LIKES: ANYTHING THAT MAKES HIM DRUNK BUT DOESN'T GIVE HIM A HANGOVER
DOESN'T LIKE: HANGOVERS and SPROUTS (in either order)
FAVOURITE TREE: THE LARCH
AMBITIONS: NEVER TO MEET A BOXER FROM STRANRAER, AND TO FIND SOMETHING THAT MAKES ME DRUNK BUT DOESN'T GIVE ME A HANGOVER.
NAME: ALAN DOONICAN
HAIR: BY 'MAURICE'
FUNCTION: PIANO ACCORDION, KEYBOARDS & A BONA FIDE CERTIFIED KNOB-TWIDDLER
LIKES: U.F.O. SPOTTING, HEN RACING, TRAVELLING AROUND GREAT BRITAIN IN HIS LUXURY MOBILE LIBRARY / ROMAHOME
DOESN'T LIKE: MOBILE PHONES AND SMOKE MACHINES
FAVOURITE SWEET: SPANGLES
AMBITIONS: TO GROW THE WORLD'S BIGGEST MARROW, AND TO CLIMB BEN NEVIS IN ONLY A BOBBLE-HAT AND PLIMSOLLS.
STRANGE BUT TRUE: ALAN IS THE ONLY BAR-STEWARD SON TO HAVE BEEN A GENUINE BAR-STEWARD. HIS PUB, THE BARLEY MOW, WAS A 'PUB OF THE WEEK' IN SERIES TWO OF 'AL MURRAY'S HAPPY HOUR'... CHECK THE VIDEO CLIP!
Influences
WE HAVE A BIT OF A PENCHANT FOR DOING UNUSUAL COVER VERSIONS (it must run in the family or something!)
Amongst the many things that turn us on are:
The Lancashire Hotpots, Hayseed Dixie,
The Eagles, Sparks, Bon Jovi,
Judas Priest, Led Zepplin, AC/DC,
The Who, Squeeze, The Knack,
The Vapors, Elton John, Guns N Roses,
The Beautiful South, Bryan Adams,
Cliff Richard, The Beatles, The Stones,
Robert Palmer, McGuinness Flint, Queen,
Rory Gallagher, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, Thin Lizzy,
Alice Cooper, Vera Lynn, Buddy Holly,
Beyonce, Madness, Sam Cooke, The Bangles,
Rick Astley, Wings, Johnny Cash, Stephen Lynch,
Wings, Motorhead, Duran Duran, Elvis Presley, The Sweet, Val Doonican, Chuck Berry, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, The Wonderstuff, Blur, Kiss, The Human League, Wham!, Eddie Grant, The Flying Picketts, Blondie, A-Ha, Rick Astley, Tiffany, Black Box, Billy Ocean, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, The Flight Of The Conchords
and many more!
Sounds Like
Three men with fabulous hair and stylish dress-sense, playing awesome acoustic renditions of all your favourite classic rock 'n' pop on geetars, mandolin, ukulele, banjos, melodica, kazoo and accordion!
THE BAR-STEWARD SONS OF VAL DOONICAN formed in 2006, in the leafy suburbs of the ex-mining community of Barnsley. As the story goes, estranged brothers Scott and Danny Doonican, met by chance for the first time on-board a local mobile library, whilst both trying to research the origins of their family tree.
Little did they know at the time, that their efforts at genealogy would reveal to them a very well kept secret. This revelation led them along the righteous garden path towards making their mark on the world of music and (very) light entertainment.
In the same way in which they were driven together, they were both compelled to follow in the footsteps of a legendary TV musician and entertainer, very close to their hearts.
Determined to follow in these immortal footsteps, the ‘Bar-Steward Sons’, as they were soon to become, naturally began to perform other people’s songs in a style-of-their own. To complete their squeaky-clean image, they became instantly recognisable for their immaculate hair and their stylish dress-sense.
However, on that fateful day, on-board the mobile library, the duo was very soon to become a threesome (not in the biblical sense). The driver of the aforementioned book-bus, Alan Doonican, happened to share in their love for trendy knit-wear and great music. It was no coincidence that Alan became honorary, part-time accordion player in the band, and Scott and Danny went on to become honorary full-time members of the library.
The rest, as-we-say, is history!
'THE BAR STEWARD SONS OF VAL DOONICAN ROCK... BUT GENTLY' 2007
Live album recorded at The Barley Mow, Bonsall
'FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK' 2008
Our first 10-track studio album
'WITH THE DOONICANS' 2008
Live album recorded at The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield
'ROCK N ROLL CIRCUS' 2009
Live album recorded at the BS/VD Rock n Roll Circus
'BACK TO THE DAY JOB' 2009
Our second studio album featuring a Number 1 for every year of the 1980s
'LIVE AT HOLMFIRTH' 2009
The 'official bootleg' of our 2 hour set at the Holmfirth Folk Festival 2009
'AT HOME WITH THE DOONICANS' 2007
Our first Oscar-winning* feature-length DVD
* 2007 Best Film featuring tank-tops
'WORLD TOUR OF TARN - The Rockumentary' 2008
Our second feature-length DVD
Includes the music videos for 'Tarnlife' & 'Crazy In Love', live footage, interviews and even more Bar-Steward for your pound!
