You've brought even more memories flooding back with the CB thing. Any reccomends? 30 The Rivoli, Brockley, and the Ritz, Manchester, are both recognised for their special interest as listed buildings. Jewellers began using palladium in 1939 as a platinum alternative when creating white gold. The dances performed there were the height of fashion no outdated sequence dances or polkas for Hammersmith, but foxtrots, quicksteps and the modern waltz. With a revolving bandstand, a second band could set up in the background while the first was still performing and be brought to the audience at the press of a switch. He remembered the bands female lead singer, Pandora, was married to the Palaiss manager. Postcard view of the interior of the dance hall at Pawtuxet, Rhode Island, 1911 (author's private collection). I thought "Statue" was great at the time, now it doesn't seem to have any soul at all. Facing the stairs is a lounge, with settees, wicker chairs, glass topped tables. 26 Architectural Journal, 26 February 1930, pp. Mecca was particularly forward-looking and worked hard with local planners to ensure that its dance halls were at the heart of Britain's new town and city centres, the Locarno, Coventry, discussed below, being a significant example.Footnote 67 Similar shopping-centre dance halls were opened by Mecca in Portsmouth and Basildon (where it was also called the Locarno), and Birmingham (the Mayfair). Very interesting to read, I knew Freddie and Adela as uncle and aunt, great close friends, father Tug was on police duty with Gordon Ingham of the Forest Town undertakers, father met mum, and as they say its history, Adela married twice, Cyril Palmer visited Adela in her final weeks. The dance hall's world of luxury and escape was fully in tune with the new consumerism. There were three bars, one off the dance floor and another two upstairs (itself indicative of a less paternalistic attitude to dance halls up to this point, magistrates had insisted they remain dry). She had a dance studio at Bridlesmith Gate Nottm. The interior of the Nottingham Palais (Fig. Anyone remember any of these bands? For more detail see Nott, Going to the Palais, chapter 1. Most ballrooms included balconies around the main dance floor where patrons could promenade and watch the proceedings below, while allowing the considerable airflow required for what could be a strenuous activity. Keith also told me that Ric Lee is writing a book and once some legal wrangles are sorted it should be published under the title From head stocks to Woodstock. Yes Colemans was a big oblong room with seats round the outside. In the early Fifties the management and running of the Palais fell to Adele Roscoe and Freddie Fitzgerald (her Husband and Dancing Partner for many years It Virtually became the place to go Dancing Etc The first change they made was to bring in the Hardy Smith Orchestra Which after a Few years were replaced by Art Lester from Nottingham. I bought myself a pair and used to change my socks in the toilet when I got there and again on the way home! If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. I remember a young lady called Maggie who won with me, she was a great singer. 35 Duncan, Hammersmith's Palaces of Pleasure, p. 4. Nostalgia, and heaps of great memories for me. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. Many of the Mecca dance halls became bingo halls. At the Locarno, Bradford, 35,000 Italian-made light bulbs were used on its blue painted ceiling which, when lit on their own, gave the impression of a starlit sky at night.Footnote 93, Along with these visual delights, the dance hall would immerse its patrons into an intense, vibrating world of sound. Virtually all dance halls, right up to their decline in the 1960s, used live music, which would continue through the evening practically non-stop. Handsome corner entrance to the Astoria Palais de Danse, Bolton, 1928 (Bolton News/Newsquest Photos), Although the construction of purpose-built dance halls declined from the 1930s, it did not end, and a second wave occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Two bandstands, one at either end of the dance floor, allowed multiple bands to play for the dancers. Dance halls provided an architecture of optimism, hope and modernity, and their style and function represented a democratisation of pleasure and the emergence of a more liberal social and political culture in Britain. I was drummer for a Kirkby based group called Roy Ravelle & The Gamblers. The main dance hall with a floor of 105 feet (32 m) by 85 feet (26 m) which accommodated 600 dancers. www.ten-years-after.com and www.alvinlee.de. Interior of the Nottingham Palais, 1925 (Nottingham City Council and picturethepast.org.uk). Such spaces increasingly became formalised as publicans and entrepreneurs saw the potential profits to be gained by opening separate dancing rooms and halls in urban areas. Adrian Tilbrook was drummer for The Ivor Kenney Sound at Leicester's Palais de Danse in 1968-69, Mike Miller in the days when he used to perform at the Palais de Danse in Leicester's Humberstone Gate, A recent photo of drummer Adrian Tilbrook who played with The Ivor Kenney Sound at Leicester's Palais de Danse in 1968-69. 