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Birmingham Hippodrome

Maurice, I also liked Jazz and was a keen Humph fan (Humphry Lyttleton) My Wife and I also loved ballroom dancing (usually the Masque Ballroom in Walford Road) and ballroom dancing and Jazz were not at all compatible and can understand the dancers being miffed. Just noticed I am somewhat off thread ! Sorry. Eric
 
In the Birmingham (Hurst Street) Hippodrome either side of the stage, in the stalls, there were two exit doorways. Above the doorways were two green coloured, electronic signs. These were numerals and signified the number of the act which corresponded with the programme. I was fascinated and avidly watched for them to change.
 
Hi Bob, it was Billy and Sarah Vaughan on Passing Strangers , if i,m not mistaken, Barester.
I used to buy all my 'with it' gear from Zissmans and always had shirts as made for Billy Eckstein (sharkskin), or Frankie Laine. Yes that was some band he had, also he was a great singer and Passing Strangers with Ella has to be up there amongst the greatest.
Bob
 
Hi Bob, it was Billy and Sarah Vaughan on Passing Strangers , if i,m not mistaken, Barester.
You are not mistaken, still one of the great duets and there have been a great many good duets. Sorry I have just realised I put Ella, I have no idea why. A senior moment forgive me.
Bob
Bob
 
I've always wondered why the owners of the Hippodrome found it necessary to demolish the minaret type tower. If it was structural problems then all well and good, but if it was just aesthetics then in my opinion it looked far better with the tower than it does now.

In the 50's my grandmother used to get complimentary tickets for every new show at the Hippodrome and as nobody else usually wanted to accompany her to all the shows I was taken to see most of the children's acts. I saw starts like Roy Rodgers, Fess Parker (Davy Crockett) Howard Keel and many others. I even saw shows on ice when the stage was converted to an ice rink.

City Hurst Street 1960.jpg
 
thats a cracking photo phil...wonder who the mom and 2 kids are...also noted a couple of men working at the top of the tower..the one who is the highest seems to be standing on the bars of the scaff unlike the other man who is standing on the boards...bet that would not be allowed nowadays

lyn
 
I've always wondered why the owners of the Hippodrome found it necessary to demolish the minaret type tower. If it was structural problems then all well and good, but if it was just aesthetics then in my opinion it looked far better with the tower than it does now...



Hi Phil, it was a Moorish Tower and was removed in 1963 due to safety reasons as it became unstable.

There is a brief history of the Hippodrome on their website here...

https://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/hidden-hippodrome-access-ages/#close


I go to the Hippodrome fairly regularly, the last time being Christmas just gone to see The Nutcracker.
 
Can only remember going to the Hip once with my parents and that was post WWII and pre 1950. The only artist I can recall is Susette
Tari, her signature tune being Red Sails in the Sunset. No one that I have met can remember her and cannot confirm my memory.
Anyone out there who might help?
Archie7
 
Can only remember going to the Hip once with my parents and that was post WWII and pre 1950. The only artist I can recall is Susette
Tari, her signature tune being Red Sails in the Sunset. No one that I have met can remember her and cannot confirm my memory.
Anyone out there who might help?
Archie7


Hi Archie, further to my post above, I did a bit more digging and found this list of appearances by Suzette Tarri at the Birmingham Hippodrome...

https://birminghamhippodromeheritage.com/?s=Suzette+tarri

It shows the dates for each run and the acts appearing on the bill with her for each show. If you click on each show title it gives a bit more detailed information and for some of them even the number of shows per day and the times of each show.

Based on your parameters above, the show you attended must have been one of the following from that list:

Tom Arnold presents "Hoop-La" (Opening night 5/11/45 - Closing night 17/11/45)

Variety Show (Opening night 4/8/47 - Closing night 9/8/47)

Variety Show (Opening night 5/7/48 - Closing night 10/7/48)

Variety show (Opening night 29/8/49 - Closing night 3/9/49)

I hope this jogs your memory some more and validates that you haven't been imagining it all these years :D
 
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Hello my Babby.
What a super response to my enquiry. It must have been one of those shows that I saw but I'm afraid that I can't remember which. At least I'll be able to show my doubters that I am not losing my marbles.
Thanks very much.
Archie7
 
Hello my Babby.
What a super response to my enquiry. It must have been one of those shows that I saw but I'm afraid that I can't remember which. At least I'll be able to show my doubters that I am not losing my marbles.
Thanks very much.
Archie7


You're welcome :cool:
 
The Frank Sinatra visit was June 1953 and a poster like this sold at auction for $1200.00. I suspect that Alma Cogan (the girl with a chuckle in her voice) was 1958 when Terry Scott is also mentioned. Perhaps Eddie or Maurice will know why, but Billy Ternent did not do the big band tours like Heath, Parnell, Dankworth and Lewis, he appeared I am sure more than once as an accompanying band for the American crooners when they came to the UK on their theatre circuits , although I see that when the Platters came they were accompanied by either Jack Parnell, Vic Lewis or Ken Mackintosh. All of these and more made appearances at the Town Hall and of course the first half of the fifties was the era of the big bands and to impress and catch up with the perfectionists like Heath and Parnell, the new bands had to have a gimmick, Delaney with his Kettle Drums, Lewis with his tributes to my friend Stan and there were two bands whose names I have forgotten who were basically mainly radio bands who also went out on the road....and then came rock and roll and the bands withered and died as did good music. Back to the Hippodrome and we used to go eery Thursday night from 1959 to 1962 and catch all the variety shows and the rock and roll tours Vince Eager, Billy Fury and a lad called Cliff Richards who bumped into me as I came out of the gents, my shoulder was popular for hours afterwards. The best show ever (and I say this as a lover of big bands and modern jazz) was the Billy Cotton Band Show, what an entertainer, does anyone else remember the cotton wall snowballs? or is no else that old? But on the Sinatra bill who were the accompanying acts ...Augustus Peabody?
Bob D

Bobbie Kimber was a ventriloquist so it may be that 'Augustus Peabody' was his dummy.
 
Some of the Sinatra twice nightly shows, were, would you believe, half empty houses.

At that time Sinatra was a little in decline. He had personal problems, and the newer stars i.e: Frankie Laine, Johnny Ray, Guy Mitchell, had taken over the popularity singing stakes.

Bill Miller was Franks Musical Director for many years, still with him in the 1980's after Sinatra's career took on a huge second 'coming'.

Billy Ternent was the Musical Director at the London Palladium for many years in the 50/60's, and would have toured with Sinatra as his backing band, although Bill Miller would have fronted the orchestra for the Sinatra part of the show.

Bob D: Yu are correct to say that the Vic Lewis Band paid homage to Stan Kenton, as did the Frank Weir Band pay homage to Billy May, but Eric Delaney's drums were not 'kettle' drums.

As a percussionist I have to tell you that they are actually timpani tuned drums. Eric used to cringe at the term 'kettle' !!

In 1961, during a summer season in Bournemouth, at the Pavilion Ballroom, Alma Cogan was appearing in the show, at the Pavilion Theatre, part of the same complex. The ballroom musicians would meet up with the theatre musicians after the shows, and a couple of times we attended 'all night parties', and Alma would be there. A lovely lady, full of fun, and died far too early.

Eddie
Do you know what the ticket prices were for the Frank Sinatra shows in 1953?
 
Can only remember going to the Hip once with my parents and that was post WWII and pre 1950. The only artist I can recall is Susette
Tari, her signature tune being Red Sails in the Sunset. No one that I have met can remember her and cannot confirm my memory.
Anyone out there who might help?
Archie7
try this link
 
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