The Dallas Boys

The Dallas Boys were a five-piece vocal group from Leicester, England who were regular performers on British television in the 1950s and 1960s. They have been described as "Britain's first boy band".

The Dallas Boys
OriginLeicester, England
GenresPop
Years active1950s–early 1970s, reunited 1988
Past membersJoe Smith
Stan Jones
Bob Wragg
Leon Fisk
Nicky Clarke
Tony Day

History

The group formed in Leicester and comprised four former pupils of Moat Boys School (Joe Smith, Stan Jones, Bob Wragg, and Leon Fisk) and London-born Nicky Clarke.[1] After winning a Butlins talent content, they became a fixture on the TV show Six-Five Special, becoming household names.[2] They went on to be regular performers on Oh Boy! in the late 1950s.[2][3][4] They continued to perform through the 1960s, and appeared on other British TV shows such as Val Parnell's Startime, Thank Your Lucky Stars, All That Jazz, Sunday Night at the London Palladium, Comedy Bandbox, Frost on Sunday, and Sez Les, and on US television on Showtime.[5][6] They split up in the early 1970s, but reunited in 1988 to perform at fellow Oh Boy! star Cliff Richard's concert celebrating thirty years in the entertainment business in 1989, and continued to perform around the UK.[2]

The group have been described as "Britain's first boy band".[1][7]

Joe Smith died in 2012, aged 78.[1]

Discography

Albums
  • Five Alive-O (1974)
  • The Dallas Boys Doing Their Own Thing! (A Souvenir Album) (1980)
  • Love Is a Many Splendoured Thing (1983)

Singles
  • "He Won't Love You (Like I Do)" (1967)
  • "I Can't Fool My Heart" (1968)

References
  1. "'First boy band' singer Joe dies", Leicester Mercury, 28 July 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2013
  2. Eder, Bruce "The Dallas Boys Biography", Allmusic. Retrieved 8 September 2013
  3. Corner, John (1990) Popular television in Britain: Studies in Cultural History, BFI Publishing, ISBN 978-0851702704, p. 97
  4. Frame, Pete (1999) Pete Frame's Rockin' Around Britain: Rock'n'roll Landmarks of the UK and Ireland, Omnibus Press, ISBN 978-0711969735, p. 71
  5. "Your TV Scout", TimesDaily, 9 July 1968, p. 10
  6. "'Showtime' Guests Led by Nureyev", Schenectady Gazette, 6 July 1968, p. 7. Retrieved 8 September 2013
  7. "Leicester's the Best... Musically!", BBC, 23 April 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2013
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