Web Page No 2788 29th May 2021 EAMON ANDREWS First Picture: A YOUNG EAMON ANDREWS

Second Picture: WHATS MY LINE?

Third Picture: EAMON AND GRAINNE AT HOME

Fourth Picture: THIS IS YOUR LIFE

EAMONN ANDREWS WAS BORN IN DUBLIN ON 19TH DECEMBER 1922, AND WAS EDUCATED AT THE CITY'S SYNGE STREET CHRISTIAN BROTHERS' SCHOOL, NOT FAR FROM THE FAMILY HOME HE SHARED WITH HIS PARENTS, THREE SISTERS AND A BROTHER. IT WAS WHILE HE WAS AT SCHOOL THAT EAMONN DEVELOPED A PASSION FOR SPORT, AND IN PARTICULAR, BOXING. HE JOINED ST ANDREWS BOXING CLUB IN DUBLIN AND BECAME A SUCCESSFUL AMATEUR BOXER, WINNING THE ALL-IRELAND JUVENILE TITLE. HIS OTHER GREAT LOVES WERE LITERATURE AND THEATRE. HE HAD AN INTEREST IN AMATEUR DRAMATICS, AND ALONG WITH A GROUP OF FRIENDS, ESTABLISHED A DRAMA GROUP CALLED BLUE WHITE PRODUCTIONS, NAMED FOR THEIR OLD SCHOOL COLOURS. IN ADDITION TO ACTING, HE WAS A KEEN WRITER AND WROTE PLAYS AND POETRY. EAMONN WON THE FIRST PRIZE OF A BICYCLE IN AN ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION AT THE AGE OF 13 IN MAY 1936 BOXING TOOK UP MUCH OF HIS TIME OUTSIDE SCHOOL, AND IRONICALLY HIS FIRST PAYMENT FOR WRITING WAS CONNECTED TO HIS BOXING. BY THE AGE OF 16 EAMONN ALREADY HAD AN AMBITION TO BROADCAST, AND CLAIMING TO BE AN EXPERT ON BOXING, HE APPLIED FOR WORK WITH RADIO EIREANN - DUBLIN'S COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION – AND FOLLOWING AN AUDITION, HE WAS OFFERED A TRY-OUT: THE TRY-OUT WAS A SUCCESS AND EAMONN BEGAN HIS BROADCASTING CAREER WITH REGULAR SPORTING COMMENTARIES FOR BOXING, RUGBY AND SOCCER. IN ADDITION, HIS CONTINUING INTEREST IN THEATRE SAW HIM STUDYING ACTING UNDER RIA MOONEY AT THE ABBEY THEATRE. HE ALSO TOOK PART IN PLAYS ON RADIO EIREANN, AND HAD HIS OWN PLAY, A SOLEMN – AND UNSUCCESSFUL – WORK ENTITLED THE MOON IS BLACK, PRODUCED AT THE PEACOCK THEATRE. AS A TEENAGER EAMONN HAD A VARIETY OF INTERESTS TO KEEP HIM BUSY, INCLUDING BOXING AND LITERATURE. AFTER LEAVING SCHOOL HE TOOK HIS PARENTS ADVICE TO SECURE A STEADY JOB AT THE HIBERNIAN INSURANCE COMPANY IN DUBLIN AS A JUNIOR CLERK, WHERE HE WAS PAID £1 A WEEK. AND HE WAS STILL BOXING - AT THE AGE 22 IN 1944 AT THE NATIONAL STADIUM IN DUBLIN, EAMONN ENTERED THE IRISH JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE – AND WON. BUT NOT BEFORE HE HAD COMMENTATED ON THE OTHER SEMI-FINAL! WITH THE EXTRA ACTIVITIES BOOSTING HIS INCOME, EAMONN MADE THE DECISION, WITH TREPIDATION, TO LEAVE THE SECURITY OF A REGULAR INCOME AT THE HIBERNIAN, AND BECOME A FULL-TIME WRITER AND BROADCASTER IN 