Readers of The Stray Ferret have been sharing their memories after we reported that an original poster for The Beatles’ only Harrogate show fetched £3,000 at auction.
Among several comments from people who had been in the audience that evening were: “Didn’t pay much attention to the Beatles, just dancing to their music” and “you couldn’t hear anything but screaming”.
Sandra Reed told us her memory of the night is rather hazy, although she does remember the “lovely atmosphere” and the dancing which was “such good fun”. She added:
“And the noise! The Beatles were so much louder than any performer. Girls were screaming … they were the start of boy bands.”
The Beatles played their only Harrogate gig, billed as ‘Dancing for Teens and Twenties’, at The Royal Hall on March 8, 1963. They had been booked the previous year by Derek Arnold, an astute music shop owner from Halifax who also acted as a promoter for some of the Harrogate bands. Derek organised many of the shows that took place in the town around that time, and bagged a date from The Beatles after seeing their first UK single, Love Me Do, sell like hot cakes in his record shop on its release in October 1962.
By the time John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr came to Harrogate just a few months later, The Beatles were beginning to make a name for themselves. Their second single, Please Please Me, had reached number 2 in the charts in January 1963. Their first number 1 would come just a month after their Royal Hall show with their April 1963 single From Me To You.
So when they came to Harrogate as part of a series of promotional dates across the UK in advance of their USA tour, the poster for the show described them as ‘The Sensational Beatles… The recording stars of Please Please Me’. They were supported by two of Harrogate’s biggest local bands of the time, Barry Corbett and The Mustangs with their backing singers The Chinchillas, and Ricky Fenton and The Apaches.
Lead guitarist John Whitley is the only surviving member of The Mustangs who performed with The Beatles in Harrogate.
Now 82 and living in West Yorkshire, John recalls how ordinary the soon-to-be megastars were. They were even paid the same amount for the show – £75 – as their support acts. Travelling to Harrogate by train – deemed the most reliable mode of transport during the famous Big Freeze of 1962/3 – The Beatles arrived at the afternoon soundcheck about ten minutes after John and his bandmates. John said:
“We were all backstage together with The Beatles and we just talked to them. We did look up to them a bit for getting successful, but we weren’t starstruck. We’d played The Royal Hall before with people like The Searchers and Freddie and the Dreamers, so it wasn’t such as big deal to us. Personally, I’d been more impressed with Freddie because he was very funny. But I have to say The Beatles were very good on the night.”
John remembers the crowd being similarly nonplussed by this up-and-coming foursome whose longer hair, Beatnik ‘art student’ appearance and different, less polished sound was in stark contrast to the groomed image and cleaner sound of their support bands. But it didn’t really matter too much who was playing anyway, he said:
“Most people were there because it was a show at the Royal Hall, which were always popular. There weren’t that many shows in Harrogate for kids so when one came along, everybody went.”
The Apaches were up first, followed by The Mustangs with The Chinchillas. The Mustangs had formed in 1960 and were made up of John, Barrie (stage name was Barry) Corbett, bassist John ‘Billy’ Bolton and drummer Johnny Lockhead. The Chinchillas were Barrie’s wife Eileen and John’s fiancee at the time, Gill Evans.
The Mustangs with The Chinchillas in the original programme for The Beatles concert at The Royal Hall. Top row from left: John Bolton, Johnny Lockhead, John Whitley and Eileen Corbett. Front: Gill Evans and Barrie Corbett.
In 1963, Barry and The Mustangs were top of the pile among a multitude of young local bands including The Crestas, The Escorts from Bradford and The Ensigns from York. Mainly performing covers of songs from the Top 20, The Mustangs were playing gigs two to three times a week in pubs, clubs and youth clubs around the area. Some of the local venues they appeared at were the Lounge Hall and the Connaught Rooms in Harrogate, where there were dances every Friday night, and the Assembly Rooms in Ripon. As lead singer of The Mustangs, therefore, Barrie had quite a following. John said:
“Barrie was Harrogate’s pop star. He was very well known in the town. He was a good singer as well as being one of life’s gentlemen.”
