Christy Maye"s Disco days

Disco fans looking to relive the glory days of early Disco are in for a treat as Christy Maye and Tom Duffy have organised a night to remember in the Greville Arms on March 27.Not only has Christy promised a night of fun and nostalgia, revellers can also take some pleasure in the fact that all proceeds are going to two very worthy causes, the Westmeath Hospice and Fr. Liam Hayes" Argentinian Orphanage.Although it has been over two decades since Christy has played a record in public, the lure of the old disco days coupled with the thoughts of assisting two worthy causes convinced him to return to his turntables.Taking it back to the original disco days event goers can expect, slow sets, fast sets, projector lights, fashion bulbs, ladies choice, a best dressed 60"s/70"s competition and an auction and raffle.The night will feature DJ"s form 60"s, 70"s and 80"s playing music from these years. The star attraction on the night is Christy Maye Disc a Go Go.Christy set up the first ever discotheque in Ireland. 'It all started in 1963 in Mullingar Parochial Hall. Showbands were the rage at the time and my idea initially was to hold Disc A Go Go during the interval. We [referring to himself] had no amplifier and no speaker to hold the necessary volume, so we built our own cabinet of speakers. We first called it "Discotheque", a French name which means a library of records, but then we changed the name to Disc A Go Go when we went public,' explained Christy.Before Christy Maye launched his Disc A Go Go - which gave rise to "disco" music and disc jockeys all over the country within a few years - putting together equipment capable of producing the right sounds and creating the atmosphere he wanted, was Christy"s biggest problem. They were the first in Ireland or Britain with the idea of disco roadshow and had no guidelines to follow.Among those involved in the early days were his brother Johnny (as road Manager), Vincent Gaffney, Dick O"Brien (Manager), Joe Bardon, Paddy Rhattigan , Brendan Walsh, Matty Mulligan (Audio Engineer) and the late Paddy Fagan, to name but a few.There were records hops in those days, but you could only use two small speakers, and there was no atmosphere. At that time, you just could not get the type of sound equipment developed; Christy Maye had to completely build a sound system and lighting display.'I had to find a way to cushioning the turntables, and used a spring from a car seat, and foam, and other padding, so that we could get the sound and volume. We separated the bass sounds and got the hi-fi effect, and we improvised in various ways to get the lighting effects,' recalled Christy.He used projectors to create the special effects in the dancing venues, and admits that it was a case of experimenting with odds and ends to get the "starry sky" and other "psychedelic" effects.'Would you believe that we used oil and marking ink between two pieces of glass, and the heat from the projector to create a fabulous effect,' he said, adding 'at the end of the evening we"d be all oil and ink.'By modern standards the twin turntables, and all the equipment Christy used was primitive, but all the time it was something completely new, creating a fabulous atmosphere for dancing - and the crowds loved it.He admits that the type of rock "n" roll music and disco sounds which had become available at the time had a great part to play in his success story.A tremendous atmosphere was created and the reaction from dancers was great. With the music of groups such as the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, The Who you just could not go wrong.These were the very humble beginnings of Ireland"s first disco which not only banished the Ballroom of Romance era, but also revolutionised the Irish love for dancing.Christy recalled the old-style dances, when two hundred women would line on one side of the hall and two hundred men on the other, one would be waiting for the other to move and when one fellow got the courage to go across the floor, there would be a mad rush. If you missed your break, you were on your own, Christy reminisced.After a short time, the proprietor of the Lake County in Mullingar, Paddy Fagan asked Christy to hold Disc a Go Go in his hotel. Christy recalled, 'on the first night, seventy or eighty people were there, after that the crowds just got bigger and bigger.He built a bigger ballroom and after a while built an even bigger one.'Born into a family of eight in Ballymahon, Co Longford, Christy was a farmer"s son.Before he became a disc jockey, he worked as a nurse in St Loman"s Hospital, Mullingar. 'I loved working as a nurse, but I soon realised that I could make six times more money working as a disc jockey for one night', Christy commented.As a young fellow, he never had a record player of his own before he started Disc a Go Go. But he looks back on it as an obvious invention. He said, 'The invention was obvious, but nobody else thought of it. So many inventions we see now are very obvious, they are common sense but it just happens that not everyone thinks of them'.Christy Maye"s Disc a Go Go went from strength to strength, spreading throughout the Midlands at a very fast rate, gathering hundreds, even thousands to the local parish halls.It was something new and the crowds loved it.Christy disagrees that discos affected the popularity of showbands at the time. 'There were some great showbands in the sixties and they were still doing very well,' he said.So what does Christy think of today"s discos? 'When I was a DJ, I enjoyed the business. We created an atmosphere for the people who went to Disc a Go Go. A DJ uses a lot of techniques to build up that atmosphere. Today, some disc jockeys are unable to co-ordinate music to get the crowd going.The quality of records has vastly improved. For example, laser CD which has improved quality of sound. New lighting effects are also very sophisticated today.'Today, Christy lives in Mullingar with his wife Ellen and three children. He is the proprietor of Greville Arms Hotel, Mullingar and recently sold The Bridge House Hotel Tullamore. 'A lot of success at Disc a Go Go at Greville Arms Hotel Mullingar and Bridge House Tullamore has been due to loyal and supportive people and staff who have contributed a great deal to our success. We try to offer as much variety as possible and I am always looking at new ideas and thinking of new approaches'.Whether it"s Disc A Go Go or whatever, you are always likely to find Christy Maye out there in the vanguard.Christy"s Disc a Go Go night will take place in The Greville Arms on Friday, March 27 and will benefit Westmeath Hospice and the Father Liam Hayes Argentinean Orphanage Charity Night.