Page 30 - Gracie Fields News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Submitting... Batley Variety Club opened on Easter Sunday in 1967, predating the release of the Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album and the Summer of Love by a matter of weeks. Seven year-old Enrico Tomasso serenades Louis Armstrong as he arrives in Yorkshire for a residency at Batley Variety Club. (YPN). Whether or not psychedelia reached as far as Batley is a moot point, but over the next few years people flocked from far and wide to this 1,600-seater club, that sold beer at 3s 6d a pint, and scampi and chips in a basket for 7s 6d, to see some of the biggest names in showbiz.

The Greatest Mistake of My Life from a much older source — a 90-year-old, mostly forgotten song. Their sophomore album, The Greatest Mistake of My Life, arrives this Friday (April 16), but through its singles already has shown the young band have stepped up their game. From the huge and anthemic chorus of “Afterlife” to the more subdued but still dynamic “In Circles,” the shoegaze inspired “Beyond Belief” and the progressive "nomoreroses," Holding Absence prove that they can pack an emotional punch into a wide range of songs. And most importantly, they can do it well. Vocalist...

Through his camera lens a Southampton photographer captured the A list celebrities who made up the star-studded cast of passengers crisscrossing the Atlantic from Southampton to New York. They included Hollywood royalty and our own royal family like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who were the Harry and Meghan of their day. The late Frank Eaton was part of the team who worked for Ocean Pictures which had the sole concessionaires on board the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth for whole of their maritime service. It was a passport to the rich and famous who enjoyed the luxury of many days...

Radio Clatterbridge celebrates 70 years on air One of the country’s oldest hospital radio stations will mark its 70th birthday with a special day of programmes on Friday 9 April. Radio Clatterbridge began broadcasting in 1951 when members of Port Sunlight Boys Club hit upon the idea of taking a record player onto the wards to play music to entertain patients. Initially it had a mixed reception: those closest to the speaker complained it was too loud, while those at the far end of the ward couldn’t hear the music. But the hospital authorities were convinced the idea had merit ...

One of the country’s oldest radio stations will mark its 70th birthday with a special day of programmes on Friday (April 9). Radio Clatterbridge began broadcasting in 1951 when members of Port Sunlight Boys Club came up with the idea of taking a record player onto the wards to play music to entertain patients. Initially it had a mixed reception: those closest to the speaker complained it was too loud, while those at the far end of the ward couldn’t hear the music. But the hospital authorities were convinced the idea had merit and agreed to fund a studio and a transmission system c...