The Red Admirals were from Ballymena in the North. They were quite good and played every weekend mostly in the Cushendall - Ballymena envelope. They were a semi-pro band doing pop, motown and some of the standards at that time including 'If You're Going to San Francisco'.  I remember that one clearly because it was one of the hardest for me to learn when I joined the band. I loved it when we played "Big Time Operator" with the brass section. Speaking of which, I was 17 when I  joined. I was young, willing to learn and I was a Catholic which meant playing Sunday nights wasn't a problem.

The other guys in the band were older so they looked after me and taught me the ropes. It was a lot of fun especially when I would see some of my teachers at a dance on Sunday night knowing that I would see them at school on Monday morning! It was the first time I ever bought a suit, no jeans in those days. 

Alas a year later there was a change happening in the show band scene. There was an appetite for country music that needed to be satisfied. The band decided to pack it in and start a country band. Being 18 and a fan of the music we were doing I wasn't happy with the prospects but I needed income to satisfy my love of music, guitars and amplifiers so I too joined the country band. We were The Countrymen and were far more popular and successful than I could ever have imagined.