When Bradford Rocked

15/01/2025

A while since we've posted any updates. Sorry.
The Telegraph & Argus continue to publish the shorter biographies in the Nostalgia column which have brought a lot of new visitors to the site.
Sadly, the obituaries continue to grow. If you know of anyone featured in the book or on the website that may have died recently, please let us know via the contacts page.
During this years City of Culture celebrations we hope some of our musical past is celebrated also.

06/08/2024

The T&A ran another feature from our website about Garth Cawood which will be featured on the site soon. Sadly, we had to add another obituary. John Harding, seen below, brother of Richard Harding. You can read his obituary on our website.

10/06/2024

This is the link to the recent T&A piece on pianist Spike O'Brien.

DEREK AJ LISTER, who was resident DJ at Bradford’s Gaumont and Majestic dance halls, profiles rock ‘n’ roll pianist Spike O’Brien:

07/06/2024

We are pleased to announce what we hope will be the start of a new series in the T&A featuring 'mini-profiles' from the website.
We are starting with the brilliant local pianist, Spike O'Brien.
This first profile will be in Saturday's T&A.

08/05/2024

We have started a series of mini-profiles of Bradford's groups and solo artists. The first 5 are on there now. And we have more to come in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, they will appear in the Telegraph & Argus in the forthcoming months.
If you have any suggestions for new topics, please feel free to let us know via the Contacts page on the website. Thank you for your continued interest in the site.

04/04/2024

Thank you to the ever-growing number of visitors to our website. It's encouraging and we will continue to add new features over the months.

18/03/2024

The T&A continue to feature articles from our website. The last was a look at the Alhambra's 'talent' nights. You can find all the articles under the T&A website 'Nostalgia'.

30/01/2024

Fashion in the 50s and 60s. This is a new section looking at the styles of dress for both the men and the girls. D.A quiffs - A-Line dresses and 'winkle-picker' shoes. Just some of the fashions.
Hair styling at Mario's in the Wool Exchange. One of the first barbers to engage with the D.A. hairstyle for men. I won't say what D.A. stood for. I'm sure you will all know!
Thanks to Emma Clayton at the T&A who featured this article on Tuesday 7th in the 'Remember When' section.
We are in the process of adding a section called " On the never-never" or how the groups bought their instruments and basic equipment. This follows the story of the "Tradesmen". They were typical of the financial struggle the groups had.

25/01/2024

We've been a little quiet since Xmas and the holiday period. We will be adding new pieces over the next few weeks, so keep a look out on the site.

12/01/2024

Further new sections on the website.
We have a reminder of the Gaumont staff and their popularity.
Larry Parnes's roster of singers including Georgie Fame, Joe Brown, Dickie Pride, and Vince Eager are just some of them featured.
Dal Stevens recollects an unfortunate booking he thought they had
at Christie's in Selby. Only to find there wasn't a booking for them and the ensuing 'drama' that followed.

14/11/2023

We have just added a new page reflecting on some of the group's 'original' members. Many groups went through line-up changes over their life, but here is a selection of the first iteration of some of them.

01/11/2023

We have just added a piece on drummers. The much-forgotten part of many groups. They were usually at the back of the stage - heard but not seen! Dal recalls a few of the drummers he remembers.
We have an article by Geoff Chew coming up along with his fabulous cartoons that describe the instruments every group needed and the Bradford music shops where they could be bought.