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Aston Hippodrome Revue

Alf. i browsed and found that site long, long ago i thought it was a great site thanks for posting it, i had completly forgotten it. Len.
 
Maggie, I took my Mom to see Judy Garland at the Birmingham Hippodrome 1951, Judy gave a fabulous performance she was electric!, she had her daughter Lisa watching, she would have been 5yrs of age. Len.
 
Len I would love to have seen Judy, I was still at school in '51 but if I'd known she was at the Hippodrome I think my mom would have wanted to see her too.
 
My mom used to work behind the bar at the Theatre Royal in Birmingham, I have quite a few of her signed photo's of people that used to be on there. She used to tell me lots of stories about Gracie Fields and her hubby ?? Wilcox. Anybody got any memories of this place?
 
Patty, Bit mixed up with Gracie Fields husband, No1- Archie Pitt, 2- Monty Banks (Italian), 3- Boris Alperovici they lived on Capri until his death, she died years later on Capri, i think Anna Neagle was married to Desmond Wilcox?. Len.
 
My granddad had a theatre in Selby, Yorkshire, between about 1910 - 1920, and Gracie Fields often appeared in Revues there, such as "Mr Tower of London" and "Happy Days". Archie Pitt who ran the Revues lived with Gracie for a while before marrying her. She was 18 then. Her brother Tommy also joined the show. They got their first London date at the "Met" Music Hall, and Gracie never looked back. She left Archie and married Monty. She got in bad books with the British public cos she left England and went to America during the war years. She later left Monty and married Boris.
(Abbreviated from my Dad's notes)

Judy
 
Di.Poppitt, If you had been there the night i was you would shared a night never to be forgotten, Judy took 3 encore curtain calls on the third one, she sat on edge of the stage and said "If you want more i`m going nowhere any requests?." (or words similar). And she sang on, by this time it was getting late and my Mom and I had to leave regretfully to catch our last bus, we had just had a magic night, my Mom is RIP now, i have never experienced entertainment to match it since. Len.
 
Not that I ever visited the Aston Hip in the old days, but I seem to recall that one of most popular strippers was a lady by the name of Rhoda Rogers. Anyone remember her?

My old man saw Laurel & Hardy at the Hip very soon after the end of the War, and local legend is that they stayed at The Barton Arms over the road.

The nearest I ever got to the Aston Hip was when I was auditioned - and failed- for a Boy Scouts Gang Show in the 1950's. Well, if they couldn't see real talent when it was in front of them, that was their problem...

Big Gee
 
Hello Big gee,
Rhoda Rogers, There was a Rhoda Rogers revue bar at six ways Aston. I don't know much more, other than it was a home for strippers, and i was not one of them. Far to young.Regards... Cat
 
I think the reveue bar was on the Soho Rd on a corner, I remenber because my father inlaw who lived in Sandwell rd used to go there with his buissness collegues
 
Yes Rhoda Rogers Revue Bar was on the Soho Road, not far from where I lived. It was over the top of some shops on a corner.

Judy
 
Judy I lived down the bottom of St michael's hill we had a builders buisness in Queens Avenue called Daltons and live just by it, we also lived in sandwell rd, was you near by? I used to do all my shopping on Soho rd it was nice then
 
Wow Patty! We lived really near each other. I lived in Soho Avenue just at the top of St Michaels Hill - used to go to the Sunday School at the church which was across the road from where I lived. We moved from Handsworth in 1956. Later on we lived in Edbaston, and then Quinton.

I don't know Queens Avenue - where was that?

I remember Sandwell Park very well, we often used to go there on the bus to play when I was young.

Judy
 
Small world Judy I live in Halesowen know, well just on the borders of Quinton, top of Muklows hill road just off Narrow Lane

Queens avenue was just down the road from you, if you went straight down St Michael's hill and at the bottom it came to a V if you bear right it was a cul de sac and if you went to the left it was Factory rd. we were right at the bottom of the cul de sac and there was a place called Ladder Hire next door
 
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Patty - I had friends who lived in Factory Road and Newton Place - it is a small world isn't it? So Queens Ave was off Newon Place was it? Sorry I didn't remember it. What years were you there? I bet my Dad might have called in at Daltons.

We often went to a pub on Mucklows Hill with Mom and Dad (my sister and me stayed outside with a lemonade and bag of crisps!) can't remember the name of it though.

Judy
 
Bob dad had the buissness for years we lived there about 67 68 there was a factory right opposite our house cant think of the name, the house were set back in a kind of square and an entry was in the middle. If you went down the entry to the back of the houses you went through a gate into Queens avenue. your dad may remember the buissness as Bert Dalton and sons or Surmans
 
Judy I've just remembered Newton place was right by the yard a little side rd, what were there names a couple of men that lived there used to work for us
 
Patty - I don't think they would have been there when your Dad was there, as we had all left Handsworth I think by the end of the 1950's. My Dad is dead so I can't ask him whether he remembered your Dad, but it would have been after we had moved. The boy I knew who lived in Newton Place was John Perfect.

Judy
 
I remember the Aston Hip before it became a nightclub, middle sixties i think. Also remember The House that Jack built, next door to the hip if i remember correctly.
 
Patty and Catkin - I knew I had seen a photo of Rhoda Rogers Revue Bar somewhere. Just found it! It was on the corner of Soho Road and Holliday Road.
 
Thank you for that Judy, I wonder who Rhoda Rogers was, I do know a person who's mother was a stripper there and recall that she went missing presumed dead. I have not seen this person for years...Cat
 
Lencops and Patty - Anna Neagle was married to Herbert Wilcox a film director and she starred in a number of his films. Esther Rantzen was married to Desmond Wilcox.

Big Gee - I know it was local legend but Laurel & Hardy did not stay overnight at the Barton's Arms, but did have a drink there and I believe there is a photo of them taken outside the pub on the site or on Aston History taken in about 1951. Carl Chinn in one of his articles put us right on this "legend".
 
aston said:
Maggie, I WENT TO THE ASTON HIP IN THE 50S WITH SOME SCHOOL PALS THINKING AS YOUR MOM DID, THE SHOW I THINK WAS CALLED FRED KARNO'S ARMY?
TO OUR DELIGHT THE SHOW INCLUDED "JANE" of THE DALLY MIRROR FAME,(SHE HAD VERY DISCREET OSTERICH FANS WERE IT WAS NEEDED) I THINK THEY SOLD OUT OF ALL THE OPERA GLASS'S THAT NIGHT!
"NEVER TOLD OUR MUM'S WERE WE HAD BEEN"
Click to expand...

I remember seeing Jane of Daily Mirror Fame at the Aston Hipp, she got undressed and stepped into bath tub behind a misty glass screen.
 
Small world again,
I did the small sign over the entrance to the Revue Bar
which you can see in the side st.
After that we used to be able to go in for nothing, we only ever went a couple of times, it was upstairs and was a dark and dingy large room with a small bar and stage in the corner.
It was run by a tall man with glasses, and that's about all I can remember.
 
I used to go to thr Aston Hippodrome every Saturday with my parents. I would have been between 9 and 12 years old. Yes, they did have naked ladies who would stand like statues. It would have been illegal at that time for them to move (I believe). We were never offended by it as it was only a small part of the show. Even as a child I wasn't shocked or embarassed. They had many famous performers there too.

Good memories.

Maggs.
 
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