The Dooleys
| Company type | Musical group |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Headquarters | Ilford , England, United Kingdom |
| Products | Pop music recordings |
| Website | myspace |
The Dooleys were a British mixed-gender pop ensemble, reaching a maximum lineup of eight members, six of whom were family members bearing the Dooley name. They secured multiple UK chart placements between 1977 and 1981, including top-ten hits such as "Wanted," "Love of My Life," and "The Chosen Few."
Origins
Originally formed in the late 1960s under the name "The Dooley Family," the band consisted of brothers Jim (vocals), John (guitar and vocals), Frank (guitar and vocals), alongside sisters Marie, Anne, and Kathy (vocals). Hailing from Ilford, Essex, England, their initial engagements were confined to theatres and hotels, partly because the youngest siblings were still attending school. They performed on variety bills with artists like Bob Monkhouse and Anne Shelton.
In 1972, bassist Bob Walsh, a friend of the group, joined their ranks. His brother Vince Miller, who worked as a club compere and booking agent, advised them to relocate northward to broaden their audience base. Consequently, in 1973 they moved to Worsley, Lancashire, though Marie did not make the move due to pregnancy preventing her full participation.
Jim and Bob took responsibility for most bookings, targeting working men's clubs despite initial industry doubts about family bands. Under the management of Ken Wild, who brought in drummer Alan Bogan, they began to expand professionally.
Their first recording deal was secured in 1974 with John Schroeder's Alaska Records, resulting in two singles. Their debut release was "Hands Across the Sea," although its launch was postponed because the song was entered into the Song for Europe contest performed by Olivia Newton-John.
Initial achievements
In 1975, the group toured parts of Eastern Europe and recorded a live album at Moscow's Rossia Hall titled The Dooley Family in Moscow, Live Concert at Rossia Hall, 29 October 1975, which sold two million copies. This success came years before their initial UK chart breakthrough and preceded Elton John's concerts in Russia.
Upon returning to Britain, they recorded the theme tune for the BBC's adult education series On the Move in 1975. The following year, they earned "Best Group" at the National Club Charities' National Club Acts Awards, leading to an appearance on The Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club. Noticing Ben Findon's work with Billy Ocean, they reached out to him; he soon offered them a recording contract with GTO Records.
Commercial breakthrough
After nearly ten years performing together, the Dooleys scored their first chart entry in summer 1977 with "Think I'm Gonna Fall in Love With You." In early 1979, Helen—the youngest member—joined on keyboards, making them the largest family act featured on a UK hit single.
They toured extensively across Europe and Asia throughout this period. Their highest chart achievements occurred in 1979 with "Wanted" reaching number three and "The Chosen Few" climbing to number seven on UK charts. "Wanted" dominated Japanese charts for ten consecutive weeks, which led to their participation in the 1980 Tokyo Music Festival. There they received the Gold Award for "Body Language," which also topped Japanese charts.
Although their UK chart presence diminished afterward, they sustained a strong club following, earning "Best Group" at the 1981 Club Mirror Club Acts Award and performing at prominent venues such as Birmingham's The Night Out Theatre Restaurant and Manchester's Golden Garter. Subsequently, Anne, Bob, and Helen departed to focus on family life and relocated to South Africa. Anne was succeeded by former Miss Ireland Universe Vicki Roe (Valerie Roe), Gaz Morgan replaced Bob on bass guitar, and keyboard duties passed from Helen to John "Dixie" Taggart.
Later years
By the mid-1980s, the lineup shifted as siblings John and Frank, along with drummer Alan Bogan, exited the ensemble. They were succeeded by new members including drummer Paul Dean, bassist Phil Brown, and keyboardist David John Hinson. Meanwhile, Jim and Kathy remained active within the group. Approximately one year later, John, Frank, and Alan established a new formation called "The New Dooleys," but both this group and the original band had ceased activities by 1992. In early 2007, the Dooley brothers—Jim, John, Joe, and Frank—recorded fresh material that was subsequently released.
On 6 January 2006, the band briefly reunited for a special performance at Helderberg Nature Reserve near Cape Town, South Africa. Later in 2012, Helen, Anne, and Bob (who resides near Cape Town in Somerset West) performed under the name Shiraz.
Albums
| Year | Album | UK |
Certifications | Record label | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1978 | Dooleys | — | GTO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979 | The Best of The Dooleys | 6 |
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| The Chosen Few | 56 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980 | Full House | 54 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981 | Secrets | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983 | In Car Stereo | — | R'n'R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Singles
| Year | Title | UK |
IRE |
Certifications | Album | Record label | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1974 | "Hands Across the Sea" | — | — | Non-album singles | Alaska | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Sha La La Lullaby" | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1975 | "On the Move" | — | — | Beeb | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977 | "Think I'm Gonna Fall in Love with You" | 13 | — | The Dooleys | GTO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Love of My Life" | 9 | 14 |
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| 1978 | "Don't Take It Lyin' Down" | 60 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "A Rose Has to Die" | 11 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979 | "Honey I'm Lost" | 24 | 23 | The Best of The Dooleys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Wanted" | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "The Chosen Few" | 7 | 4 | The Chosen Few | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980 | "Love Patrol" | 29 | — | Full House | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Body Language" | 46 | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "In a Riddle" | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981 | "Taken at the Flood" | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "And I Wish" | 52 | — | Secrets | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "The Dancer" | — | — | Epic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982 | "Will You or Won't You" | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983 | "Flavour of the Month" | — | — | In Car Stereo | R'n'R | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985 | "New Beginning" (as Force 8) | — | — | Non-album single | New Merseybeat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In October 2005, a compilation CD containing fourteen tracks was issued, featuring their ten UK charting singles alongside four additional songs under the title The Best of the Dooleys. Early in 2007 saw the release of The Dooley Brothers Band Return, which included sixteen new recordings performed solely by the three brothers. The albums Dooleys and The Chosen Few were made available on CD for the first time in 2009 with added bonus tracks; this was followed by CD releases of Full House and Secrets in May 2013. A comprehensive triple CD collection named Gold was issued in 2021.