1946. THE DECISION PROVED TO BE THE RIGHT ONE FOR HIM - AS WELL AS THE BOXING COMMENTARIES, EAMONN'S TIME WAS FREED UP TO WORK ON OTHER PROGRAMMES, INCLUDING MICROPHONE PARADE, WHICH RAN FOR ALMOST THREE YEARS WITHOUT A BREAK, AND INVOLVED HIM INTERVIEWING VISITING CELEBRITIES. EAMONN BECAME A FULL TIME WRITER AND BROADCASTER AFTER LEAVING THE HIBERNIAN INSURANCE COMPANY WHERE HE HAD WORKED AS A CLERK HE ALSO BECAME INVOLVED WITH A NEW ENTERTAINMENT PHENOMENON THAT WAS SPRINGING UP IN IRELAND AT THE TIME CALLED CINE VARIETY, WHERE AS A TAX BREAK CINEMA OWNERS COULD OFFER LIVE ENTERTAINMENT BEFORE SHOWING A FILM. AS PART OF CINE VARIETY, EAMONN WAS OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT A QUIZ CALLED DOUBLE OR NOTHING, WHICH INVOLVED MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE ANSWERING A SERIES OF QUESTIONS FOR CASH PRIZES. AFTER BEING ON THE ROAD IN LIMERICK AND GALWAY, THE SHOW SECURED A REGULAR SPOT AT THE THEATRE ROYAL IN DUBLIN, WHERE EAMONN, AS COMPERE, GAINED VALUABLE EXPERIENCE OF WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE PUBLIC. IT WAS AT THE THEATRE ROYAL AFTER A PERFORMANCE OF DOUBLE OR NOTHING IN JULY 1949 THAT EAMONN MET GRAINNE BOURKE, WHO WAS ENJOYING A NIGHT OUT WITH HER FAMILY. THE BOURKES RAN A COSTUMIER BUSINESS IN DUBLIN, AND WERE THEATRICAL FRIENDS OF EAMONN'S. HE HAD MET GRAINNE CASUALLY A FEW TIMES, BUT THAT NIGHT HE JOINED THEIR PARTY AFTER THE SHOW, AND GRAINNE AND EAMONN HAD THEIR FIRST REAL 'DATE'. THEIR COURTSHIP LASTED NEARLY TWO AND A HALF YEARS, AND THEY WERE MARRIED AT DUBLIN'S CORPUS CHRISTI CHURCH ON 7TH NOVEMBER 1951. IT WAS DURING A SEASON AT THE THEATRE ROYAL THAT EAMONN MET JOE LOSS, WHO CHANGED THE COURSE OF HIS PROFESSIONAL CAREER: JOE LOSS WAS A SUCCESSFUL BANDLEADER WHO HAD BEEN BOOKED FOR TWO WEEK’S. HE LIKED EAMONN AND WHAT HE WAS DOING WITH DOUBLE OR NOTHING AND OFFERED HIM THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRING THE SHOW OVER TO ENGLAND. THIS RESULTED IN A LIFELONG FRIENDSHIP WHILE IN LONDON, EAMONN APPROACHED THE BBC IN PERSON, AND EVENTUALLY AN OPPORTUNITY AROSE. STEWART MACPHERSON, THE CANADIAN BROADCASTER WHO HAD BEEN ONE OF THE MOST FAMILIAR VOICES ON BRITISH RADIO DURING THE WAR, ANNOUNCED HE WAS LEAVING. EAMONN WAS SWIFT TO TRY THE BBC AGAIN; POINTING OUT THAT HE COULD DO EVERYTHING THAT MACPHERSON DID. HIS AUDITION WAS SUCCESSFUL, AND AT THE AGE OF 27 IN 1950, HE MOVED TO LONDON, SECURED HIMSELF AN AGENT, AND BEGAN A 14-YEAR LONG BROADCASTING CAREER WITH THE BBC. EAMONN ANDREWS CHAIRED HIS