Tom Allen (born 21 October 1949), known professionally as T.R. Dallas, is a country and Irish singer and former Fianna Fáil member of Westmeath County Council.[1]
T.R. Dallas | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Tom Allen |
| Born | 21 October 1949 Mount Temple, Moate, Westmeath, Ireland |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | vocals |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Website | www.trdallas.net/ |
Born in Mount Temple, County Westmeath,[1][2] Tom Allen is the brother of Tony Allen of the folk duo Foster and Allen. Tom worked in motor maintenance and sales,[2] and started his showband singing career in 1970 with the Finnavons Showband, previously fronted by Gerry Black. A few years later he joined the Sailors Showband, and got his break in 1978 replacing John Glenn in The Mainliners, the backing band for Big Tom. In June 1980, Allen exploited the hype around the Dallas soap opera's "Who shot J.R.?" summer cliffhanger by adopting the name "T.R. Dallas" to release the novelty record "Who Shot J.R. Ewing?" which reached number 10 in the Irish Singles Chart. Later that year his cover version of Mac Davis' "It's Hard to Be Humble" reached number 6 in the Irish charts. He continued to tour Ireland and the UK in the 1980s and 1990s, releasing further singles and an album. His career was interrupted in 1990 after he was diagnosed with diabetes.[1]
As Tom Allen he was a Fianna Fáil member of Westmeath Council for the local electoral area of Athlone from the 1999 local elections until defeated in the 2014 election.[3] He continued to perform as T.R. Dallas, often at charity fundraising events.[2]
Discography
edit| Title | B-Side | Catalogue | Release date | Irish Charts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Ghost Story" | "I Wouldn't Want to Live If You Didn't Love Me" / "I Recall a Gypsy Woman" |
RL.828 | Jan 1976 | With the Sailors | |
| "The Family That Prays" | May 1978 | With the Mainliners | |||
| "You Are My Sunshine" | Dec 1978 | With the Mainliners | |||
| "Who Shot J.R. Ewing" | "Mrs. Jones" | CM 007 | June 1980 | 10 | |
| "It's Hard to be Humble" | Selection of Reels | CM 011 | Sep 1980 | 6 | |
| "Kisses on the Door" | CM 028 | Early 1981 | |||
| "Daddy's Girl" | "A Pub with No Beer" | CM 027 | Dec 1981 | 26 | |
| "It'll Come Back" | CM 031 | ||||
| "Big Tom Doesn't Play Here Anymore" | "Faded Picture" | CM 034 | |||
| "I'm Gonna Hire a Wino (to Decorate Our Home)" | CM 040 | ||||
| Everybody's Makin' It Big But Me | — | CMLP 1008 | 1982 | Album | |
| "Diet Song" | "Candlelight And Wine" | CM 044 J | 1983 | ||
| "The Rose of Mooncoin" | CM 061 | ||||
| "I Don't Work for a Living" | "I Got To Get Rid Of This Band" | CM 063 | 1986 | ||
| "21 Acres of Land" | Dec 1987 | 22 | Chart Records release | ||
| "The Story I Tell You Is True" | |||||
| "Rambling Boy" | |||||
| "Be My Guest" |
References
edit- ^ a b c Cusack, Adrian (6 October 2010). "Celebrating thirty years of TR Dallas". Westmeathindependent.ie. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "Tom Allen". Fianna Fáil. Archived from the original on 23 May 2014.
- ^ Took, Christopher; Donnelly, Seán. "Tom Allen". ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 10 April 2019.