HomeTown (band)
| Company type | Boy band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Louis Walsh |
| Headquarters | Ireland |
Key people | Louis Walsh (manager) |
| Products | Music albums, singles |
| Parent | RCA Records (Sony Music Entertainment UK) |
HomeTown was an Irish boy band composed of six members, created and managed by Louis Walsh, and signed under RCA Records, part of Sony Music Entertainment UK. The ensemble included Cian Morrin, Dayl Cronin, Dean Gibbons, Josh Gray, Ryan McLoughlin, and Brendan Murray—each an Irish vocalist handpicked by Walsh from a pool exceeding one thousand auditionees.
During 2015 and 2016, the group served as opening acts for artists such as Olly Murs, McBusted, and The Vamps on tours across the UK and Ireland.
Formation
Originally formed as a quintet with Gareth Borrow (Derry), Ryan McLoughlin (Newbridge), Brendan Murray (Galway), Cian Morrin (Castlebar), and Dayl Cronin (Clonmel), the lineup later evolved when Borrow was replaced by Josh Gray (Blessington) and Dean Gibbons (Tallaght), increasing HomeTown’s membership to six.
2014–16: Debut album
Their first single, "Where I Belong," penned by Kodaline, entered the Irish charts at number one, becoming the fastest-selling debut single by an Irish artist in 2014. The subsequent release, "Cry for Help," also secured the top position on the Irish Singles Chart. After launching "Where I Belong" in the UK in July 2015, HomeTown followed with their third single, "The Night We Met," co-written by Liam Payne and Jamie Scott, in October 2015.
The group’s self-titled debut album was issued in November 2015 and debuted at number four on the Irish Albums Chart. In August 2016, they released "Roses" as the fourth single from the album. That October marked their first European performance at Madrid’s sold-out Barclaycard Center during the Coca-Cola Music Experience festival, sharing the stage with artists including Meghan Trainor.
In December 2016, HomeTown announced an indefinite break to allow members to focus on personal endeavors. Subsequently, Brendan Murray represented Ireland at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, while Dayl Cronin took part in Ireland's Dancing With the Stars in 2017.
Members
- Brendan Murray (born 16 November 1996) represented Ireland at Eurovision 2017 in Kyiv but did not advance to the final. He also competed on the fifteenth series of The X Factor UK, reaching the semifinals before elimination.
- Dayl Cronin (born 8 December 1993) established a dance academy based in Cork.
- Dean Gibbons (born 17 February 1994)
- Josh Gray (born 28 March 1997) released his single We Should Run in May 2018.
- Ryan McLoughlin (born 27 January 1994) debuted his single Nobody Like You on 25 August 2017.
- Cian Morrin (born 2 October 1994)
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| IRE | ||
| HomeTown |
|
4 |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IRL | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Where I Belong | 2014 | 1 | HomeTown | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cry for Help | 2015 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| The Night We Met | 59 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Roses | 2016 | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| "—" indicates singles that failed to chart or were not officially released. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Headlining
- Sense Club, Cookstown – 29 May 2015
- Open Air Theatre, Scarborough – 20 June 2015
- Bents Park, South Shields – 12 July 2015 (2pm)
- Westonbirt Arboretum, Tetbury – 12 July 2015 (8pm)
- Delapre Park, London – 17 July 2015
- Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh – 18 July 2015
- Feile Party in the Park, Belfast – 2 August 2015 (matinee)
- Greencastle Community Centre, Donegal – 2 August 2015 (evening)
- Culloville Community Centre, Newry – 7 August 2015
- Lytham Green, Lytham – 8 August 2015
- Vicar Street, Dublin – 21 August and 4 December 2015
- Opera House, Cork – 12 September 2015
- UCH, Limerick – 13 September 2015
- Seapoint, Galway – 26 September 2015
- Great Northern, Bundoran – 23 October 2015
- Clanard Court, Kildare – 25 October and 1 January 2016
- Headfort Arms, Kells – 26 October 2015
- Tullamore Court, Offaly – 27 October 2015
- TLT Theatre, Louth – 28 October 2015
- Minella, Clonmel – 31 October 2015
- O'Connell Street, Dublin –29 November 2015
- Mount Errigal, Letterkenny –27 December 2015
- Claremorris Town Hall –28 December 2015
- Breffni Arms, Arvagh –29 December 2015
- Radisson Athlone –2 January 2016
- INEC, Kerry –3 January 2016
- McGettigan's Abu Dhabi & Dubai –17 March 2016
- Jersey Opera House –21 May 2016
- Jacksons Hotel, Donegal –30 December 2016 (cancelled)
Supporting
- Olly Murs – Never Been Better Tour (2015)
- The Vamps – UK Summer Tour (2015)
- McBusted – Most Excellent Adventure Tour (2015)
- The Vamps – Wake Up UK Arena Tour (2016)
Other gigs
- Childline (2014)
- Coca-Cola Music Experience (2016)
- Beaulieu Convent School, Jersey Channel Islands (2016)