FIRST EDITION OF IGNORANCE IS BLISS, HE ALSO WORKED ON OTHER RADIO PROGRAMMES, INCLUDING SPORTS REPORT, A SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOOTBALL RESULTS PROGRAMME WHICH HE JOINED IN DECEMBER 1950, AND WOULD CONTINUE CONTRIBUTING TO UNTIL 1964. THE IDEA OF APPEARING ON TELEVISION HAD NOT THRILLED HIM BUT, IN THE SPRING OF 1951 THE BBC COMMISSIONED A NEW GAME SHOW FROM AMERICA, CALLED WHAT'S MY LINE, THE PANEL GAME DEBUTED ON BBC TELEVISION IN THE SUMMER OF 1951 WITH EAMONN ANDREWS AS THE CHAIRMAN BY 1955 THE BBC - NOW WELL AWARE OF EAMONN'S TALENT AND POPULARITY - WERE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR A NEW SHOW FOR HIM TO FRONT. RONNIE WALDMAN, THE THEN HEAD OF BBC LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT, HAD HIS SIGHTS SET ON CREATING A BRITISH VERSION OF A HUGELY POPULAR AMERICAN SHOW CALLED THIS IS YOUR LIFE. SO, ON FRIDAY 29 JULY 1955, EAMONN ANDREWS AND FREDDIE MILLS TOOK THEIR SEATS AT THE BBC TELEVISION THEATRE IN SHEPHERD'S BUSH, AS RALPH EDWARDS, ON LIVE TELEVISION, TEASED THE AUDIENCE ABOUT WHOSE LIFE STORY WOULD BE TOLD ON BRITAIN'S FIRST EDITION OF THIS IS YOUR LIFE. RALPH EDWARDS HANDED EAMONN THE THIS IS YOUR LIFE BOOK, AND AS EAMONN HIMSELF WOULD DO TO HIS FUTURE SUBJECTS ON MANY SUBSEQUENT OCCASIONS, ASKED HIM TO READ THE COVER. HIS REACTION ON SEEING HIS OWN NAME PRINTED ON THE COVER WAS – "THIS IS YOUR – OH BLIMEY!" EAMONN'S THIS IS YOUR LIFE WAS A HUGE SUCCESS, WITH MANY POSITIVE REVIEWS IN THE FOLLOWING DAY'S PRESS. EAMONN HAD RECEIVED A TASTE OF WHAT HIS FUTURE SUBJECTS WOULD EXPERIENCE AND TO HIM THE SURPRISE WOULD ALWAYS BE THE SHOW'S CENTREPIECE. THE PROGRAMMEWENT FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, AND WAS SOON BEING BROADCAST WEEKLY AND EAMONN BECAME SYNONYMOUS WITH THE PROGRAMME. HE PRESENTED 255 EDITIONS OF THIS IS YOUR LIFE FOR THE BBC BETWEEN 1955 AND 1964 EAMONN ALSO PRESENTED OTHER TELEVISION SHOWS FOR THE BBC, INCLUDING THE CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMES PLAYBOX AND CRACKERJACK! WHICH INCLUDED HIS OWN INVENTION: THE PARLOUR GAME 'DOUBLE OR DROP'. BY 1964, AFTER NINE SERIES OF THIS IS YOUR LIFE, THERE WAS A FEELING AMONG THE BBC HIERARCHY THAT THE PROGRAMME HAD LOST A LOT OF ITS SPONTANEITY AND EXCITEMENT. THE BBC MADE THE DECISION TO DROP THE PROGRAMME. EAMONN TOOK THIS NEWS BADLY, AS IT CAME IN ADDITION TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HIS OTHER RATINGS WINNER, WHAT'S MY LINE? HAD ALSO BEEN RECENTLY CANCELLED. HOWEVER, AN OPPORTUNITY AROSE WITH AN