Tag: Celebrities

Frank Swift Signs with Manchester City

Posted by

Frank Victor Swift (26 December 1913 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for both Manchester City and the England national team. He began his football career at Fleetwood Town, close to his hometown of Blackpool, before joining First Division club Manchester City in 1932, where he spent the entirety of his professional playing career. Tragically, Swift passed away at the age of 44 in the Munich air disaster while reporting on Manchester United’s European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, for the News of the World. On 6 February 1958,… Read more »

‘King Billy’ Greenwood Opens First Tudor Bingo

Posted by

‘King Billy’ Greenwood, entrepreneur and self-made businessman, from Knott End to Fleetwood, and Blackpool’s Tudor Bingo Empire that made him a Millionaire in the swinging 1960s! William David Greenwood (1915-1991), always known as Billy, was born in Blackpool. His parents, Agnes and Harold, lived on Fenton Road, where they brought up their family including Billy’s two sisters Annie and May, along with younger brother Harry. Billy’s father worked for the railway at Blackpool’s Central Station and was on two occasions given the prestigious responsibility of commanding the Royal Train. Billy as a young man was always seeking his fortune and… Read more »

Heritage North West Takes Over the Clifton Family Home

Posted by

Evleyn Waugh declared the Cliftons as “all tearing mad” when he visited Lytham Hall in the 1930s. The last Squire Clifton, Harry, managed to squander the family fortunes and bring to an end several centuries of Clifton family dominance for Lytham and St Annes in Lancashire. Harry’s reckless and eccentric behaviour, not to mention his wild schemes and obsession with the occult, left very little of his families vast estates in Lancashire and Scotland. His father, John Talbot Clifton, had lost in his lifetime the family’s estates in Ireland after it became independent from the British Crown at the end… Read more »

The Mystery of Paula Yates

Posted by

Do a search online for Paula Yates and you won’t find much that ties Paula Yates to Blackpool. Her Wikipedia page claims she was born on 24 April 1959 in Colwyn Bay, Wales, to English parents, and that she was brought up in a show business family. Her mother was Elaine Smith who was from Blackpool. Her stage name was Heller Toren, who later wrote under the pseudonym Helene Thornton. Up until 1997, Paula Yates believed her biological father was Jess Yates, who hosted the ITV religious programme Stars on Sunday. A DNA test in that year revealed that her… Read more »

Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake’s John Sykes Co-Founds Streetfighter

Posted by

John James Sykes, a virtuoso guitarist whose contributions shaped the rock music scene, passed away in December 2024 at the age of 65. A prominent figure in the 1970s and 1980s rock scene, he performed with iconic bands such as Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, and later carved out a successful solo career. Born on 29th July 1959 in Reading, Berkshire, Sykes spent part of his early childhood in Ibiza, Spain, where his father and uncle ran a popular discothèque. The family eventually returned to Reading, where at 14, Sykes was introduced to the guitar by his uncle, who showed him… Read more »

Photo Exclusive: Joe McElderry’s First Live Performance in Blackpool

Posted by

On 14 November 2010, Blackpool BID put on the Christmas Lights Switch-On event in the town centre with Joe McElderry doing the honours. The video clip and photos featured in this post were taken at the event and are shown here for the first time as an exclusive on Blackpool Timeline. For more up-to-date information about Blackpool BID, please visit the website. BACK TO THE PRESENT Michael Harrison and the Really Useful Group are delighted to announce that South Shields-born X Factor winner, Joe McElderry, will return this year to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, where he is set… Read more »

Lilias Munro is Spotted in Blackpool by Dancer Miss Bluebell

Posted by

LILIAS MUNRO former Bluebell girl, head of make-up at BBC Television in the north of England and step mother of deceased Disney movie actress JANET MUNRO, died at 2am on 19 July 2004 at Victoria Hospital in Blackpool of cancer. Lilias (Lily) Smith was born in Wigan on 24 January 1917. She was spotted by Miss Bluebell (Margaret Kelly) on a visit to Blackpool in 1935 and brought to Paris to dance as one of the famous Bluebell Girls. Margaret Kelly. Photo taken by Teddy Piaz (1899 – 1966). Madam Bluebell with the Bluebell Girls at the Ritz Hotel for…

Feature Film AWAY Focuses on Blackpool

Posted by

Away is a 2016 British drama film directed by David Blair and starring Timothy Spall and Juno Temple. It premiered at the 2016 Edinburgh International Film Festival. It was released in the United Kingdom digitally on 8 May 2017 by 101 Films and on DVD on 15 May 2017 by Metrodome. The story takes place in Blackpool, where an unlikely friendship blossoms between a lonely, suicidal widower and a young woman trying to escape an abusive ex-boyfriend. In a nutshell, this is a grim drama set in Blackpool where the older of the two is Joseph (Timothy Spall), a boozy,… Read more »

Lynne Carol Becomes Martha Longhurst On Coronation Street

Posted by

Josephine Caroline Gertrude Mary Faith Harber, born on 29 June 1914 and known by the stage name Lynne Carol, was a Welsh actress primarily recognised for her roles in television series and telemovies. She is best remembered for portraying the gossiping Martha Longhurst in the long-running soap opera Coronation Street, a role she played from the second episode in 1960 until the character’s death in 1964. Carol married Herbert (Bert) Newell Palmer in 1934 in Bideford, Devon. Palmer, born 22 April 1900, was a character actor from Easingwold, Yorkshire, and had numerous television roles, including appearances in two episodes of… Read more »

Tarzan’s Johnny Weissmuller Swims in Derby Baths

Posted by

Johnny Weissmuller performed in “The Water Follies” at the Derby Baths in Blackpool in 1949. The Derby Baths was a swimming complex known for its Art Deco architecture and Olympic-sized seawater pool. It also had high diving boards and was popular for international competitions. Johnny Weissmuller was born Johann Peter Weißmüller on 2 June 1904. He was a Hungarian-born ethnic German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records of the 20th century. He set world records alongside winning five gold medals in the Olympics. He won the 100m freestyle and… Read more »