Tom Allen (born 21 October 1949), known professionally as T.R. Dallas, is a

country and Irish Country and Irish is a musical subgenre in Ireland formed by mixing North American country-style music with Irish influences. It is especially popular in the rural Midlands and North-West of the country, but less so in urban areas or in the South- ...

singer and former

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian ...

member of

Westmeath County Council Westmeath County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na hIarmhí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Westmeath, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ...

. Born in Mount Temple, County Westmeath, Tom Allen is the brother of Tony Allen of the folk duo

Foster and Allen Foster and Allen are a musical duo from Ireland consisting of Mick Foster and Tony Allen. In their 47-year career, they have released over 52 albums, many of which entered the UK Albums Chart. Along with "A Bunch of Thyme" (entering the Irish ch ...

. Tom worked in motor maintenance and sales, and started his

showband The Irish showband was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. The showband was based on the internationally popular six- or seven-piece dance band. The band's basic repertoire included standard dance numbers and ...

singing career in 1970 with the Finnavons Showband, previously fronted by Gerry Black. A few years later he joined the Sailors Showband, and got his break in 1978 replacing John Glenn in The Mainliners, the backing band for

Big Tom Tom McBride (18 September 1936 – 17 April 2018), known as Big Tom, was an Irish country, traditional and easy listening singer, as well as a guitarist, and saxophone player. With a career spanning over six decades, he started his career in ...

. In June 1980, Allen exploited the hype around the ''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'' soap opera's " Who shot J.R.?" summer cliffhanger by adopting the name "T.R. Dallas" to release the

novelty record A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

"Who Shot J.R. Ewing?" which reached number 10 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 b ...

. Later that year his

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

Mac Davis Morris Mac Davis (January 21, 1942 – September 29, 2020) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and actor. A native of Lubbock, Texas, he enjoyed success as a crossover artist, and during his early career he wrote for Elvis Presley, ...

' " It's Hard to Be Humble" reached number 6 in the Irish charts. He continued to tour Ireland and the UK in the 1980s and 1990s, releasing further singles and an album. His career was interrupted in 1990 after he was diagnosed with

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

. As Tom Allen he was a

member of Westmeath Council for the

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ga, Toghlimistéir Áitiúil) is an electoral area for elections to local authorities in Ireland. All elections use the single transferable vote. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 166 LEAs, with an average ...

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

from the 1999 local elections until defeated in the 2014 election. He continued to perform as T.R. Dallas, often at charity fundraising events.

Discography

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallas, T.R. Living people Irish country singers Irish male singers Local councillors in County Westmeath People from County Westmeath 1949 births