OFFER FROM ABC TELEVISION FOR EAMONN TO FRONT WORLD OF SPORT, AS WELL AS HIS OWN LIVE WEEKLY CHAT SHOW. His CHAT SHOW, THE EAMONN ANDREWS SHOW, HIT THE AIR LIVE IN OCTOBER 1964 AND QUICKLY BECAME A SUCCESS, ATTRACTING GUESTS AS DIVERSE AS NOEL COWARD AND THE BEATLES. IT RAN FOR FIVE YEARS AND EAMONN LAUNCHED WORLD OF SPORT ON THE ITV NETWORK IN JANUARY 1965, AND REMAINED AS HOST UNTIL 1968 IN 1968 HE WAS GIVEN THE TASK OF FRONTING THAMES TELEVISION'S NEW TODAY PROGRAMME. THE DAILY LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND INFORMATION SHOW AIMED TO REFLECT "WHAT IS GOING ON IN LONDON". EAMONN ANDREWS PRESENTED THAMES TELEVISION'S TODAY PROGRAMME BETWEEN 1968 AND 1977 HOWEVER, IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE HE WAS SUGGESTING THE IDEA OF REVIVING THIS IS YOUR LIFE. HE FELT THAT THE BBC HAD KILLED OFF THE SHOW TOO EARLY, AND THAT THE FORMAT HAD YEARS OF 'LIFE' STILL IN IT. T THAMES - COMMISSIONED A 13 PART SERIES EXTENDED TO 26 EDITIONS. HE CONTINUED TO PLAY A MAJOR PART IN THE SHOW'S PRODUCTION, AND WAS INFLUENTIAL IN HELPING TO SECURE SUCH HIGH RATING SUBJECTS AS MUHAMMAD ALI AND ALSO LORD MOUNTBATTEN, THOUGH HIS DREAM TO SURPRISE THE QUEEN MOTHER NEVER MATERIALISED! HE PRESENTED 480 EDITIONS OF THIS IS YOUR LIFE FOR THAMES TELEVISION BETWEEN 1969 AND 1987 SINCE 1961 EAMONN AND GRAINNE HAD BEEN LIVING IN CHISWICK WITH THEIR THREE ADOPTED CHILDREN, BUT IN 1970 THE FAMILY MOVED BACK TO IRELAND. THEY SET UP HOME OUTSIDE DUBLIN, FROM WHERE EAMONN COMMUTED TO LONDON, FOR THE WEEKLY ROUTINE OF MEETINGS AND RECORDINGS. EAMONN BECAME A SUBJECT OF THIS IS YOUR LIFE FOR A SECOND TIME IN MAY 1974 WHEN HE WAS SURPRISED WHILE APPEARING AS A GUEST ON THE DAVID NIXON SHOW. A SELF-CONFESSED WORKAHOLIC, HE SHOWED NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN, DESPITE A DOCTOR'S WARNING AFTER HE HAD CONTRACTED BRONCHITIS. IN AILING HEALTH, HE CONTINUED WORKING TO HIS LIMIT. FOLLOWING SEVERAL BOUTS OF ILLNESS, EXACERBATED BY THE DEMANDING SCHEDULE AND NXIETY OVER SOME TROUBLED BUSINESS INTERESTS IN DUBLIN, FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES AND VIEWERS BECAME INCREASINGLY CONCERNED ABOUT HIM. AS THE 28TH SERIES OF THIS IS YOUR LIFE BEGAN, IT WAS EVIDENT THAT EAMONN WAS DETERIORATING PHYSICALLY AND, ONLY AT GRAINNE'S BEHEST, DID HE AGREE TO POSTPONE THE PLANNED RECORDING OF A PARTICULAR SHOW, AND ATTEND THE CROMWELL HOSPITAL FOR URGENT TESTS. SOME HOURS LATER EAMONN DIED PEACEFULLY IN HIS SLEEP IN THE EARLY HOURS OF 5 NOVEMBER 1987. STAY IN TOUCH PETER

