Frankie McBride

Born in 1944 in Omagh, Northern Ireland, Frankie McBride first performed as part of the Polka Dots Showband before the Emerald label recruited him as a solo artist during 1967. His debut single, ‘The Blackboard Of Your Heart’, made little impression, yet a cover of Bill Anderson’s ballad ‘Five Little Fingers’, overseen by producer Tommy Scott, brought success later that year when it reached number 19 on the UK chart in August. Dick Katz of the Harold Davison Agency added him to the roster, creating hopes of mainstream cabaret acceptance in Britain, though no follow-up single repeated the achievement. The 1968 album Frankie McBride Sings sold modestly and slipped into the UK Top 30. In Ireland, ‘Burning Bridge’ gave him another hit that maintained his profile there for a while. McBride kept recording and performing into the 90s.