Tag: Music

Roy Harper Gets His First Record Deal

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From the age of 6, Roy Harper lived in St Annes-on-Sea but he was born in 1941 in Rusholme, a suburb of Manchester. His mother, Muriel, died three weeks after giving birth. He was brought up by his father and stepmother, with whom he became disillusioned because of his stepmother’s religious beliefs (although they reconciled in 1980, just before her death). His anti-religious views would later become a familiar theme within his music. English folk rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has released 22 studio albums (and 10 live ones) across a career that stretches back to 1966. As a musician, Harper is… Read more »

Dave Ball Meets Marc Almond

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David James Ball, born on 3 May 1959 in Chester, Cheshire, is an influential English producer and electronic musician best known for his work with the synthpop duo Soft Cell and the electronic music group The Grid. Raised in Blackpool after being adopted, Ball attended Arnold School before moving on to studying art at Leeds Polytechnic, where he met Marc Almond, and together they formed Soft Cell in 1978. The duo found fame with hits like “Tainted Love” and “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye,” and continued until their split in 1984. Ball’s solo career began in 1983 with the album In… Read more »

Andy Summers Joins the Police

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Andrew James Summers was born in Poulton-le-Fylde on 31 December 1942, though he grew up in Bournemouth. After several years of piano lessons, he began playing guitar at age 10. His love for the instrument grew after he saw Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie perform in London, and by 16, he was playing in local clubs. Summers later moved to London at 19 to form Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band, and his early influences included jazz greats like Kenny Burrell, Miles Davis, and Wes Montgomery. Summers’ career in the 1960s saw him play in various bands, including the psychedelic Dantalian’s… Read more »

John Evan Meets Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

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John Evan, born John Spencer Evans on 28 March 1948, in Derby, Derbyshire, is a musician and composer best known as the keyboardist for Jethro Tull. While his birthplace is often cited as Derby, the official Jethro Tull website claims he was born in Blackpool. His father was a headmaster at a Derbyshire village school, and his mother was a concert pianist and piano teacher. The family relocated to Blackpool, Lancashire, in October 1949. Evan was educated at Blackpool Grammar School, where he met future Jethro Tull members Ian Anderson and Jeffrey Hammond. He later attended Chelsea College, now part… Read more »

Robert Smith Co-Founds The Cure

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Robert James Smith, born on 21 April 1959 in Blackpool, is a renowned British musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of The Cure, a pivotal band in the post-punk and gothic rock movements. Smith remains the band’s only continuous member, having shaped its sound since its formation in 1976. Raised in a musical household, Smith was the third of four children to Rita Mary (née Emmott) and James Alexander Smith. His father was a singer, and his mother played the piano, which likely influenced his early musical… Read more »

Ricky Tomlinson Becomes a Royle

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Eric ‘Ricky’ Tomlinson, born on 26 September 1939 in Burleigh House, Bispham, Blackpool, is an actor, comedian, and musician, best known for his television roles, including Bobby Grant in Brookside (1982–1988), DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker (1993–2006), and Jim Royle in the iconic sitcom The Royle Family (1998–2012). Despite his roots in Blackpool, he has lived in Liverpool for most of his life. Tomlinson’s early life saw him evacuated to Blackpool at the outbreak of World War II due to fears that Liverpool would be bombed. He attended Walton Technical College in Liverpool after passing an exam at the age… Read more »

Nick McCarthy Joins Franz Ferdinand

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Nicholas John McCarthy, born on 13 December 1974 in Blackpool, is a versatile musician known for his work as a rhythm guitarist, backing/lead vocalist, keyboardist, and songwriter. Although born in England, McCarthy grew up in Vagen, near Munich, Bavaria, Germany. His younger sister is the artist Anna McCarthy. As a teenager, McCarthy earned the nickname “McCarThief” after an incident where he and friends stole a car. He completed his high school education in Bad Aibling, Germany, and was classically trained as both a pianist and a double bassist at the Munich Conservatory. Initially drawn to drumming, McCarthy later settled into… Read more »

Cynthia Lennon – Born in Blackpool

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Cynthia Lennon (née Powell; 10 September 1939 – 1 April 2015) was a British artist and author, and the first wife of John Lennon. She was born in Blackpool on 10 September 1939 and raised in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula. She was the youngest of three children of General Electric Company employee Charles Powell and his wife Lillian (née Roby), who already had two sons named Charles and Anthony. Her parents were from Liverpool, but her mother (along with other pregnant women) was sent to the safer area of Blackpool after World War II had been declared and lived… Read more »

Harry Feeney & The Rockin’ Vickers

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The Rockin’ Vickers were a vibrant English rock and roll band from Blackpool, active from 1963 to 1968. Known for their high-energy live performances and unique stage presence, they are perhaps most famous for launching the career of Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, later of Motörhead fame, who was then known as Ian Willis. The band went through a few name changes before settling on “The Rockin’ Vickers” to increase their chances of securing gigs and a record contract. Originally called Rev Black and the Rockin’ Vicars, they shortened the name to the Rockin’ Vicars before finally adopting the “Rockin’ Vickers” moniker…. Read more »

Cilla Black’s Blackpool

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Priscilla Maria Veronica White OBE (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was a singer and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her singles “Anyone Who Had a Heart” and “You’re My World” both reached number one in the UK in 1964. She had 11 top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart between then and 1971 and an additional eight hits that made the top 40. During this period she had several bookings in Blackpool, some of which are detailed below. In May 2010,… Read more »