The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican
Saturday
THE BAR-STEWARD SONS OF VAL DOONICAN are almost as famous as their father for butchering other people's songs. They hail from a couple of small villages in the leafy suburbs of the ex-mining community of Barnsley, right in the middle of the 1940s. Here they still have to queue for butter and powdered egg and use whale blubber for the street lights but, on the bright side, they do have a wonky clock in the market square and have recently discovered deodorant.
As the story goes, estranged brothers Scott and Danny Doonican, met by chance for the first time on-board a local mobile library, whilst both trying to research the origins of their family tree.
Little did they know at the time, that their efforts at genealogy would reveal to them a very well kept secret. This revelation led them along the righteous garden path towards making their mark on the world of music and (very) light entertainment.
In the same way in which they were driven together, they were both compelled to follow in the footsteps of a legendary TV musician and entertainer, very close to their hearts.
Determined to follow in these immortal footsteps, the ‘Bar-Steward Sons’, as they were soon to become, naturally began to perform other people’s songs in a style-of-their own. To complete their squeaky-clean image, they became instantly recognisable for their immaculate hair and their stylish dress-sense.
However, on that fateful day, on-board the mobile library, the duo was very soon to become a threesome (not in the biblical sense). The driver of the aforementioned book-bus, Alan Doonican, happened to share in their love for trendy knit-wear and great music. It was no coincidence that Alan became honorary, part-time accordion player in the band, and Scott and Danny went on to become honorary full-time members of the library.
