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Bio:
Relatively long-lived beat group fronted by Jim Fanning with many lineup
changes over the years. Eric Murray (of Hot Air Machine
and Dreams) may have been a member
at one point?
Their heyday was 1967-68 when they were voted Best Irish Beat Group in New
Spotlight in 1967 and their debut single was the first Irish beat single to
enter the Irish top 10 the same year. They were managed by Jimmy Dunne.
The Strangers a well regarded group noted for their sweet vocal harmonies.
They fit squarely in the commercial end of the beat scene, performing
covers of the Beatles, the Hollies and the Lovin' Spoonful, as well as
band originals penned by McNamara and McEvoy, the main writers in the
group.
They paid for their own recordings at Eamonn Andrews Studios which were then
released by Pye, a common practice at the time. They recorded originals as
well as covers but management forced the release of the covers. In all
three singles were released on Pye during 1967-68 which are minor
collectors items these days.
The first couples two tracks from the Monkee's
"More of the Monkees" LP (1967), "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)" by
Neil Diamond and "Mary Mary" by Mike Nesmith. The second offers
a Lovin' Spoonful cover on the A-side ("You Didn't Have To Be So Nice") and
a band original on the B ("Daytime Turns To Night"). The third and final single
has a cover of The Kinks "I'm On An Island" which the band hated. It was recorded
in a rushed 2 hour session and it shows, it is poor. The B-side "Step Inside" is
much better and is highly rated by some collectors.
In 1967 they supported the Beach Boys at the Adelphi in Dublin (3 May). Also on
the bill were The Freshmen and The Vampires. In August they played at the first
flower power/hippie festival held in Courtown, Co.Wexford over the bank holiday
weekend where they went down a storm. But when they tried to include 'heavier'
fare in their live set, their fanbase resisted it, preferring the poppier side of
their material.
They also recorded an advertising jingle for a cola drink I've never heard of and
appeared in the advert
(if it's as delicious as Horslips advert for Mirinda, someone needs to upload it
to youtube now!).
The Strangers backed Arthur Murphy on his single "Shovellin' Clay" released
on Rex Records (R 11041) in 1968 or 1969. But they
are not responsible for the "Look Up And Around" / "Merry-Go-Round"
single released on Harvard (#003) in 1970.
Vic McNamara left in early 1968 for Derrick & The Sounds. Len Guest also left
in 1968. By the end of the decade they were flirting with an augmented lineup and the
showband scene. They split in the early 1970s.
Help!: We need your help to complete this entry. If you can tell us more about this band then please do! We welcome any corrections, missing details, connections to other bands, where are they now, etc. We also need photos, scans, copies of releases or live or demo recordings, and any other memorabilia gathering dust in the attic.