Do you have your copy of our new book yet?

Web page no 2786 22nd May 2021 BSR First picture: Daniel Mclean Mcdonald

Second picture: typical BSR deck

Third picture: Goblin teasmaid

Fourth picture: vintage Swan electric kettle

The record player When we were teenagers most of the record players contained a BSR record turntable and playing arm. I know the one my father and I built did. But I had no idea of the history and diversity of the BSR company Daniel Mclean Mcdonald (1905–1991) founded Birmingham sound reproducers as a private company in 1932 in the west midlands. By 1947, the company chiefly manufactured intercoms, laboratory test equipment, and sound recording and reproducing instruments, including phonographs. In the early 1950s Samuel Margolin began buying record auto-changing turntables from BSR using them as the basis of his Dansette record player. Over the next twenty years, Margolin manufactured more than a million of these players, and "Dansette" became a household word all over Britain. In 1957, BSR, also known by the name BSR McDonald, became a public company which by 1961 had grown to employ over 2,600 workers in several sites in the midlands. BSR McDonald supplied turntables and autochangers to most of the world’s record player manufacturers, eventually gaining in excess 87% of the market. By 1977 BSR’S factories produced over 250,000 units a week. The company also manufactured their own brand of player, the Monarch automatic record changer. This could select and play 7", 10" and 12" records at 331⁄3, 45 or 78 rpm, changing automatically between the various disc sizes, although the turntable speed had to be changed manually. BSR also made tape recorder mechanisms but these were less well known. The company Bang & Olufsen used BSR’s TDd2 tape deck in their Beocord Belcanto from 1962. During 1975, with the help of Pifco electronics, BSR started the manufacture of a new upmarket turntable called the ADC Accutrac 4000. This turntable had individual track selection capabilities, allowing the user to play specified individual tracks, or play the LP in any order desired. It had a direct drive turntable motor, and a high quality ADC lma1 cartridge and stylus. This was further developed into a turntable called the Accutrac 3500, which in addition to track selection handled a stack of up to six singles or LP’s. Both turntables were equipped with an ultrasonic (but not infrared) remote control. Changing home audio trends impacted BSR in the early 1980s. Although the company produced some reel to reel tape decks in addition to their turntables and changers, consumers had begun to expect portability from their music players, and BSR faced serious competition from eight-track cartridge and the cassette tape players of the day, particularly Sony's Walkman. In the first five years of the 1980s, BSR closed several factories and made thousands of workers redundant. During the 1980s, BSR moved away from audio equipment and manufactured the rotronics wafadrive for the zx spectrum range of computers. After producing their last turntable in 1985, BSR McDonald closed all divisions except for astec power supply. In the 1970s, BSR had diversified by acquiring the houseware companies of goblin vacuum cleaners (who also made teasmaids clocks), judge international housewares ltd (kitchen pots and pans), and even Bulpitt & Sons, who made kettles and irons under the "swan brand" name. The future was uncertain and the goblin part of the company was sold to US company shop vac in 1984, and swan was sold to Moulinex of France in 1988. Griff Writes:- I was talking to a person on the phone the other day who I hadn't seen for a number of years and I was quite surprised when they remembered and asked after my tortoise Tiggy and if he was he still around. The answer is yes, he is and he is in fine fettle after waking from his hibernation slumbers in late March. It takes him a few days to get going again but if it's a nice warm day he sets off for a trot around our secure garden. You would be amazed at just how much ground a tortoise can cover and I have a big garden. He sleeps under a large half flower pot under a bush during the summer months. You may have read this before. Tiggy was purchased in the Drayton pet shop by me back in 1958 for the princely sum of 2/6d (12.5p). My mum looked after him for years and years until she passed away and Tigs then moved back in with us. We think he is now about 75 years old. He just loves melon and strawberries and cucumber. regards to all

Melvyn Griffiths. Stay in touch Peter

Web Page No 2784 First of all, the new book on growing up in Portsmouth “Gobstoppers and Blue Lollies” will be available from me next week. It has 75 pages and photographs plus illustrations by Peter Westcott. A real look at the past.

15th May 2021 GETTING OLD First picture: Prison gates

Second Picture: Two on a seat.