BACK TO THE EIGHTIES - Top Of The Pops Special 2009
Due for public consumption Dec 2009
TARNLIFE - BS/VD feat. Barnsley Mick
'THIS TOWN AIN'T BIG ENOUGH FOR THE BOTH OF US'
Our very own Spaghetti Western music video for this Sparks classic!
'CRAZY IN LOVE' - The Bar-Stewards get Beyonce-tastic in the ghetto!
'THE BALLAD OF THE BAR-STEWARD SONS'
A Bar-Stewards' original & our first ever music video!
Alan Doonican the Pub Landlord VS. Al Murray the Pub Landlord
Our favourite haunt, The Barley Mow, Bonsall, is Happy Hour's 'Pub Of The Week'
'TURNING JAPANESE' - Everybody get Kung-Fu Fighting!
'FLASH' performed live at The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield
'HE'S TURNED EMO' performed live at The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield
'NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP' performed live at The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield
'I FEAR IKEA' performed live at The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield
'I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW' performed live at The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield
'THIS TOWN AIN'T BIG ENOUGH FOR THE BOTH OF US' performed live at The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield
'MY SHARONA' performed live at The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield
'WALKING BY MYSELF'
BS/VD with RICHARD KITSON
Performed live at The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican's Acoustic Circus
19th April 2008
'ACE OF SPADES'
BS/VD with TREEBEARD
Performed live at The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican's Acoustic Circus
19th April 2008
'JACKIE WILSON SAID'
Performed live at The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican's Acoustic Circus
19th April 2008
'WE'LL MEET AGAIN'
Performed during the grand finale of The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican's Acoustic Circus.
Featuring BS/VD, Richard Kitson, Steph Shaw, Charles Hindmarsh, Jonathan Francis, Gary Wells, Chris and Paul McMahon from Treebeard, and Steve Haythorne
'ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK'
BS/VD vs. JOHNNY CRAVAT & THE PEDAL-PUSHERS
Performed at The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican's Rock 'n' Roll Circus
18th April 2009
'SUMMERTIME BLUES'
BS/VD vs. JOHNNY CRAVAT & THE PEDAL-PUSHERS
Performed at The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican's Rock 'n' Roll Circus
18th April 2009
SCOTT'S LEGENDARY FLYING V UKULELE THAT GOES UP TO 12!
Excerpt from our first DVD 'AT HOME WITH THE DOONICANS'...
WHAT THE STARS THINK OF THE BAR-STEWARD SONS
Excerpt from our first DVD 'AT HOME WITH THE DOONICANS'...
MEET ALAN DOONICAN - The vital third part of the duo
Excerpt from our first DVD 'AT HOME WITH THE DOONICANS'...
DOONICAN DISCS ADVERTS excerpt from 'WORLD TOUR OF TARN' the 2nd BS/VD DVD
BARNSLEY NEWS - excerpt from our 'WORLD TOUR OF TARN' DVD
USE YER LOAF - excerpt from our 'WORLD TOUR OF TARN' DVD
AVAILABLE FOR WEDDINGS, FUNERALS & CHILDRENS' PARTIES
The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican's Friend Space (Top 40)
The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican has 445 friends.
Thanks, if you get a chance please let us know what you think of our online jam 'concept' or if you would like to participate, it would be great to hear from you.
looking forward to the next time, great entertainment! It isn't too far away...but we did have a bit of a struggle finding the M1 to get home...i blame the sat nav!
A BIG THANK YOU FOR YESTERDAY AFTERNOON BOYS!! Brilliant stuff and enjoyed by all. Features in various places will be appearing soon so why numbers down your efforts will not be in vain. But thanks for bringing your music to Rawmarsh - we will never be the same.
HI, Nice to see you guys involved in the music buisness you have got a hard act to follow, val had a great career, ask him does he remember forty coats i wrote it back in the sixties and val recorded it, also is Kenny woodman still alive i would be grateful if you can let me know all the best gerry langley
dear gentlemen, thank you most charmingly :-) where Hayseed Dixie meets Val Doonican I am most surely at home and loving the ambience nice one chaps, dp
Goodest of good days, chaps, and thanks for seeking us out. It's always a pleasure to meet other veterans of the acoustic/anti-folk/quirky-freakshow circuit... Keep on pissing into the open grave of genre-defying mediocrity, won't you? And, of course, keep it gangsta. Yours half-Southernly (with all that that entails) CrackTown
Hi Guys! Thanks for adding me and having me as a friend. I am already one of your dad's! Love that guy! Oh, and his rocker! Good Luck for 2009! MySpace Comments
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