Irish showband Gina, Dale Haze and the Champions take a trip down memory lane when they play The Royal Theatre Castlebar on Saturday, October 23 with doors at 7pm and show at 8pm. Take to The Floor at the Royal Theatre is the new after show dancing experience and takes place in the main hall and is included in the ticket price on selected show nights.
The group, originally from Cork, consisted of a four-piece backing band and two lead singers (Gina and Dale Haze ). Female lead Gina (real name Mary Hurley ) took the vocal duties on most of the singles, while male lead Dale Haze (real name Gerdie MacKey ) continued a parallel solo career. Members of the backing group were Pat Walshe, Mossey Walshe, Eddie Fitzgerald, and Tony Hornibrooke.
They featured regularly in the Irish charts - their biggest hits including ‘Minnie Minnie’, ‘Do You Wanna Do It’, ‘You're the Greatest Lover’, ‘Who Do You Wanna Be’, ‘Give Me Back My Love’, and ‘Playing with Fire’.
The group remained popular on the cabaret circuit and continued to play with the same line-up. In 1992 the group split but in October 2009 the original line-up reunited for an Irish tour, performing many of their hits. A night at the Cork Opera House was sold out three months in advance. Tickets are on sale now from €28 on www.ticketmaster.ie as well as from The Royal Box Office on 0818 300 000.
