Gina, Dale Haze & The Champions

• Gina aka Mary Hurley - vocals
• Dale Haze aka Jerdi Mackey - vocals
• Pat Walsh - lead guitar
• Mossie Walsh - keyboards
• Eddie Fitzgerald - bass
• Tony Hornibrook - drums

Bio:

Long running pop showband from Cork who were very successful over most of their career, spanning 1973-1992 approx. Pat and Mossie Walsh are brothers. Pat Walsh married Gina AKA Mary Hurley.

The Champions began in 1973 with the less than inspiring name Gina & The Herdsmen. They played small venues with some degree of success which led to their first record, the Paper Mansions EP in 1973. While it didn't cause much of a stir, it was plain to some that they had real potential, and they signed a management deal with Tony Byrne of Tommy Hayden Enterprises (THE). The first order of business was undoubtedly the selection of a new name.

After various ideas were tried and rejected, the band finally settled on The Champions, following Cork's victory in the All-Ireland GAA football final in September '73. They became Gina & The Champions and the new name stuck. Their next record, a cover of Vicki Leandros' hit, Dreams Are Good Friends, met with moderate success, entering the Irish charts. Backing singer Dale Haze, still known as Jerdi Mackey, took the lead vocal on the B-side of their next release Single Girl (not sure if Dreams Are Good Friends or Single Girl was released first - can anyone confirm?). By 1975 he'd become Dale Haze and joined Gina in the spotlight as co lead vocalist. From here on they were (mostly) billed as Gina, Dale Haze & The Champions.

The band built up a large following on the ballroom scene and had a powerful sound to match.

Like a lot of home-based acts of the era, when it came to recording, they were primarily a singles band. While their earlier recordings were made in Dublin, much of their latterday material was recorded in various London studios, notably Red Bus. These singles received a lot of airplay on RTE, Ireland's only radio station outside Dublin at the time. While they were well-produced, these singles were almost exclusively covers. The band's management kept their eye on european charts throughout the 70s and early 80s, looking for hits to cover from Holland and elsewhere. There are few originals in the Champions songbook.

Their first album, aptly titled From the Beginning, was issued by Release Records in late 1977. This was a 16-track compilation of eight A-sides, five B's and (unless someone can inform us otherwise) three tracks exclusive to the album. This pattern of albums consisting of mostly singles plus a few previously unreleased tracks continued on subsequent albums released on Spider Records, WEA (Ireland) and CBS Records.

Dale Haze released a solo album in 1981. Gina launched a solo career circa 1985, releasing a number of singles. We're not sure if her backing band was in fact The Champions, but it seems likely. The band seemed to disappear in the early 90s.

The Champions reformed in 2009 for a nationwide tour. A 19-track Best of CD was released at the same time (see discography below for details). The reunion tour was a great success and led to a sustained a revival over subsequent years. They still gig occasionally and have released more CDs. Remastered versions of their recordings are reputedly in the pipeline.

Thanks to John Lynch for providing most of the above details

side one:
Minnie Minnie
Dreams Are Good Friends
Natalie
Freedom
One More Time
True Love Forgives
Sing Me An Old Fashioned Song
Do You Wanna Do It

side two:
Oh My My!
I've Been Waiting For You
Robert
Darling Honey
Making Memories
What's Wrong With My Loving You
Paper Mansions
Goodbye Goodbye

Notes: Produced by Liam Hurley except A2/A4/A5 and B3/B5/B7 produced by Dermot O'Brien. Recorded at Lombard Sound, Dublin Sound and EA Studios. All tracks are covers/standards apart from last track, co-written by Liam Hurley.