7), designed by Clement Stretton and George Nott and opened in 1926, drew particular praise from The Builder for its elegant arcaded faade with neoclassical swag decoration.Footnote 47 The Astoria Palais de Danse in Bolton (Fig. They also advertised the fact. "At the time, Val was the top entertainment personality in the UK and my first concert with him, straight from the Palais, was at the London Palladium, starting a 16-week gig there.. 47071. Spotlights playfully danced around the crowded floor, too. 36 Dancing World (AugustSeptember 1921), p. iv. I emigrated to Australia in 1972 but have very fond memories of those times. had a good atmosphere as well. The type of timber was another major issue, as it had to be strong and durable, suitable for a high degree of polishing, but cost was also a concern. "T, I don't know why but "Love On A Mountain Top" seemed to get something of a revival at both the Palais and the Locarno at the same time. The dance floor, measuring 32 100ft, was overlooked by an equally impressive balcony and flanked by two orchestra stages (one on each of the long sides). Well it was a Christmas party being held for all the children of the staff who worked at the Palais. According to a Mass Observation report on Bolton's dance halls in 1938, The conclusion arrived at is that the dance hall forms a social centre which serves to insulate the individual from the unpleasant realities of everyday life. The colourful and refined interior of Derby's Palais de Danse (Figs 14 and 15) demonstrates the level of glamour in leading dance halls. However, because dance halls had to be granted music and dancing licences, renewed annually, it is possible to get some sense of their numbers from records held by local licensing authorities, together with other estimates. The outside is distinguished by the large ornate globe above the entrance and in the early days, music was often broadcast on the radio from the venue. in 1938, by which time nearly 42 per cent of workers received paid holidays.Footnote 74 This gave rise to annual spending on leisure estimated at between 200 million and 250 million during the 1920s and 1930s.Footnote 75 The dance hall also arrived at the same time as mass democracy, following extensions to the franchise in 1918 and 1928 that finally gave every man and woman the right to vote. As we got a little older we would brave the Crystal Palace pub and buy our pints of bitter shandy, to give us a little more courage to maybe actually chat the young ladies up! Very special memories of the old place including the performers and of course themusic! Details Jan 13, 1998 The music rises to a final chord, the drummer crashes on the cymbal [] There is a steady din of conversation.Footnote 92. met my girlfriend of the time Sue Elliott daughter of Gerry Elliott ex sheriff of Nottingham and overman down Gedling pit, nearly crapped myself when I started working there and saw him. 48 Daily Mirror, 12 February 1960, p. 23. Funny how you both mention Love On A Mountain Top. Just reading the 1957 Mansfield Gazateer for 1957 and noticed the page for the Musicians Union. 4).Footnote 36 The interior design (on the right) was a chinoiserie fantasy employing the contemporary fashion for oriental motifs. Music - Helping Handicapped People and people less fortunate than myself. It was designed by the Nottingham architectural practice of Evans, Clark and Woollatt for W. A. Walker at a cost of 30,000. 6). Elvis Presley Fans Dance On A Traffic Island Outside The Palais De Danse Hall in Nottingham. Gail and Jackie Searcy, Dave and Kev Husbands, Pete and Chris Smith, Tommy Cragg, Andy Cannon, Colin Shipstone, Mick Hancock, Tony Allen, Martin Green, Curly, Podgy (Simon Hodgkinson??) The Palais De Danse, Upper Parliament Street. It's the only time I've heard LOMT played at a dayer or nighter. The Palais de Danse, Nottingham. