Bowyer mourners urged to remember 'sweaty ballrooms' and 'hucklebuck shoes' at memorial mass

Brendan Bowyer on stage during the Showband Nostalgia in Cork Opera House. Picture: Richard Mills

Mourners at a memorial mass in Waterford City for showband legend, Brendan Bowyer were told that instead of listening to the chief celebrant, Fr Brian D'arcy, they should instead drift in to their memory banks and remember a glorious time that involved “sweaty ballrooms” and “hucklebuck shoes”. 

Mr Bowyer, formerly of the Royal Showband and the Big Eight, passed away aged 81 on May 28, 2020 in Las Vegas. His biggest and most enduring hit was a cover of ‘The Hucklebuck’.