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Dance halls

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.
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That was the Palais on Monument Road.
 
HI Pollypops
yes i can confirm it for you polly ; i know for definate because i lived right by it and years later bulpitts swan brand took it over
they used it for there storage of there products for years before they built there other parts of there company around summer hill
it was a massive place , very vassed inside it went al down the monunt rd for about at least 600 yards down heading towards spring hill
i and my friends used to around there and nip in ; this if the bloke on the door seen us in there he would collar us and throw us out
the min door or gate what ever was in ingleby street near to the monument rd and across facing was our doctors surgery doctor tracy whom brought me into the world at dudley rd hospital;
they had all the top bands there ; billy cotton joe loss edmund delaney ; you name them tey all played there
it was a big gala posh dance hall;they fialy demolishedi think it was in the late sixtys asi recall after bulpits bult there new section down summer hill
for the extra storage ; and there big moderen lorries years ago they had littlethre wheelers cabs to pull there wagongs
they was the good old days in the fortys and fifties ; astonian
 
Stitcher, thank you for another great picture - I have seen one outside picture of the Palais but I am not sure it was this one - it was huge wasn't it!

Thank you for your memories Astonian - I can imagine you trying to sneak in there without the doorman seeing you!
I think I read somewhere that it had a fountain inside - can you remember if this is correct?
 
pollypops yes it was the star hall of the 2o;s and thirtys; beleive me it was the top place to be sen all the old star bands plyed there
it was a very huge place in deed it would have been twice or should i say three times the size of the tower balloom in edgbaston ;
it was very vassed indeed going both ways ; with and lengh and it was a very high building
alan ; astonian ;
 
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Too far out for me but I bet the chateau and The Wooten Hall were nice venues for a night out.
 

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The advert for The Adelphi took me back Stitcher. When I lived in Handsworth my friend, Jean Thomas, and I used to go there every Saturday night in 1955/56.


Judy
 
Hi stich ;
nice to see it again and it brought memories back to me when was this picture taken do you know
the rd on the left of the picture was ingleby street and the building on the left hand side of the rd as you turned into it
was a dr tracy whom had is surgery in there directly oppersite the palli; he was also a surgeon at dudley rd hospital
and he broughtme into this world ; he also had a posh house in selwyn rd edgbaston ; and his garden used to back on to the school playing fields of the steward street school we tavelled by bus from steward st school every wednesdays up there
on the right of the palli heading towards spring hill the white section was a petrol station and a wood yard combined ;
it was lter taken over by a guy whomused to run an ice cream bussines and he employed youngwomen to chopp and bungle wood for the shops he also later started to sell those early baggs of pre packed coal ; and there was acouple of houses then the turf pub ;
and across from there on the other side was barclays bank then there was bill landons [ old man ] bill landon bathrooms and hard ware stores
such happy days then mate best wishes astonian
 
Hello Astonian, I am afraid I do not have a date but can I say how much I enjoy your memories about the old times.
 
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Who remembers these two.
 
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That pic of Stitchers of the Masque Ballroom in Walford Road brings back memories. Thats where I met my late Wife Doreen, it was a Christmas dance Dec 1951 and I was on leave from the RAF, found out she lived in Vicarage Rd and I was staying with my Nan round the corner in Queens Road (Aston) so we went home together and things carried on from there. Hard to beleive that was over 60 years ago. Eric
 
Jayell when I worked at Swallow Raincoat in the early 60s there was a girl who always went there on Monday nights. I presume it was the same sort of dancing as The Locarno on a Monday night
 
cookie273uk said:
That pic of Stitchers of the Masque Ballroom in Walford Road brings back memories. Thats where I met my late Wife Doreen, it was a Christmas dance Dec 1951 and I was on leave from the RAF, found out she lived in Vicarage Rd and I was staying with my Nan round the corner in Queens Road (Aston) so we went home together and things carried on from there. Hard to beleive that was over 60 years ago. Eric
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So where was it exactly in relation to the Embassy? Was this the location of the Harp Club?
 
Yes Carol, dancing at the Adelphi was similar to the Locarno but on a smaller scale. Also went to the West End occasionally but that was in later years!
 
Speedy The Masque was in Walford Road close to junction with Stratford Rd (Sparkbrook ?) opposite the Roller rink, it later became an Irish Club, I think the Irish Harp s you mentioned , I know we caught the No. 8 Inner Circle 'bus to get there, not many people ran cars in them days. Eric
 
I remember going to the West End Ballroom in my lunch hour to jive for an hour! I worked over the road in Civic Centre and it wasnt far to go. I also went to the jazz club they had there every Sunday evening. All the jazz bands like Kenny Ball and Acker Bilk played there.
 
Oh happy days, I too used to dance there in my lunch hour, but I wasn't as fortunate as Wendy as I worked along the Hagley Road at the then Midland Assurance I used to catch a bus up Broad Street, dance for almost the hour and catch a bus back, I was always late and out of breath when I got back in the office, I still remember Mr Sigley, my boss, looking at me over his glasses he never said anything just gave me that look, but I didn't care, could have danced all day and night then, loved it, still do.
 
WendyP

I also worked at the Civic Centre, in the Architects Dept in the basement - our dance hall of choice in the lunch hour was the one in Corporation Street, opposite Old Square ; Can you imagine ? , legging it to the Old Square , jive for an hour and leg it back, through the Minories, and then do an afternoon's work ; it becomes difficult to leg it anywhere these days, let alone do an afternoon's work !!
 
Ingleton, (are you male or female)! You certainly went a long way to dance in the lunch hour - was it the Casino, near the Kings Hall Market? I caught my bus home from the Old Square to Alum Rock, so I know it was a good walk especially in a lunch hour.
I worked for the Chief Planning Officer as his PA but before that I had to do a stint in the typing pool with an old harridon called Miss Jackon watching over us. I started working there in 1959 when I was 15. Happy Days.
 
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