In the first section, Derek sets out Bradford’s music scene in the 1950s and 60s, with colourful recollections of local dance halls, shops, hair salons and coffee bars such as Silvio’s in Darley Street, Collinson’s Cafe, “famed for its coffee roaster and three-piece orchestra”, and the Farmer Giles Milk Bar, “which many parents advised their children not to visit as it had a reputation – of what, they did not say”.
There are adverts for Woods music shop – “If Your Group Wants Guitars You’ll Do Better Buying Them In Bradford” – and a charming photograph of two assistants, Dawn Moss and Linda Wilkinson, sporting perfectly-sculpted Sixties beehives. Linda, also pictured with her first love, Irvin ‘Smudge’ Smith, drummer with The Dingos, contributes a chapter on her memories of the late-1950s and 60s in Bradford, recalling acts such as The Animals and PJ Proby visiting Woods. “Whenever there was a show on all the top bands headed for Woods,” she recalls. “The Animals were on a show with the Nashville Teens, supporting The Beatles. I asked Alan Price if he was an Animal or a Nashville Teen and he gave me a wink and said ‘I’m an Animal’.”
Derek writes with the affection of venues like the Gaumont Ballroom, where he played the last record, Don Gibson’s Sea of Heartbreak before it closed in January 1962, the Mecca Locarno and The Majestic, where teens would flock after being asked: “Goin t’Maj?” There’s a chapter on Excel Records, a Shipley recording studio used by “all local budding pop stars”, including Dal Stevens and the Blue Jays. “We made Why Must I Be A Teenager In Love there in late 1959. At home one Saturday morning, I was playing it on the radiogramme, the coalman called to be paid and commented: ‘Don’t they play some rubbish on the radio these days?’” recalls Derek.
There are delightful images of girls doing the twist on the wooden floor of Bradford’s Textile Hall, Teddy boys posing against garden gates, and lads in quiffs – including a 16-year-old Mike Priestley, later to become a T&A writer. A snap of Clay Martin and the Trespassers – a skiffle group founded by 14-year-olds Paul Hornby and Allan Davies – shows them practising in a back garden in 1959.
The second section focuses on the groups Derek has chronicled, with chapters followed by a biography of members including details such as date and place of birth, schools attended, jobs and families. Acts featured include The Caravelles, Cliff and Brenda with the Dominators, The Dakotas, Garth Cawood, The Flamingos, Mick Judge and the Jurymen, Mike Sagar and The Cresters, The Sidewinders, and The Wingbeats. There are chapters on Kiki Dee, which includes a photograph of the young Pauline Matthews singing at Dudley Hill Cricket Club in 1956, Johnnie Casson, a local drummer before he became a comic, and Great Horton-born John Verity.
“Every town and city had its homegrown skiffle, rock ’n’ roll and beat groups, none more so than Bradford,” says Derek. “The scene was vibrant and there was real talent here. Had there been a Brian Epstein we could’ve created a ‘Yorkshire sound’.”
As well as being a comprehensive guide to Bradford’s post-war music scene, Derek’s book offers a fascinating slice of social history. He hopes it will become part of Bradford’s heritage. “It’s something that those who were in these groups, and their families, can pass on to their grandchildren,” he says.
CREDIT: Bradford Telegraph & Argus 13 June 2012