blue Wings album in Nashville
.
) and are now out-of-print. Since 1990 the release format became CD (or cassette).
The Greatest Hits CD includes two tracks taken from the Live at the Glencarn Hotel video. The Live at The Galtymore CD is solely the soundtrack from the video of same name recorded in 1991.
It is intended by Big Tom's record company to reissue all vinyl tracks on to CD releases.
Tom has also recorded a duet track in 2009 with Frank Nelson: Treasured Memories which is featured on Frank's album of the same name.
Castleblayney
Castleblayney or Castleblaney is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town has a population of about 3,000.Castleblayney lies near the border with County Armagh and is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry...
, County Monaghan
County Monaghan
County Monaghan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
) is an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, and saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
player. Established since 1966 he is currently front man of the Irish showband Big Tom and The Mainliners
Big Tom and The Mainliners
Big Tom and The Mainliners are a Country and Irish Showband from the Castleblayney area of County Monaghan, Ireland.-1966-1975:Originally named as "The Mighty Mainliners Showband", the band achieved fame after appearing on RTÉ Television's Showband Show broadcast on 21 May 1966 performing Gentle...
. He is affectionally known as 'Ireland's king of country music'
Recent Life
- 2000 – Big Tom underwent a noduleVocal fold noduleA vocal cord nodule is a mass of tissue that grows on the vocal folds . Typically, this mass will appear on the junction of the anterior and middle two-thirds of the vocal fold, where contact is most forceful....
operation on his throat. - September, 2004 – Big Tom was reported to have been in a list of Irish tax evadersTax evasionTax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
. - 8 July 2005 – A plaque was erected by the local community in Big Tom's home village.
- November, 2006 – Big Tom suffered a sudden heart attack at the age of 70, this had put doubt into whether he would ever tour again with his band.
- 1 February 2008 – Big Tom began a 12 date tour of Ireland after doctors gave him the all clear.
- 24 March 2008 – Big Tom performed at CastlebarCastlebarCastlebar is the county town of, and at the centre of, County Mayo in Ireland. It is Mayo's largest town by population. The town's population exploded in the late 1990s, increasing by one-third in just six years, though this massive growth has slowed down greatly in recent years...
's TF Ballroom's final farewell night (in its current guise) but he was reported to have taken ill on stage during the performance. - 25 May 2008 – Big Tom performed for the closure night of the Galtymore dance hall in CricklewoodCricklewoodCricklewood is a district of North London, England whose northeastern part is in the London Borough of Barnet, western part is the London Borough of Brent and southeastern part is in London Borough of Camden.-History:...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - 27 July 2008 – Big Tom was headline act at London's Irish Festival.
- 23 November 2008 – Big Tom headlined the ClaremorrisClaremorrisClaremorris , is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. The population of Claremoris in the 2011 Census was 3,979....
dance festival weekend. - July 2009 – K-MAC Records announce more dates in Ireland for Big Tom and the Mainliners which commence August 2009.
- 14 Aug to 13 Sept 2009 – Successful tour of Ireland with large attendances to venues. The highlight being the Glencarn Hotel in Tom's home town Castleblayney where the concert was packed to capacity. The tour ended in Ennis with fans traveling many miles to see Tom and the band. Two days after the end of the tour the band's Trombone player and vocalist Cyril McKevitt died of a heart attack.
- 8 November 2009– Big Tom will be back in Claremorris to headline the Michael Cummins Dance weekend.
- 2010 Big TOM announces an extensive series of tour dates
- 2011 Tom and the band continue to perform with sporadic appearances.
Other details
Big Tom suffers from a fear of flyingFear of flying
A fear of flying is a fear of being on an airplane , or other flying vehicle, such as a helicopter, while in flight. It is also sometimes referred to as aerophobia, aviatophobia, aviophobia or pteromerhanophobia....
, in 1980 he undertook a sea voyage across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to record his Blue Wings album in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
Hit songs
Big Tom has hit the Top Ten numerous times in the pop charts of Ireland:| Title and Position reached | Entry Date | Artist credited | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gentle Mother | 7 | 30.01.1967 | Big Tom and The Mainliners |
| Old Log Cabin for Sale | 4 | 21.10.1967 | |
| The Sunset Years of Life | 3 | 23.07.1970 | |
| Broken Marriage Vows | 1 | 19.02.1972 | |
| I Love You Still | 1 | 04.01.1973 | |
| Old Love Letters | 1 | 16.05.1974 | |
| Four Country Roads | 5 | 16.05.1981 | Big Tom |
| Streets of Dublin City | 7 | 15.11.1981 | |
| If I Needed You | 10 | 18.03.1984 | |
| Jealous Heart Jealous Heart "Jealous Heart" is a classic C&W song which has also been recorded by several Pop singers.-Early versions:The first recording of "Jealous Heart" was made in 1944 by its composer Jenny Lou Carson... |
9 | 07.04.1984 | |
Vinyl Albums
Prior to 1990 all of Big Tom's audio music releases (over 20 albums) were on vinyl record (or cassetteCompact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
) and are now out-of-print. Since 1990 the release format became CD (or cassette).
