We Amigo Again!

Press archive: article text transcribed from the supplied feature. References to forthcoming dates reflect the original announcement. View current tour dates →

IT’S Ireland’s most successful country music group, so fans were shocked last week by the sudden announcement that The Three Amigos had split, forcing the cancellation of their next nationwide tour.

The break-up, it later emerged, followed a rift between two of the members, Jimmy Buckley and Patrick Feeney, over their solo shows at the same hotel in Spain.

This week there was a surprise twist in the saga when Feeney and the group’s third member, Robert Mizzell, revealed that they have regrouped and will be heading out on the road in January with a new Amigo.

They’ve been joined by popular country entertainer Gary Gamble, from Donegal, and will be known as The Amigos.

“Gary is very well known on the country music concert and cabaret scene and on the country trips abroad,” Robert Mizzell yesterday told the Sunday World.

“I think he’s going to bring a fresh element to The Amigos and that’s taking nothing away from what Jimmy brought to the table. Jimmy was a great talent in so many ways and everyone loved Jimmy for what he did, but Gary is unique in his own style of entertainment and I know people are going to love him.

“The Three Amigos wasn’t just about the songs, audiences also loved the comedy aspect to the show and this is where Gary really shines.

“Gary and I have done a lot of work together down through the years as he’s one of the entertainers on my Boogie on the Brava trip to Spain every year.

“It was raining one day on one of the Spain trips when we had an afternoon music session planned for around the pool, so we moved inside and I asked Gary to do the entertainment.

“He started telling jokes and singing and having the craic and he captivated the entire audience for the best part of an hour. There were people falling around the place laughing.

IMPERSONATIONS

“Gary is also a brilliant mimic and he was doing Daniel O’Donnell and Declan Nerney in his routine…and one of the funniest Elvis impersonations I’ve ever seen.

“Gary would have done stage shows and pantos and all that type of stuff, so he is well versed in that type of entertainment.”

After the management of The Three Amigos announced the cancellation of their next tour and attempts at a reconciliation failed, Mizzell said he immediately began planning his own stage tour featuring “country and comedy”.

“I then asked Gary if he would do a country and comedy concert with me and he said he’d love to. Then things moved on very quickly in the days that followed with Patrick saying he’d be happy to continue as The Amigos, and he agreed that Gary would be a perfect fit to complete the line up.”

Mizzell says Gamble is hugely excited for the tour as he sees it as a major advancement in his career.

“Gary is a great entertainer who will never be out of work, but there’s no doubt that he’s thrilled to be one of the Amigos,” Robert says.

“The other night when we announced The Amigos and the fact that he was the new member, he sent me a message saying, ‘Robert, can I FaceTime you?’ And when he came on all of his family were in the kitchen dressed up in party hats having a hooley because he was joining The Amigos.

“I think Gary sees this as a huge moment and a major opportunity for him and I told him to just be himself, don’t try to be Jimmy, just do what you do because it’s why people like you.

SONGS

“And the reaction on social media after we announced Gary this week has been hugely positive. I think 50 songwriters emailed us in the last few days offering us songs to record.

“We’ve also had venues all around the country we’ve never played in before looking to see if they could book The Amigos, so this energy that Gary is bringing before we even step on stage has already sparked a new era.

“The Amigos was too big to just let it fade away. I wish Jimmy all the success in the world, but at the same time we just have to move on.”