Notes: The A-side medley contains two Sam Cooke songs, "Twisting The Night Away" and "Another Saturday Night And I Ain't Got Nobody". B-side by Peter Yarrow. Both sides arranged and produced by Liam Hurley.

side one:
Who Do You Wanna Be (Jansen/Jansen)
Mary Lou (Faas/Verboven/Van Wijk/Van Loon/Roubos)
Don't Play Me A Symphony (Sofa/Dostal)
Someone I Know (Clifford T.Ward)
Plantation Boy (T.King/F.Jay)
My Love (Holten/Manenkei/Holten)

side two:
You're The Greatest Lover (Jansen/Jansen)
Why Did You Wait To Tell Me (Yarrow)
Gypsy Girl (Faas/Verboven/Van Wijk/Van Loon/Roubos)
I've Never Been To Me (Clifford T.Ward)
And The Lord Said (Kissoon/Kissoon)
Saturday Night Disco (Cooke)

Notes: Contains 4 new tracks plus 8 recordings previously released as the A and B sides of 4 singles: Releaase RL 935, Releaase RL 950, Spider WEB09 and Spider WEB015.

 

 

side one:
It's a Real Good Feeling
Saturday Night
Let Me Know
Give Me Back My Love
All Day Love
Nobody Does It Like You
Mama Mama

side two:
Drunken Sailor
Sweet Sweet Love
Let There Be Love
Surprise Surprise
Mother, How Are You Today
If You Want My Love
Mellow Loving

Notes: A1, A3-A4, N1, B4-B5 produced by Liam Hurley.
A2, A6, B6-B7 produced by Tony Hiller.
A5, A7, B2-B3 produced by Irving Martin.
Design: Bob Hobby.

side one:
Saturday Night Disco
Sweet Sweet Love
And The Lord Said (with Gina)
Surprise Surprise
Marylou
Let Me Know
Wonderful Night With Marie

side two:
No One Can Love
Someone I Know
It's A Real Good Feeling
Gypsy Girl
All Day Love
Best Seller
Midnight Lady

Notes: A1,A3-A6, B2-4 produced by Liam Hurley.
A7, B1, B5, B7 produced by Mossy Walsh.
A2, B6 produced by Irving Martin.
Compilation and design: Brian Wynne.

side one:
Don't Talk (CBS 6632 A side)
Maybe Tomorrow (GINA 3 A side)
Are You Magic (later released as RGS 4 B side)
I'm So Sorry (CBS A7006 B side)
More To You Than Meets The Eye (GINA 1 A side)

side two:
Playing With Fire (CBS 6422 A side)
Till Morning Has Come (CBS 6632 B side)
I Wanna Live (CBS A7006 A side)
Bottom Line (GINA 3 B side)
I.O.U. (previously unreleased?)

tracks:
Breakaway
Heartbreaker
Run Like The Wind
There's A Kind Of Hush

tracks:
Give Me back My Love
No One Can Love
And The Lord Said
Drunken Sailor

tracks:
You're the Greatest Lover
It's A Real Good Feeling
Breakaway
Minnie Minnie
A Woman In Love
Mary Lou
Can't Live On Memories
Freedom
I'm Blue
Love Me Tender
Lonely Nights
There's A Kind of Hush
My Love
Give Me Back My Love
I.O.U.
Do You Wanna Do It
Nobody Does It Like You
Someone I Know
Drunken Sailor

Saturday Night Disco - filmed in The Savoy, Cork
Boomerang - filmed in Dublin
I Found My Freedom - filmed in Killaloe, Co.Clare
Gypsy Girl - filmed in Co.Wicklow
Who Do Ya Wanna Be -filmed in Dublin
Give Me Back My Love - filmed in Cork
No One Can Love - filmed in Dublin
Drunken Sailor - filmed in Ballycotton, Co. Cork

tracklisting:
Baby I Love You
Cause Of It All
Arms Of An Angel
Desert Moon
Lonely Street
Best Seller
When Only A Fool
Dragonflies
I Will Return
Heartbreak
All Day Love
I'm On Fire
Disant Arms
Red Red Rose
Let Me Know
Boomerang

We need your help to correct and/or complete this entry. If you can provide more information about this band, have scans, photos or any other memorabilia we can use, or spare copies of any releases, then please get in touch.