| Title | Artist credited | Year | Record Label | Issue Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The All Time Hits of | Big Tom and The Mainliners | Emerald | GES1051 | |
| Little Bit of Country and Irish | 1969 | GES1076 | ||
| From Ireland | 1970 | GES1077 | ||
| I'll Settle For Old Ireland | 1971 | GES1102 | ||
| Requests! | 1972 | Denver | DEB102 | |
| Image of Me | DNV 2 | |||
| Ashes of Love | DNV 3 | |||
| Smoke Along The Track | DNV 4 | |||
| Souvenirs | 1975 | DNV 5 | ||
| When The Roses Bloom Again | Big Tom & The Travellers | 1975 | DNV 6 | |
| Travel On | 1977 | DNV 7 | ||
| I Would Like To See You Again | 1978 | DNV 8 | ||
| At The Irish Festival | 1979 | DNV 9 | ||
| Blue Wings | Big Tom | 1980 | DNV 10 | |
| Four Country Roads | Big Tom & The Travellers | 1981 | DNV 11 | |
| Songs From Home and Faraway | 1982 | DNV 12 | ||
| DNV 14 | ||||
| Teardrops In The Snow | 1985 | DNV 15 | ||
| Around Ireland | 1986 | DNV 16 |
Compilation Vinyl Albums
| Title | Artist credited | Year | Record Label | Issue Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Favourites | 1980 | K-Tel | KLP55 | |
| The Heart of Country Music | Denver | |||
| King of Country Music – Volume 1 | ||||
| King of Country Music – Volume 2 | ||||
| King of Country Music – Volume 3 | ||||
| King of Country Music – Volume 4 | ||||
| King of Country Music – Volume 5 | ||||
| King of Country Music – Volume 6 | ||||
| Hits By The Dozen | DEB105 |
CD Albums
The CD releases typically contain tracks which were previously issued on vinyl, however those marked * consist all tracks newly recorded and those marked ** consist of some tracks newly recorded. The 20 Golden Greats CD may be discontinued as all tracks have been reissued on latter CDs.The Greatest Hits CD includes two tracks taken from the Live at the Glencarn Hotel video. The Live at The Galtymore CD is solely the soundtrack from the video of same name recorded in 1991.
It is intended by Big Tom's record company to reissue all vinyl tracks on to CD releases.
| Title | Artist credited | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Today ** | Big Tom and The Mainliners | c.1990 |
| Greatest Hits Greatest hits A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band... |
c.1991 | |
| 20 Golden Greats | 1992 | |
| Out On Their Own * | 1993 | |
| The Sweetest Gift * | 1995 | |
| Songs I Like To Sing | Big Tom | c.1996 |
| 25 Golden Greats | 1996 | |
| Souvenirs | c.1998 | |
| Blue Wings (In Nashville) | c.1999 | |
| The Irish Collection | 1999 | |
| The Very Best Of Irish Country | 1999 | |
| Smoke Along The Track | c.2000 | |
| When The Roses Bloom Again | 2002 | |
| The Same Way You Came In ** | Big Tom with Seamus McMahon | 2005 |
| Teardrops In The Snow | Big Tom | April 2007 |
| Around Ireland ** | March 2008 | |
| Ashes of Love | Big Tom and The Mainliners | August 2009 |
| Four Country Roads | Big Tom and The Travellers | August 2009 |
| The Image of Me | Big Tom and The Mainliners | August 2009 |
| Requests | August 2009 | |
| Live at The Galtymore | June 2010 | |
| I am an Island * | November 2010 | |
| Songs From Home & Faraway | Big Tom | October 2011 |
Tom has also recorded a duet track in 2009 with Frank Nelson: Treasured Memories which is featured on Frank's album of the same name.
Videos/DVDs
- Live at the Glencarn Hotel, Castleblayney
- Live at the Galtymore, London
- In Concert at the Ardhowen Theatre, Enniskillen
- The Sweetest Gift
- The Very Best of (Compilation)
- Back to Castleblayney, Live
- Galtymore 2004, Live
- Live in Birmingham and Manchester
- Live In Castlebar 2008 (featuring The London Irish Festival)