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. We are both still alive and live in a rural area of the Wairarapa 90 minutes drive north of Wellington. Happy times at the Palais remembered by Adrian included the regular interval dash across Humberstone Gate to the Pickwick pub (Old Black Lion and Skandals). Off we went into town. 21 See Walton, Blackpool Tower, pp. One sprung dance-floor system that came to dominate from the 1920s onwards was the Valtor floor, developed by Francis Morton and Company of London. 32 See MOA, MDJ, 3/A, C.L. The one at the Mayfair in Newcastle, which opened in 1961 (Fig. 14 Richardson, Philip, A History of English Ballroom Dancing (19101945): The Story of the Development of the Modern English Style (London, 1945), pp. "Other vocal duties were carried out by bass guitarist Fran Black, who had played with the famous all-ladies Ivy Benson band. Can anyone remember Reg Guest Trio and Ian King Trio? I was 9 years old and it was Christmas. The Palais de Danse on Humberstone Gate, Leicester Many readers will remember The Ivor Kenney Sound, the resident band, during the 1960s and 70s, at Leicesters Palais de It was the first palais de danse [nb 1] to be built in Britain. know one of paper lace was later working as a joiner. The one who lived down Colwick was still doing a solo turn in pubs and clubs, a couple of the others still toured as "Paper Lace" and did an absolutely brilliant version of "The Sabre Dance". Your previous content has been restored. Am in touch with Kev Husbands via Facebook. A waft of hot air, the rhythmic throb of the band, the hiss of feet on the ballroom floor assail you. The new dance halls of the late 1950s and early 1960s were typified by sumptuous, colourful interiors along coordinated, modern lines in the Contemporary style. 45 Dancing Times (September 1929), p. 551. We married in February 1961 and emigrated to New Zealand in October 1962. A few couples sit out talking [] Past them one can see heads sailing past serenely floating (the good dancers) or bobbing jerkily (beginners). We used to go to "grab a granny night" on Thursday nights and a nod to Mick always got my mate and I in for free. never missed a soul do there, from feb. Henry Holmes Dawson (18771964) seemingly worked with Thraves only on the palais, as he was in a London-based partnership with H.W. Allerdyce from 1920. Fig. 10. Frontage of the Nottingham Palais, showing its illuminated globe, 1925 (Nottingham City Council and picturethepast.org.uk) Conversions were common not only in the early days of dance-hall construction (around 191823), but also in its closing days (195560). There was a small area called Ladies Boudoir, Mayfair dance hall, Newcastle, 1961 (Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums). Seen you pop up on a few of Coop's images now and again. By this time our small gathering of Gedling lads had certainly grown in size. For example, at Tony's Ballroom in Birmingham, in the mid-1930s, there were two halls with sumptuous interiors on an Eastern theme. Illustrating the grace and finesse of the art of classical dance, the frieze was likely a considered choice addressing the moral panic engendered in some parts of society by the perceived ugliness of modern social dances such as the Charleston and Black Bottom.Footnote 57. The precious metal is now periodically used in dental golds and other dental metals. They changed their name to the Mansfields in 1964. We worked and lived in Wellington until 1992 when we moved to the Wairarapa Region and celebratedour 54th wedding anniversary this year! 8 Rowntree, Benjamin Seebohm and Lavers, George, English Life and Leisure: A Social Study (London, 1951), p. 279Google Scholar, and Daily Mail, 17 October 1956, p. 8. You know that sign really should have been written "Through these doors pass some of the most beautiful SOULS in the world", heres a photo of some of the Palais staff circa 1974. On its growth in northern English towns in 1920, the Cheltenham Chronicle commented: Dancing, with the pictures and football, fill in all the non-working hours in our great manufacturing towns, and, as a consequence, dancing masters not only teach the young how to step, but provide handsome dancing halls for them.Footnote 2, By 1938 it was estimated that around 100 million admissions were made to dances every year, and the figure doubled by 1953.Footnote 3 The dancing halls that sprung up to cater for this unprecedented demand developed into unique social spaces and a distinctive new building type of the twentieth century. By I entered into a singing competition they use to run and I won. 16). 509-511 Alfreton Road Skyy Bar 511a Alfreton Road Stork Club (2) Blueprint Club Bluecote Street The Junction Bottle Lane Arriba (1) Nick Palmer Paul McKenzie 45 Bridlesmith Gate Le Gourmet The Hippo Alex Smith Pat Petal Petal Mr Millers Nick Palmer Camelot Howard Cooper The Hippo (1993 ?) Postcard view of the entrance tower of the Locarno, Coventry, 1960 (author's private collection). 