Third Picture: Weather Vane

Fourth Picture: Brush and comb set

GETTING OLD When one door closes and another door opens, in front of you, you are probably in prison. To me, "drink responsibly" means don't spill any of it. When I say, "The other day," I could be referring to any time between yesterday and 15 to 40 years ago. I remember being able to get up out of a chair without making sound effects. I had my patience tested. The result was that I'm negative. Remember, if you lose a sock in the tumble dryer, it comes back as a Tupperware lid that doesn't fit any of your containers. If you're sitting in public and a stranger takes the seat next to you, just stare straight ahead and say "Did you bring the money?" When you ask me what I am doing today, and I say "nothing," it does not mean I am free. It actually means I am doing nothing. They sat that the age 60 might now be the new 40, but to me 9:00pm is new midnight. I finally got eight hours of sleep. However, it took me three days, but whatever I got 8 hours . I run like the winded. I hate it when a couple argues in public, and I missed the beginning and don't know whose side I'm on. When someone asks what I did over the weekend, I just squint and ask, "Why, what did you hear?" I don't remember much from last night, but the fact that I needed sunglasses to open the fridge this morning tells me it must have been good, When you do squats, are your knees supposed to sound like a goat chewing on an aluminium can stuffed with celery. I don't mean to interrupt people. I just randomly remember things and get really excited. When I ask for directions, please don't use words like "east and west”’ It's the start of a brand new day, and I'm off like a herd of turtles. Don't bother walking a mile in my shoes. That would be boring. Spend 30 seconds in my head. That'll freak you right out. For most people that moment when you walk into a spider web suddenly turns you into an arm waving karate master. Sometimes, someone unexpected comes into your life out of nowhere, it makes your heart race, and changes you forever. We call those people police. The older I get, the earlier it gets late. My luck is like a bald guy who has just won a brush and comb set. STAY IN TOUCH ANIDA WRITES I really enjoyed your piece about the Theatre Royal, it holds memories for me as my Grandmother and Grandfather used to take me there on Saturday evenings, we used to get the bus to the Guildhall Square and when the performance had finished we used to go round to the Stage door, by the side of the Swan Tavern, to see if we could get an autograph or two. The shows were mainly variety and I can remember fan dancers and some probably risky comedians but as I was very young, about 8 or 9, it went over my head! My favourite was a chap on a unicycle! We used to sit in the Gods and I just loved the whole atmosphere. My great grandfather worked in the Dockyard but in the evenings he used to play the clarinet in the orchestra at the Theatre Royal, that would have been in the early 1900's as he died in 1911. We occasionally went to the Empire (I think it was) in Edinburgh Road, that was almost music hall. I have attached a picture of two carvings, these have been knocking around in the family for decades and came from the Swan Tavern when there was some refurbishment going on possibly back in the 1930's or 40's. My father acquired them, don't quite know how but he was an electrician, they are heavily carved and appear to be cupboard doors and are about to be hung in my garden and hopefully will survive for another number of years. In recent years they decorated the front of my Mum and Dad's house in Yealmpton. I was interested in your picture of the top of Cosham High Street before Spur Road was cut through. I didn't realise that the Red Lion started its days actually in the High Street. You remarked that Mr Boughton was the Manager and later owner of the Theatre Royal, he lived in a house just to the right of the Red Lion set back. It later became Ashleys wallpaper and paint shop and has probably disappeared now. You may be surprised to see that in your photograph it shows quite clearly the chimney pots which were on the shop which later became the Olde Sweet Shoppe, my second picture shows one of those very pots in my garden. I have carted it around from house to house after rescuing it when the shop was demolished in the 1970's.

ON THIS DAY 15TH MAY 1960 – 1965 On 15/05/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. On 15/05/1961 the number one single was Blue Moon - The Marcels and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. On 15/05/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Film star Emilio Estevez born On 15/05/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. On 15/05/1964 the number one single was Don't Throw Your Love Away - Searchers and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. On 15/05/1964 the number one single was Don't Throw Your Love Away - Searchers and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. On 15/05/1965 the number one single was Ticket to Ride - The Beatles and the number one album was Beatles For Sale - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

The New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth. Web Page No 2782 8th May 2021

1st Picture: The frontage of the present building

2nd Picture: The words New Theatre Royal incorporated in the frontage

3rd Picture: One of the famous wrestlers when the building was the Royal Arena was the Mohawk Indian Billy Two Rivers.

