There are two artists with the name Alan Doyle: 1. Singer for the band Great Big Sea. Newfoundland's Alan Doyle learned piano and drums as a child, soon moving on to guitar (and eventually mandolin, bouzouki, and pretty much anything with strings). He joined his uncle's rockabilly-meets-traditional-Newfoundland band the New Standells at the age of 15, and while attending St. John's University, he was one half of a duo (with John Benton) called Staggering Home.