Tag: Events

Amanda Barrie Comes to Blackpool

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Amanda Barrie (born Shirley Anne Broadbent; 14 September 1935) is an English actress. She appeared in two of the Carry On films before being cast as Alma Halliwell in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, a role she played on and off for 20 years. Between 2003 and 2006, she played the role of Bev Tull in the ITV prison drama, Bad Girls. Barrie has since enjoyed a varied stage and television career. Barrie is a distant cousin of Coronation Street co-star Sally Ann Matthews, who plays Jenny Bradley. Barrie was born Shirley Anne Broadbent in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, to Hubert… Read more »

Hollywood Icon Mae West Lights up Blackpool

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Mae West visited Blackpool on multiple occasions, with a well-documented appearance at the Blackpool Hippodrome in 1947-1948. She also performed at the New Opera House in 1947-1948. The Hippodrome’s archives even list various other performances in Blackpool, including those by “Blackpool Film Festival,” which occasionally screened her films like “I’m No Angel”. Blackpool must have made a terrific impression on her as she was amongst many other celebrity donors who gave to the St Stephens-on-the-Cliffs Church. West’s likeness was used on the front cover of the Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. When approached for permission, West… Read more »

Noël Coward Comes to Blackpool

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Noël Coward had a notable connection with Blackpool, particularly with the Grand Theatre. He first came to Blackpool in October 1942 to present his “Play Parade” featuring “Present Laughter”, “Blithe Spirit”, and “This Happy Breed” at the Blackpool Grand Theatre. This was part of his wartime tour of Britain. Amongst many other things, Coward was also a donor at Blackpool’s St Stephen’s on-the-Cliffs Church. With the outbreak of the Second World War Coward abandoned the theatre and sought official war work. After running the British propaganda office in Paris, where he concluded that “if the policy of His Majesty’s Government… Read more »

Diana Dors Gets Into Trouble and Appears in Blackpool Shows

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Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 1931 – 4 May 1984) was a British actress who made several appearances in Blackpool. She performed in the “Life with Lyons” show at a fee of £100 a week for three months in 1953. In addition, eBay UK reports she appeared in a “Souvenir Sunday Night Concert” at the Opera House in Blackpool on 30 July 1961. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was promoted by her first husband, Dennis Hamilton, mostly in… Read more »

Fleetwood Celebrates 40 Years of its Tram Sunday Tradition

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Fleetwood’s first “Tram Sunday,” also known as the Fleetwood Festival of Transport, took place in 1985, meaning this year’s event will be its 40th. It was initially organised as part of the celebrations for the anniversary of Blackpool trams. Held annually on the 3rd Sunday in July, Fleetwood Festival of Transport (or Tram Sunday as it’s known locally) is a fun-packed FREE transport event for all the family. It is one of the largest FREE event of its kind, attracting crowds of 70,000+ to fill the town of Fleetwood. There’s something for everyone and entertainment for all the family. This year… Read more »

15-Year-Old Audrey Mosson, British Railway Queen, Visits Moscow

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Elsie Audrey Mosson (3 September 1920, Preston – 1 September 2009, Hastings) was an English teen celebrity and later a professional dancer. Her youngest daughter, Mandy Tulloch, followed in her mother’s footsteps becoming an accomplished dancer and actress, followed by Mandy’s youngest daughter Makena Ram who became an accomplished ballerina and choreographer. It was, however, Mandy’s eldest daughter Danielle Ashley that Audrey favoured and saw herself in above all her decedents. In 1936, she travelled to the Soviet Union on a peace visit and met Joseph Stalin. Mosson was born in Preston, Lancashire. She was crowned the 10th Railway Queen… Read more »

Amy Johnson’s Final Flight From Blackpool Airport

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On the evening of 4 January 1941, Amy Johnson CBE visited her sister Mollie who lived on Newton Drive in Blackpool. For more on her previous visits to her sister, click HERE. On the following day, while flying an Airspeed Oxford for the ATA from Prestwick via RAF Squires Gate (now Blackpool Airport) to RAF Kidlington near Oxford, it is suggested that Amy Johnson ran out of fuel in adverse weather conditions. Less than five hours after Johnson’s departure from Blackpool, a convoy of wartime vessels in the Thames Estuary spotted a parachute coming down and saw a person alive… Read more »

VE Day Blackpool – 2025

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Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Thursday 8 May [2025] will be a very special day in Blackpool as we celebrate 80 years since VE Day. Across the town, events have been organised by community groups and schools, as well as neighbours making the occasion with street parties.”

Robbie Williams Switches Blackpool On

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On Friday 3 September 2010, global pop icon Robbie Williams returned to one of his favourite childhood holiday destinations to switch on the world-famous Blackpool Illuminations. The highly anticipated event drew thousands of spectators to the town’s iconic seafront, officially launching the annual display of lights that would run for a record 66 consecutive nights. The switch-on ceremony has long been a staple of the resort’s calendar, but Williams’ involvement that year added a particular buzz of excitement, thanks to his massive fanbase and his own nostalgic connection to the town. While Robbie did not perform on the night, his… Read more »

Peter Kay Switches on Blackpool’s Illuminations for Star-Studded Weekend

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Britain’s most popular comedian, Peter Kay, switched on Blackpool Illuminations in 2014. In a rare public appearance, the Phoenix Nights star, whose name has been synonymous with Blackpool since his record selling “Live at the Top of Tower” DVD, charmed the 20,000-strong crowd at Blackpool’s seafront Festival Headlands.Fireworks launched from the top of The Blackpool Tower as the lights turned on the Golden Mile and along the length of the town’s famous Promenade. The Bolton-born comedian revealed his delight at turning on the famous display in an exclusive interview with Rock FM. He told the station: “Blackpool is a huge… Read more »