Tom McBride (18 September 1936 – 17 April 2018), known as Big Tom, was an Irish

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

and

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

singer, as well as a

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

, and saxophone player. With a career spanning over six decades, he started his career in 1966 as the frontman of the Irish showband

Big Tom and The Mainliners Big Tom and The Mainliners were a Country and Irish showband from the Castleblayney area of County Monaghan, Ireland. Timeline 1966–1975 Originally named the "Mainliners Showband", sometimes prefixed with the word Mighty, and already beginn ...

Career

On 1 February 2008, Big Tom began a 12-date tour of Ireland after doctors gave him the all clear. On 25 May, Big Tom performed for the closure night of the Galtymore dance hall in

Cricklewood Cricklewood is a town in North London, England, in the London Boroughs of Camden, Barnet, and Brent. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north-west of Charing Cross. Cricklewood was a small rural hamlet ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. On 27 July, Big Tom was the headline act at London's Irish Festival. On 23 November, Big Tom headlined the

Claremorris Claremorris (; ) is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. As of the 2017, it was the fastest growing town in the county, having seen a 31% increase in population between 2006 and ...

Dance Festival weekend. In July 2009, K-MAC Records announced more dates in Ireland for Big Tom and the Mainliners which commenced in August. From 14 August to 13 September 2009, Big Tom ran a successful tour of Ireland with large attendances to venues. The highlight was the Glencarn Hotel in Tom's hometown Castleblayney where the concert was packed to capacity. The tour ended in

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

, with fans travelling many miles to see Big 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. In 2010, Big Tom announced an extensive series of tour dates. From 2011 until his death in 2018, Big Tom and his band continued to perform with sporadic appearances.

Personal life

Big Tom lived in Oram, just outside Castleblayney. He would often be seen at the local shop on his horse, tractor or quad. He was very generous with his time and always participated in the Oram St Patrick's Day Parade and many of the local football events. The wall in the Oram Community Centre has a huge mural of Big Tom. Big Tom suffered from a

fear of flying Fear of flying is the fear of being on an aircraft, such as an airplane or helicopter, while it is in flight. It is also referred to as flying anxiety, flying phobia, flight phobia, aviophobia, aerophobia, or pteromerhanophobia (although aero ...

. In 1980, he undertook a sea voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to record his ''Blue Wings'' album in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. In 2000, Big Tom underwent a

nodule Nodule may refer to: * Nodule (geology), a small rock or mineral cluster * Manganese nodule, a metallic concretion found on the seafloor *Nodule (medicine), a small aggregation of cells *Root nodule Root nodules are found on the roots of plants, ...

operation on his throat. In November 2006, Big Tom suffered a sudden heart attack at the age of 70, which had put doubt into whether he would ever tour again with his band. on 24 March 2008, Big Tom performed at

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th-century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. Wi ...

's TF Ballroom's final farewell night (in its current guise) but he was reported to have taken ill on stage during the performance. In September 2004, Big Tom was reported to have been in a list of Irish tax evaders. Big Tom was married to his wife Rose McBride until her death in January 2018.

Hit songs

Big Tom had numerous Top 10 hits in the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

Discography

Vinyl albums

Prior to 1990 all of Big Tom's audio music releases (over 20 albums) were on

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, ...

(or cassette) and are now

out of print An out-of-print (OOP) or out-of-commerce item or work is something that is no longer being published. The term applies to all types of printed matter, visual media, sound recordings, and video recordings. An out-of-print book is a book that is ...

. Since 1990 the release format became CD (or cassette).

Compilation vinyl albums

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. Tom 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) * Big Tom and the Mainliners – A Celebration (2016)

Legacy

On 8 July 2005, a plaque was erected by the local community in Big Tom's home village of Castleblayney,

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

. In early 2016, Big Tom and the original Mainliners went on tour to mark 50 years since the release of their most enduring hit " Gentle Mother". From May until September, Big Tom and the Mainliners continued their summer tour to celebrate 50 years of "Gentle Mother" In June 2016, Big Tom became the inaugural artist to be inducted into the Irish Country Music Hall of Fame. Susan McCann had a hit in 1977 with her recording of ''Big Tom Is Still The King'', referring to

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

song Bob Wills Is Still the King.

References

External links

Big Tom's record company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Tom 1936 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Irish male singers Irish country singers 21st-century Irish male singers Musicians from County Monaghan People from Castleblayney 1960s in Irish music 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music 1990s in Irish music 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music People on Irish postage stamps