Male Caucasians

• Pat Cunningham - guitar
• Davy Watson - bass
• Eamonn Vernon - drums
• a.o.

Bio:

Reputedly an excellent live band from Belfast who many thought would make it but bad luck and bad management put paid to that.

Eamonn Vernon played drums in a band called Wheels circa 1976 whose lineup also included guitarist Eamonn Keyes. Both were next in Freeway, a covers band doing harmony vocal soft rock stuff like The Eagles. Keyes quit in mid-1977. Pat Cunningham also played guitar in Freeway.



Vernon, Cunningham and Keyes next played together in Emerald, a Thin Lizzy covers band with twin lead guitars formed in 1977. They were of course named after the Thin Lizzy song. They also covered Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. The fourth member was Gregg Coyle on bass and lead vocals. Coyle taught roadie Joby Fox to play bass. Joby was later in Bankrobbers and the Energy Orchard.

Emerald had a good live reputation but there was too much of the wrong kind of tension in the rhythm section between Coyle and Vernon. Keyes left in 1978 after about 9 months and joined Saigon. He was replaced by Stevie Murtagh. Coyle was replaced by Davy Watson (later in Sweet Savage) and a keyboards player was added (Colin ?). This is the lineup that became the Male Caucasians in 1979.

The Male Caucasians were active for about two years, during which time they released a single on Scoff Records followed by a split single with Stepaside. They also recorded a track called "Blackout", possibly for a radio session. If anyone has any more details of the band's recording history, please get in touch. They played the Dandelion Market in Dublin on at least one occasion, on Saturday 22 December 1979, and with the Boomtown Rats at Leixlip in 1980. Despite good press and positive reviews, the Caucasians never made the breakthrough and they split up.

Pat Cunningham joined the post-Kevin Rowland Dexys band The Bureau towards the end of 1981 (i.e. after their LP and 2 singleas were recorded and shortly before their demise). Bassist David Watson later played with the Bogey Boys and in March 1986 joined ex Sweet Savage guitarist Vivian Campbell's post-Dio band Trinity with drummer Pat Waller. The trio folded when Campbell joined Whitesnake in 1987.

Drummer Eamonn Vernon later founded a successful computer business.

track: All Out

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.