39 Dancing Times, March 1928, pp. In the early 90s the Palais was briefly used as a rave club. In this article, a dance hall is defined as a building permanently licensed and open most days of the year to the general public, the main purpose of which was to cater for public dancing.Footnote 7 Under this definition, the number of permanent dance halls in Britain fluctuated between 400 and 500 from 1920 to 1960.Footnote 8, The dance hall's considerable importance in twentieth-century British society its role in the growing emancipation of women, in emerging race relations and in enriching working-class social and cultural life is only beginning to be fully recognised.Footnote 9 Although the dance hall became a significant feature in the modern urban landscape, architectural historians, too, have given the new building type very little attention. Then at quarter to two, a special moment. I remember the Palais when the most popular performers were Johnny Gold & The Sovereigns and The Newtones. Absolutely love that record, viral or not! I used the title as my "handle" when CB's were big only to find out that everyone thought I was a copper just not so. People of different classes did attend the Nottingham Palais, but they did not necessarily mix. 3738Google Scholar. Happy days. Nonetheless, a very wide range of classes used the Nottingham Palais. I'm looking for photos of "The Jay Cats" - "The Jay Birds" - Early photos of Alvin Lee, Leo Lyons, Ric Lee, Dave Quickmire - Ten Years After..this also includes any and all photos of these bands and people for use on our websites. The Jubilee Hall, which was the Co-op, and the Corporation Hall. Then the Palais again, then Oceana, and currently Pryzm. top palias sounds well there's been quiet a few but here go's. Despite the nod to classical tradition in much of its external architecture, the Hammersmith Palais embraced modernity in its role as an important venue for the introduction of jazz to Britain. 73 Bristol Archives, Planning Department, 62/00864/P_U, 1962. It made over three times its original capital in the first twelve months and rapidly became known both nationally and internationally. Allerdyce from 1920.Footnote 54, Fig. At the time, Harry was drummer with the Palaiss resident trio, The Mike Miller Set, led by singer/guitarist Mike Hester, said Adrian. The New Bristol Centre was perhaps the zenith of these multi-purpose buildings. The seats were always taken as when someone got up one of the walkers would sit down. Rob Smith was forever hammering it but it just sounded so good blasting through that sound system. Building began in the city's Frogmore Street in 1963 and was completed in 1966. 13 Readers are invited to email the author at jjn4@st-andrews.ac.uk with details of any buildings remaining. Want to read more Leicestershire nostalgia? Every aspect of their design was carefully considered by entrepreneurs who were often at the forefront of the newly emerging leisure industry. The Hammersmith Palais de Danse, in its last years simply named Hammersmith Palais, was a dance hall and entertainment venue in Hammersmith, London, England that operated from 1919 until 2007. I wonder if anyone remembers us now after all these years ? When I was an apprentice in the mid 60's one of my fellow apprentices shocked everyone by resigning to go and work at the Palais, his name was Mick Knight and eventually became the manager ! It was founded by Carl Heimann, who in 1927 created an offshoot of the parent firm Ye Mecca Cafs. Meanwhile, sitters out and balcony watchers (always a significant proportion of the dance-hall crowd) provided a constant background accompaniment with their gossip, horseplay and chatter.Footnote 95, Movement, another key sensory experience of the dance hall, was vital to the liberty and freedom it symbolised. The different colours combined with different dance moves, tempos and music to alter the mood of the dance floor. Fig. 63 The Builder, 24 September 1937, p. 544. 11) was characterised by the eclectic deployment of neoclassical, Art Deco, oriental and even Pre-Raphaelite motifs.Footnote 58 At the centre of the dance floor was an illuminated fountain, which could rise to 12ft, surrounded by plants. Smith was forever hammering it but it just sounded so good blasting through that sound system C.L. February 1961 and emigrated to New Zealand in October 1962 1972 but have very fond memories of dance... Oblong room with seats round the outside were always taken as when someone up! 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