Not only is Martin Ruddy a good singer but he has great stage presence. The emotion that he puts into his performance is visually very entertaining. Martin has been singing for as long as he can remember, joining a local band in County Mayo when he left school. He moved to London in 1980 and quickly got a job in the resident band in the Castle pub in Hampstead. After a few years, Martin had earned enough money to buy some sound equipment and after advertising for musicians he was able to form his own Martin Ruddy Band. One of the bands first gigs was at a newly opened pub called the Claddagh Ring in Hendon. After playing at their opening night the landlord offered them a Friday night residency which they did for 12 years. He went to the 26th anniversary at The Claddagh Ring in November 2017.
The band was launched on the country club circuit with the recommendation of their good friend Marie Hennessy from Southern Country magazine and they very quickly went from strength to strength winning a number of awards. The first was for the best newcomer at the Irish Worlds Awards which led to an appearance at the London Palladium. There have been very few changes in the lineup over the years. When I saw them in 1997 the lineup was Martin Ruddy lead vocal and rhythm guitar, Pearce MacNamara lead guitar and harmony vocals, Darryl Stewart on bass guitar, Bob Haskell on pedal steel guitar and Dave Webb on drums and harmony vocals. When Pearce moved to Ireland he was replaced by Tony Collins who was already playing fiddle in the band and had previously played in Family Tradition, a family band fronted by his father who was also Tony Collins. Tony has now been with Martin for 25 years, Darryl for over 29 years and David for 34 years. Tony also fronts his own family band Muscle and Curves.
See my video of The Martin Ruddy Band at The Queens Theatre Hornchurch on 12th January 1997.
Research by Nick Catford.