Gene Watson Irish Tour 2004
 Gene
Watson has been a consistent touring act within the world of country music since
the very early days of his career in the 1970s.
It is here that you will find information with regard to Gene Watson's tour of
Ireland, a tour that he undertook in May 2004. The tour included
performances on both sides of the Irish border.
I wish to extend a special 'thank you' to Bob Skelton in Co. Antrim,
Northern Ireland. Bob emailed me (Sean Brady) on
Thursday 8
January 2004, stating that he had heard a rumour that Gene Watson & his Farewell Party Band were
undertaking a tour of Ireland in May 2004.
Learn
More:Gene Watson & his acclaimed
Farewell Party Band undertook a tour of Ireland in 2004 (Saturday 1st May -
Sunday 9th May) & details of the tour can be found here.
 It
wasn't every day of the week that Gene Watson undertook a tour of Ireland, so
the most was made of a unique opportunity to witness a Texan country music
legend in performance.
Gene Watson's latest album at the time of his Irish tour in May 2004 was the
Intersound records release 'Gene Watson...Sings'.
Gene Watson's Farewell Party Band line-up at the time of their Irish tour of May
2004 included Jim Black (piano), Kenneth Dean 'Corky' Owens (steel guitar),
Darren Michael Turner (drums), Bryan 'Woody' Woodruff (guitar) & Staley Rogers
(bass guitar).
Jim Black also acted as Gene Watson's road manager.
 April
2004
Gene Watson & the Farewell Party Band flew into Shannon Airport, situated in
Ireland's mid-west & were in the country by Wednesday 28th April 2004.
Prior to the commencement of the tour, Gene was taken to Belfast, where he was
interviewed by
Ken Bruce
(pictured above right with Gene) on Downtown Radio. The
interview was broadcast 'live' between 8pm & 10pm on the evening of Thursday 29
April 2004.
The show was first class & Ken had obviously put a lot of work in behind the
scenes, as it was nicely put together. Gene was a most gracious
interviewee and came across as a very genuine & thoughtful person - I never
thought of him being anything less! My name was also mentioned during the
show & some of my submitted questions were also answered too!
Photo Source
Ken Bruce, Downtown Radio, Belfast, Northern Ireland
 Friday
30 April 2004
On the afternoon of
Friday 30 April 2004, Gene Watson took part in a special BBC Radio Ulster
outside broadcast, which took place in Omagh, Co. Tyrone.
Gene was a (very) special guest on the 'Country Afternoon' show, which was
hosted by Hugo Duncan (pictured above right) on BBC Radio Ulster.
The 'Country Afternoon' show was broadcast 'live' between 1.30pm & 3.00pm that
afternoon.
Photo Source
BBC Radio Ulster, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Friday 30 April 2004
Here are a selection of
photos taken during the afternoon of Friday 30 April 2004 at the BBC Radio
Ulster outside broadcast in Omagh, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland where Hugo
Duncan was hosting his 'Country Afternoon' show (1.30pm - 3.00pm).
Photo 1 | Photo 2 | Photo 3
| Photo 4
A number of photos of Gene Watson were
taken during the course of the afternoon of Friday 30 April 2004.
Photos Source
Maurice & Heather McCann, Portadown, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland
Gene Watson: On The Road
Irish Tour: May 2004
Saturday 1
May 2004
Oyster Manor Hotel, Clarinbridge, Co. Galway (Republic of Ireland)
Sunday
2 May 2004
Mount Errigal Hotel, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal (Republic of Ireland)
Billy Vance
attended the
Gene Watson show at The Mount Errigal Hotel, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal on Sunday
2 May 2004.
Photo Source
Billy Vance, Lifford, Co. Donegal, Republic of Ireland
Hadessah Whitmore attended the
Gene Watson show at The Mount Errigal Hotel, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal on Sunday
2 May 2004.
Photo Source
Billy Vance, Lifford, Co. Donegal, Republic of Ireland
Monday 3 May 2004
The Sligo Park Hotel, Sligo, Co. Sligo (Republic of Ireland)
Tuesday
4 May 2004
The Millbrook Lodge Hotel, Ballynahinch, Co. Down (Northern Ireland)
 Maurice & Heather McCann attended the Gene
Watson show in The Millbrook Lodge Hotel in
Ballynahinch, Co. Down on the evening of
Tuesday 4 May 2004 - here is a copy of one of their admission tickets.
