ON THE MOVE

WITH

THE DOOLEYS

Hi my names Lynn,I have always been a big fan of the Dooleys, I lost count of the number of times I went to see them and I feel I got to know them quite well over the time they were together, they probably don't know it but they still play a big part in my life,as my favourite pastime is still listening to their music,so I thought it would be nice to share some of my memories of them with you.

To access any part of the page click on any of the blue links below Click on the thumbnails to see full size photographs, all music notes represent the title of a Dooley song!

ALAN FRANK JIM BOB JOHN HELEN KATHY ANNE

TREASURED MEMORIES

The date was October 3rd 1981, the venue was the Hull New Theatre, the group was the Dooleys and I became hooked!

I had been a fan of their music since the early seventies but seeing them live really did it for me! The show was absolutely fantastic, the music, the outfits, the colours, the lighting, everything! they couldn't have made it any better if they had tried, then to meet them outside was my dream come true!

From then on I joined the fanclub and went to see as many shows as I could along with my husband Stuart in Hull and surrounding areas.I saw them on numerous occassions between 1981 and 1991. In fact I went that often Kathy once said "you must have been to more shows then us". We always went to meet them backstage after every show and they were always friendly and took time to talk.

In 1990 I won a photograph of Kathy and Tony Mercer on their wedding day in a Dooleymag competition, which Kathy later signed and I still treasure to this day, although I believe she has since re-married. My last memory of them was their last show in the Hull area at the B.P. Club Hedon Road Hull in 1991.

Talk about them now and people say they never heard of them, which is quite strange really as they were an international show group who worked really hard but didn't get the recognition they truly deserved. So I would like to dedicate this site to each member of the Dooleys and also to Steve Jacks who has the best Dooley site on the net of which I am proud to be one of its many members.

ON THE MOVE

DOOLEY MALES

JAMES DOOLEY BORN: JANUARY 14TH 1948

JOHN FRANCIS DOOLEY BORN: AUGUST 30TH 1949

FRANK ANTHONY ANDREW DOOLEY BORN: DECEMBER 11TH 1953

ROBERT WALSH BORN: SEPTEMBER 16TH 1947

ALAN BOGAN BORN: DECEMBER 7TH 1953

This is the original line up of the male members of the group, although later on in years the line up did change a few times to include other male members brought in from outside the Dooley family

In the beginning the only non-Dooley members were Alan Bogan and Bob Walsh and as Jim always said" at least Bob had the decency to marry a Dooley"!

Bob is married to Anne Dooley, Jim is the eldest of the Dooleys to appear on stage with the group, although he is not the eldest of the Dooley family

All photographs in this section are taken from the Full House Theatre Brochure

ON THE MOVE

DOOLEY FEMALES

ANNE SOPHIA DOOLEY BORN: DECEMBER 14TH 1954

KATHLEEN MARGARET DOOLEY BORN: MARCH 30TH 1956

HELEN GEMMA DOOLEY BORN: JULY 11TH 1961

This is the original line up of the Dooley females, although when they first formed their older sister Marie was part of the group, the only other female ever to be brought into the group from outside the Dooley family was Vicki Roe in 1982.

Marie is the eldest of the Dooley sisters, though not of the whole family and Helen was not only the youngest of the Dooleys to appear on stage, she is also the youngest of the entire Dooley family which consists of six brothers and four sisters!

All photographs in this section are taken from the Full House Theatre Brochure

ON THE MOVE

DOOLEYS IN ACTION

All these photographs were taken of the Dooleys in action from 1983 onwards after Bob, Anne and Helen had all left to live in South Africa.

ON THE MOVE

DOOLEY PICS

These are some of my favourite photographs out of my own personal collection!

ON THE MOVE

GROUP CHANGES

In April 1982 Vicki (real name Valerie Roe) joined the Dooleys after Bob, Anne and Helen had all left the group to live in South Africa. By the end of 1983 Pete Whinnett had joined to replace "Dixi" on keyboards,also in that year Tony Mercer joined to replace Winston on lighting.

In 1985 Frank,John and Alan announced their departure only to be replaced by Ian Sudworth, Dave Riley,Paul Dean and Pete Whinnett who had joined them earlier.

In 1986 another group was formed called The New Dooleys they were Frank, John,Alan and two girls called Karen and Amanda

By March 1987 Paul Dean and Dave Riley left the Dooleys and was replaced by Phil Brown and Nigel Parrott.
December 1987 Pete Whinnett leaves and a replacement by the name of Martin comes in. By 1988 Vicki had also left the group.

January 27th 1990 Kathy Dooley marries Tony Mercer and in the same year Phil Brown leaves the group.

In 1990 Vincent Naylor and Mike Collinge join the line up.

In 1991 The Dooleys played the Hull area for the last time at the B.P. Club Hedon Road. by the time they finished Kathy and Jim were the only remaining original members.

VALERIE ROE(VICKI)BORN:MAY 1ST 1960

PETE WHINNETT

IAN SUDWORTH BORN:APRIL 21ST 1962

DAVID J RILEY BORN:SEPTEMBER 1ST 1965

PAUL DEAN BORN:AUGUST 12TH 1964

PHIL BROWN BORN:APRIL 13TH 1957

NIGEL PARROTT BORN:MAY 10TH 1957

VINCENT NAYLOR BORN:SEPTEMBER 28TH 1967

MIKE COLLINGE BORN:APRIL 5TH 1957