4th Picture: Victorian advertising poster for the theatre

The Theatre Royal is a Victorian Grade II listed theatre with a capacity of 667. The theatre was built in 1854 as the Landport Hall and was converted to a theatre two years later. It was rebuilt in 1884 by Charles J. Phipps and again in 1900 by Frank Matcham. The Theatre reopened in October 2015 after a £4.7M refurbishment project. The present building was built to replace a theatre located in the High Street Old Portsmouth that features in Nicholas Nickleby. It was a popular music hall and hosted performances by Paganini and Liszt . It closed in 1854 and was demolished in 1856 to allow for the construction of Cambridge Barracks. This building now houses Portsmouth Grammar School. The three-arch entrance to the school occupies the location of the theatre. In the same year as the old theatre was demolished, Henry Rutley opened a new venue on the present site. He was an impresario and circus proprietor who had arrived in Portsmouth in 1854 and purchased the Swan Tavern in Commercial Road and the adjoining Landport Hall, a racquet court. He converted the hall to accommodate equestrian displays and applied to the magistrates for permission to construct a new theatre on the site. The magistrates granted a licence for a limited period with the condition that there was no direct access from the tavern. A door to the hall, bricked in during building, was temporarily uncovered during renovation work in 2004. The theatre opened on 29th September 1856. In a typical week the theatre would host two plays a night with matinees at the weekend. Rutley died in 1874. \Mr. Boughton then became manager in 1876 and after the death of Rutley's successor took over control of the Portsmouth Theatres Company in 1882. Rutley's widow eventually sold the theatre to him. Most of the famous performers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries appeared at the Theatre Royal. Sir Henry Irving and his leading lady and mistress, Ellen Terry, appeared many times both individually and together. Sarah Bernhardt performed there on several occasions, including her legendary appearances in later life when in a wheelchair. She left her signature on the wall of the dressing rooms, Marie Lloyd was also a regular. Laurel and Hardy appeared before fame in Hollywood and Oliver Hardy chose the theatre as the venue for his birthday party in 1954. Morecombe and Wise were among many stars who appeared early in their career. Henry Irving died on tour in 1905 but his last complete set of performances was completed two weeks earlier at the Theatre Royal Portsmouth. Ellen Terry was appearing there the week he died. During some of performances his secretary Abraham ('Bram') Stoker - author of his biography and of Dracula - worked in the offices backstage. The programming provides an insight into the talent and workload of the acting profession up to theWW2. In most weeks, the performances would change with as many as three distinct programmes of shows. Posters show an actor taking the lead in Hamlet followed by the lead in a farce at the start of the week and the lead role in different plays at the weekend, a formidable memory load. From 1856 to 1976 the theatre was officially the Theatre Royal. At some point the 'New' was informally added probably inthe middle of the century. The frontage of the theatre says both "Theatre Royal" and "New Theatre Royal". By the 1920s, radio and cinema led to the decline in attendances and, coupled with economic depression, theatres began to close. These including the Prince's and Kings. theatres The Theatre Royal was home to a repertory company, The Denville Players, until 1932 when it had a projection room installed and became a cinema. Portsmouth was subject to extensive damage during WW2. The neighbouring Prince's theatre was destroyed by a direct hit during a matinee for children but the Royal escaped unharmed. It continued as a cinema until 1948 when it reverted to a variety theatre in fact the theatre was the venue for the first live rock 'n' roll performance in the UK in 1954. The Theatre Royal was eventually forced to shut in 1955. In 1956 Bernard Delfont's 'Brilliant Summer Revue' starring David Nixon was in the Theatre Royal for a Summer Season. In 1957 it opened as a repertory theatre but this was short lived and from 1960 it operated only as a bingo hall and a venue for wrestling. In 1966 the owners the Portsmouth Theatres Company, sought permission to over-ride its 'listed' status and demolish it. The council agreed. A pressure group was formed to oppose this, leading to a council decision in which the proposal was beaten by only one vote! The empty building began to attract vandals. In 1968 squatters occupied it and brass fittings and roof lead were stolen. The continuing decay and damage led to the formation of the Theatre Royal Society which pressured to defend and preserve the building. This campaign included the locally born actor Brian Murphy who had starred in 'The Boyfriend' and is now a patron of the theatre. The society became the New Theatre Royal Trust in 1976. In 1971 Ken Russell chose the theatre as the location for a film version of "The Boyfriend". He chose the ballet dancer Christopher Gable and Twiggy for the lead roles backed by a cast of experienced actors including Barbara Windsor, Brian Murphy and there was a cameo role for