Photo 1 | Photo 2
Photos Source
Maurice & Heather McCann, Portadown, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland
Wednesday 5 May 2004
Tullyglass House Hotel, Ballymena, Co. Antrim (Northern Ireland)
Thursday
6 May 2004
The Ashdown Park Hotel, Gorey, Co. Wexford (Republic of Ireland)
Margaret Durkin from Glasgow, Scotland attended the Gene
Watson show at The Ashdown Park Hotel, Gorey in Co. Wexford on the evening of
Thursday 6 May 2004.
Photo 1 | Photo 2
Photos Source
Margaret Durkin, Glasgow, Scotland
Friday
7 May 2004
Killarney Heights Hotel, Killarney, Co. Kerry (Republic of Ireland)
Saturday
8 May 2004
St Joseph's Hall, Omagh, Co. Tyrone (Northern Ireland)
Sunday
9 May 2004
The Park House Hotel, Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford (Republic of Ireland)
Sean & Lisa Brady attended the Gene Watson
show in The Park House Hotel in
Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford on the evening
of Sunday 9 May 2004.
Photo 1
| Photo 2
Photos Source
Lisa Brady, Oldcastle, Co. Meath, Republic of Ireland
Sean Brady
personally gave a letter to Gene Watson in the foyer
of The Park House Hotel, Edgeworthstown,
Co. Longford @ 6pm on the evening of Sunday
9th May 2004 (the final date of the Irish tour 2004) - here is a transcript of
that letter:
'Dear Gene
Firstly, we wish to say 'thanks' to you for
undertaking this short concert tour of
Ireland, affording us the unique opportunity
of seeing you ‘live’ in performance for the
first time. We both hope that you enjoyed
travelling around our country & that it
won’t be long before you return to our
shores.
Secondly, we wish to acknowledge that we
have been fans of your pure, honest,
heartfelt country music since 1992,
admittedly not a very long time when
compared to other fans, but long enough to
have developed a deep respect for someone
who is a standard bearer for honest to
goodness traditional country music. You
have introduced some classic recordings to
the world of country music, songs that would
sound routine & ordinary in anyone else’s
hands, and have performed these classic
songs with impeccable style & emotion.
Your contribution to country music over the
last thirty years should never be
underestimated or underappreciated. You
have added grace & individuality to the
country music genre & have been a consistent
provider of hit songs. Your voice is
uniquely yours & you have been a shining
example of all that’s great about
traditional country music.
Sean has a personal website (brady558),
which includes information about some of his
interests, which include radio, country
music & multiple sclerosis (he was diagnosed
with MS in November 1996 & is currently in
remission). Sean’s interest in radio stems
from having been a presenter for a number of
years in the 1980s & 1990s.
Through the kind efforts of Ray Pennington
at the now defunct Step One Records, we
managed to obtain a signed photo of your
good self in April 1994. This photo has
since been framed and takes pride of place
in our home, hence the salute to you within
brady558. Sean hopes that this salute to a 'Lone Star Hero' does you justice & wishes to state
that it is simply a way of honouring you –
no profit is gained from the site, which is
run only as a hobby/pastime.
This salute within brady558 has become very
popular recently - enquiries with regard to
your tour dates (particularly the Irish
touring schedule), album releases & song
lyrics are received & dealt with on a
regular basis. Sean is toying with the idea
of dedicating a separate domain name to you,
your music & your career & may undertake
this project at a later stage.
