PICTURES: Can you recall these ten famous Kilkenny bands?

The Black Aces began life as a skiffle group wasy back in 1958 in the old De la Salle Boys' School in Patrick Street.

The members were Liam Drennan (tenor saxophone), Ollie Kearney (guitar/vocals), Sean Holland (washboard), John Joe Cantwell (drums) and Jim Dwyer (tea-chest bass). They were later joined by Val Reynolds (electric guitar), Arthur Connick (trombone) and vocalists Paddy Hanrahan and Jimmy Lennon.

The Black Aces performed at local dances in the C.Y.M.S. hall and in the Mayfair and Carlton ballrooms - their music ranging from Rock 'n' Roll to Country and Western and Trad. Jazz.

Their popularity grew intensely and such was the demand for them that they turned professional. They toured all over Ireland, England and Scotland, attracting huge crowds everywhere they went.

They even toured America twice and were the youngest professional band in Ireland at the time. Through the years, various personnel changes took place. Paddy "Sonny" Cullen and Tom Dollard replaced Jim Dwyer and Val Reynolds, respectively, and Jimmy Lennon left for Britain.

During the 1960s The Black Aces made a record Serenade of the Bells featuring Sonny Cullen on vocals, and later Ollie Kearney recorded Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello. Both records were given well deserved airplay on Radio Eireann and both also made it into the Irish Top 20. They also appeared on the television series, The Showband Show, and were heard on the Radio Programme, the "Seventeen Club".

The end of the showband era came at the beginning of the 1970s as did the era of The Beatles. The Black Aces disbanded in 1972.