T.R. Dallas

Tom Allen
Also known as T.R. Dallas
Born Moate, Westmeath, Ireland
Genres Country
Occupation(s) Singer
Years active 1970 – present
Website www.trdallas.net/

T.R. Dallas is an Irish country singer.[1] Dallas appeared on the Irish music scene in 1970 and has since become known across the British isles.[2] The singer's real name is Tom Allen and he is the brother of Foster and Allen's, Tony Allen. He was born in Moate, Co. Westmeath, Ireland and first came to prominence in 1970 when he joined the Finnavons Showband which had previously been fronted by Gerry Black.

A few years later, Tom joined the Sailors Showband and continued to work as a "middle of the road" country singer. His first big break came in 1978 when he was picked to replace John Glenn as the lead singer with the legendary Mainliners Showband, which had previously found fame and fortune with Big Tom McBride as their singer. The move gave Tom national exposure and when the opportunity came, he was ready.

His second big break came just over a year later.In May, 1980 (in Ireland), the final episode of Dallas aired with JR Ewing getting shot by an unknown assailant. Less than a month later, Tom Allen had recorded the song, "Who Shot JR Ewing?", changed his name to T.R. Dallas and had a hit record on his hands. The record went to number 10 in the Irish charts and catapulted Tom to the top of the Irish country scene. A few months later, he had an even bigger hit with the Mac Davis song, "Lord, It's Hard to Be Humble" which reached number 6 in the Irish charts.

Since then, T.R. Dallas has continued to perform around Ireland and the UK, releasing several singles and an album during the 80's and 90's. None of them cracked the Irish top ten.

Tom Allen also served as a Fianna Fáil Councillor for the Athlone Local Electoral Area on Westmeath County Council from 1999 to 2014.

Discography

References

  1. ↑ http://www.fiannafail.ie/people/tom-allen/
  2. ↑ http://www.westmeathindependent.ie/plus/roundup/articles/2010/10/06/4000583-celebrating-thirty-years-of-tr-dallas/
  3. ↑ http://www.irishcountrymusic.com/trdallas.htm
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