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dance halls

I met my late Wife Doreen at a dance hall, I was home on leave from the RAF Christmas 1951(60 years ago !!!) and went to the Masque Ball room, either in Waford Road or Golden Hillock RD, I know I had to catch the No.8 Inner circle bus, we went quite a few times after that plus the Tower Ballroom. Eric
 
West End Ballroom and Cinema 1967

West_End_Ballroom_and_Cinema_1967.jpg
 
Hi Ingleton - I spent many happy hours at the Mecca in Hurst Street when it was called The Locarno!

Judy
 
I saw that Eric Delaney died recently - I remember him playing with his band at the West End several times - and in all honesty, I always thought his solos on the drums dragged on a bit too long

The picture is amazing - exacltly as I remember it - although looking at it after 50 years or so, it could easily be mistaken for a railway station by its appearance-
 
Just down the Alum Rock Road from Highfield Road towards Ward End , on the right hand side, there used to be a social club ( or was it a school ? ) I have just Google Street Viewed it and it is now a derilect site with fencing in front of it. I again remember many Saturday nights dancing there.
 
Thank you all, I remember all of them and the the very happy memories they invoke, lovely to see them all again.
paul
 
Ingleton, is the place you are thinking of the Morris Commercial Club? It was very popular on the 50s/60s and I think you had to get your tickets on Saturday afternoons to be sure you could get in the dance in the evening.
 
evening all, i remember playing at the Morris club in the 60.s with a couple of lads, we had the youngest lead guitar player in England, bye for now.

shardeen
 
SylviaSayers,

Thanks Sylvia for that - yes I now remember - it was the Morris, I suppose I must have walked there from Ingleton Road, and walked back as well. Amazing what you could do as kids eh ?
 
Glad to have jogged your memory Ingleton. Quite a walk for you, but it was common for us to walk home after a night out. I did it many times sometimes from Small Heath to Aston, and after dancing or being at a party all night. I often took my high heeled shoes off part way home!!!
 
Sylvia, that brings back memories taking off your shoes, l don't know how many times l did that but it was usually running trying to get the last bus, sometimes l made it but more often than l did'nt,then it was put you best foot forward hoping to get home for curfew,(dad was very stricked about me being out late), these days the kids start going out the time l had to be in, but we lived in a different world then eh!.......Brenda
 
Yes Brenda, my dad was very strict too, he would often wait on the corner with his arms folded for me to get home, no canoodling in the entry when he was on "sentry duty". Mom was more lenient and when he was working on nights, I could get home later, trouble was the dances and parties were always at the week-end when he was home. God Bless Dad.
 
I could say "Snap" Sylvia and Brenda. My shoes were taken off usually because the heels were too high and they hurt my feet. I often used to run along the grass verges to save my precious stockings.
My father sometimes stood guard outside my house. He was tall and coming up the slight hill and seeing him standing there was unnerving if I was very late!
 
I remember the Tower, the West End and the Lacarno very well. My dad used to stay up and come and meet me off the No. 9 bus and bring my flat heeled shoes, oh the relief!!! This was because we had quite along walk either through a park or down Spies Lane before it was widened, when it had over hanging trees on one side and houses up a steep bank on the other side. I think I could still recognise my dads footsteps even now - bless him.
Sheri
 
sounds like our dads all went to the same school.....if l was real late dad would go to bed and mom would stay up....well the next morning he would bring me a cuppa in bed and ask about what time l got in well did'nt dare tell the truth but little did l know he had already questioned mom and if our times did'nt compute we were both in trouble...so mom and l always hoped to get our stories straight after ....bless them both....Brenda
 
Stitcher - Is this the Palais de dance in Ladywood? If so I have been looking for a picture of this for ages!!!
 
All I can tell you Polly is that it was with some other bits including a few about Bellis & Morcom so I think it would be but I could not swear to it..

Your comment on the other picture of a shop, I thought the same as you so I am hoping Mike or Lloyd will verify it.
stitcher
 
Thank you stitcher - I wonder if anyone can confirm if it is the one in Ladywood. The reason I have been looking for a picture is that I only recently found out that one of my uncle's used to play the drums in a band that played there. My other Uncle met his wife there - she was amongst a group of girls that made friends with the members of the band and one night my drummer uncle introduced her to his younger brother. Sadly my drummer uncle died when he was in his thirties in 1947 so I know very little about him. I would think all of my Uncles and perhaps even my mother (depending on when it closed) went to the Palais de dance in Ladywood.
 
Good morning Polly, I was just off to bed last night when you asked about this, the writing attatched to the picture said it was The Birmingham Palais and it was in an envelope with other Ladywood scraps so I assumed it was the one on Monument Rd. Have you seen this picture before.
8799-0.jpg
That was the Palais on Monument Road.
 
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