Glenda Jackson (not listed in the credits). Ken Russell shot most of the film on location in the empty theatre and adjoining streets. It was to be the Victorian theatre's last performance. The following year, 1972, children entered the theatre and lit fireworks setting the stage on fire. But by the time the fire brigade arrived the rear was ablaze. Early in the fire the ropes of the safety curtain burned through causing it to fall into place saving the auditorium. The stage and the entire building behind the proscenium arch was destroyed. Once again, demolition was proposed but the Theatre Royal Society opposed the plan. In 1975, volunteers started the long process of repair and renovation. The New Theatre Royal (Portsmouth) Limited was registered in 1976. The theatre was gradually repaired, largely by volunteers, and slowly came back into operation. In 1984 a small temporary stage was built over the orchestra. Productions were largely restricted to amateur performances. Damage extended beyond the fire in 1972. Thieves stole brass fittings and other artefacts and in the 70's thieves with a van stole the auditorium doors which had been removed for renovation whilst volunteers worked in the theatre. In the early 70's artefacts, papers and records including a large collection of posters were moved from the managers office for safekeeping. These records were transferred to an empty shop nearby in Guildhall Walk. Two years later, the entire content of the shop had disappeared. Neither the volunteers or the owner of the shop had authorised or knew of their removal. These items were never retrieved. In the early 'noughties', builders renovating a house in Southsea found a number of posters from the theatre under the floorboards. Most dated from the 1860s. They were sold to Langford Antiques in Albert Road Southsea where they were framed and sold. Several were purchased for the theatre trust. In 2003 the Board of Trustees commissioned a report which advised a short closure and re-launch and the appointment of an experienced professional director. The Trust was awarded £440,000, the largest single grant given by the Onyx Trust. With additional funding, the cast iron portico was renovated, central heating and a new pit bar installed, and the original seating in the stalls. A larger stage was built in front to accommodate this, the frontage of the lower boxes had to be removed. Investigation revealed that these were prefabricated and fitted using large bolts. They were stored until eventually reinstatement when the new stage was built. Drama, stand-up comedy, music and dance became features of each season whilst work with local schools and community groups was expanded. However, performances were still restricted by the lack of a proper stage and limited seating capacity. Inevitably, lack of operating finance became problematic necessitating a period known as "NTR Lite" with less risky but less exciting programming. Shortly after the recruitment of a new executive director, the trust embarked upon the most challenging an exciting period since the remodelling by Matcham. The board of trustees came up with a plan to rebuild the stage and back stage accommodation in addition to teaching facilities for the university. In 2009, Peynore and Prasad were contracted to design the building and a professional fundraiser was appointed to raise the estimated £4m cost. A fund-raising programme began in 2010 with a weekend finishing with a gala performance Compared by Sandi Toksvig and headlined by Sheila Hancock, Paul Jones and Christopher Timothy were among the cast list. At the end of the evening, Sheila Hancock accepted the invitation to become the patron of the theatre. In May 2010, the theatre hosted the first screening in nearly three decades of "The Boyfriend. The screening was preceded by an interview with Ken Russell and cast members Twiggy, Brian Murphy and Georgina Hale plus the score composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davis, former Master of the Queens Music. The interview was hosted by local television personality Sally Taylor. Following this event, Twiggy, Sir Peter and Brian Murphy agreed to join Sheila Hancock as patrons. The theatre is now planning a full programme for the future Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com

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On this day 8th May 1960 – 1965 On 08/05/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Wagon Train (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Contraceptive pill becomes available in US. On 08/05/1961 the number one single was Blue Moon - The Marcels and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was No Hiding Place (AR) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. On 08/05/1962 the number one single was Wonderful Land - The Shadows and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. On 08/05/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Summer Holiday - Cliff Richard & the Shadows. The top rated TV show was Labour Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. On 08/05/1964 the number one single was Don't Throw Your Love Away - Searchers and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. On 08/05/1965 the number one single was Ticket to Ride - The Beatles and the number one album was Beatles For Sale - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.