NOSTALGIA FEATURE
This month we dig amongst the records to discover what was going on in Blackpool during the summer of 1961. With so many theatres to choose from back then, there was no shortage of variety. Mark Ritchie does the digging.

Royal Opera House- Cliff Richard and Shirley Bassey both appeared during a split summer season along with Richard Hearne of ‘Mr Pastry’ fame. Still inside the Winter Gardens the great skiffle king Lonnie Donegan was packing The Pavilion theatre out, with his guests Miki and Griff and Frankie Vaughn.
The Grand Theatre- Big-hearted Arthur Askey was appearing in a sort of revue presentation, which was also notable for providing the stage debut for a young actress and singer called Julia McKenzie. Also on-stage was a singer and dancer called Betty Driver who was later to find fame in the Lancashire soap Coronation Street, where she played the part of barmaid Betty Turpin for many a long year.
The Hippodrome Theatre This place was previously known as The Coconut Grove and was later to become the ABC Theatre. The final show at the old Hippodrome starred the great singing star David Whitfield.
The Palace Theatre would be demolished after the summer season show of 1961, which featured ventriloquist Arthur Worsley and his guests, including the former music hall star Hetty King.
Moving towards the three piers, we begin on the South Pier where there were two theatres operating then, both at opposite ends of the pier. The Rainbow Theatre featured a rock and roll type show featuring Gerry & The Pacemakers and Eden Kane, who I had the pleasure of working with myself many years later. At the far end of the South Pier in The Regal Pavilion was a show featuring singing star Robert Earl, comedian Billy Raymond and a vocal trio called Mudlarks.  In the North Pier theatre, a huge cast featuring Michael Halliday, Des O’Connor and Welsh comedian Stan Stennett was packing the place. The Central Pier featured a show called Let’s Have Fun starring the great comedian, Tommy Trinder.
This truly was the time to be in show business with almost as many stars on the resorts stages than there were in bulb form during the illuminations.