Thank you, Gene, for taking the time &
effort to tour Ireland - we very much
appreciate it.
In closing, may we also say 'thank you' for
your tremendous talent & for the immense
contribution that you have made to genuine
country music.
Regards,
Sean & Lisa Brady,
Oldcastle,
Co. Meath,
Ireland'
May 2004
Sean Brady also
submitted a letter to the
United Kingdom monthly publication
Country Music People. The letter was not published in the magazine,
but it does act as a report on the final date of Gene Watson's Irish tour 2004
(Sunday 9th May 2004) - here is a transcript of that letter:
'My wife Lisa & I went to see Gene at the
Park House Hotel in Edgeworthstown, Co.
Longford (the last date of his Irish
tour) & he was awesome! No word of a
lie!
We arrived around 5.45pm & shortly after
6.00pm, Gene strolled into the hotel
through the front entrance & walked
right past us into the area where he
would later be performing in. We
couldn't believe our eyes! A few
minutes later, Gene returned to the
lobby of the hotel, where I approached
him. He was very friendly & he shook my
hand. I introduced myself, explained
about my website & the salute to him
within it & asked about signing some
albums. Gene stated that he would be
delighted to sign anything I had after
the show was finished.
Gene took to the stage around 9.50pm &
remained there until 11.19pm, after
which time he came back on stage & did
an encore ('Raisin' cane in Texas').
Gene was magnificent & every word/lyric
could be heard clearly & the Farewell
Party Band were outstanding musicians.
The play-list included 'You're out
doing what I'm here doin' without',
'Love in the hot afternoon',
'Dreams of a dreamer', 'Where
love begins',
'Paper Rosie', 'Farewell party', 'Got no reason now
for goin' home', 'Pick the
wildwood flower', 'Nothing sure looked good on you', 'No
trash in my trailer', 'What a difference
a day makes', 'Hold me',
'Cowboys don't get lucky all the time', 'One & one & one', 'Old porch swing',
'Fourteen carat mind', 'Memories to
burn' & Merle Haggard's 'Today I started
loving you again'.
The tracks are not in the exact order
that Gene performed them (I wish they
were!), but we were mesmerised after the
first few songs! After the show, we
queued up in an orderly fashion &
eventually, we got to meet Gene. We
shook his hand, I had my photo taken
with him & we got Gene's first album
('Gene Watson') signed by Gene &
piano player Jim Black. We also got
Gene's album release at the time of the
tour ('Gene
Watson...Sings') signed as
well.
We got talking to Jim Black, who
informed us that he had indeed played
piano on Gene's first album ('Gene
Watson') & he said
that the album had been recorded &
released in 1969 & that the Stoneway
version had been released by Ray Stone
in 1973. Jim also stated that the Wide
World Records release is the most
collectable of the two & that it is
worth $1000! So he said! I also had a
photo taken with Jim as well.
Gene was very surprised to see that we
had a copy of 'Gene
Watson' on Wide World &
proceeded to say that it had been the
second copy of it that he had seen while
on tour here in Ireland.
After I had my
photo taken with Gene, he shook my hand,
thanked me for our letter (I was very
impressed that he had remembered) & said
that he very much appreciated our
support.
A great man & a great night without a
doubt!
Regards,
Sean (Brady)'
Gene Watson: Irish Tour 2004
Saturday 1 May 2004 - Sunday 9 May 2004
Tickets were priced @ €25.00 (Republic of Ireland)
£15.00 (Northern Ireland)
Please Note...Details
of Gene Watson's Irish tour schedule in May 2004 are reproduced
within this site for educational purposes only &
infringement of any copyright is not intended.
Please Note
If you would like to share your memories of the Gene Watson & the
Farewell Party Band Irish tour of May 2004, or share any photos, or any Gene
Watson-related photos, you are more than welcome to get in touch.
Learn
More:
(June/July 1979)
Irish
Tour (May 2004)
Irish
Tour (August 2006)
Irish
Tour (October 2007)
|