So it’s quite possible that John’s memory isn’t playing tricks on him when he recalls that after The Mustangs had finished their set, The Beatles took to the stage to chants of “We want Barry” from the audience.
John left The Mustangs in 1965 when he moved to Australia. He returned to Harrogate in the late 1970s, and teamed up again with Barry from 1980 to 2000, performing The Smurfs songs with him under the name of Evergreen.
In 2013, the four members of The Mustangs reformed for a special concert at the Royal Hall to mark the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ appearance in Harrogate.
The Mustangs reunited for the 50th anniversary in 2013. Pictured from left are John Bolton, John Lockhead, John Whitley and Barrie Corbett.
John has fond memories not just of that one night at The Royal Hall which has gone down in Harrogate history, but of the whole music scene in the town during the 1960s that he, Barrie and The Mustangs were privileged to be a big part of. He said:
“In hindsight, it would have been an even better story if we’d gone for a drink with The Beatles after the show or something, but at that time they were just another group so we’d probably have declined anyway… Who knew! But even so, that era of pop music was a very special time for everyone.”
Do you recognise any of these Harrogate kids on TV 47 years ago?
What are the best children’s toys and games, and are they worth the money?
Those are questions parents ask themselves every Christmas – but an old TV clip recently released from the BBC Archives provides some answers from Harrogate primary school pupils.
The video was first broadcast on December 10, 1975, when schoolchildren from Bilton Grange County Primary School (as it was then) took over from the regular presenters of BBC Nationwide’s Consumer Unit, Valerie Singleton and Richard Stilgoe, to offer their expert opinions on the best children’s games to buy as Christmas presents.
Archive footage from Bilton Grange Primary School, which was broadcast on BBC’s Nationwide.
Among the toys ranked by the retro reviewers were Mouse Trap, Monopoly, Snakes and Ladders, Haunted House, Baby Alive, Super Striker, Scalextric, Action Man, Frustration and Campaign.
The schoolchildren will be in their late 50s by now, and many may well still live in the area. Are you one of them? Do you know someone who is? Let us know – we’d love to hear from some of them, nearly half a century on. Let us know by emailing contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
You can watch the video on the BBC website here.
40 years on: Jan Leeming’s memories of when Harrogate hosted Eurovision
On April 24 1982, some 300 million people from 30 countries watched the Eurovision Song Contest in Harrogate.
It remains perhaps the biggest occasion in the town’s history but strangely, you’ll struggle to find any evidence today that it ever took place.
There’s no plaque, no museum exhibition, no statue. Visitors think you’re winding them up when you point to Harrogate Convention Centre and say it hosted the event associated with Abba, Lulu, Terry Wogan and the dreaded ‘nul points’.
But it happened and as the 40th anniversary looms, we have compiled a two-part feature based on the memories of three people who were closely involved on the day, starting today with BBC presenter Jan Leeming.
At Eurovision, whichever country wins gets to host the event the following year so Bucks Fizz’s dress-tearing routine in 1981 triggered a search to find a venue. It would be the fifth time the UK had hosted the event. Three of the previous occasions were in London and one — famously in 1974 when Abba won — in Brighton. Since 1982, the UK has only won Eurovision in 1997.
The opening sequence of the BBC coverage answered the question ‘Where is Harrogate?’.
Tomorrow’s article will look in more detail about why Harrogate was chosen.
But the decision to select a small, relatively unknown town prompted the BBC to begin its more than two-hour live broadcast, which can be viewed here, with a five-minute sequence enlightening viewers to the joys of places like the Stray and the Drum and Monkey.
The phrase ‘Where is Harrogate?’ was emblazoned across the screen in each of the languages of the countries taking part and was followed by a montage of scenes depicting Harrogate as some kind of middle England utopia full of beautiful people, elegant shops and idyllic countryside.
The sequence ended with smiling couples stepping out of limousines at the convention centre on the night of the big event to see if the British pop duo Bardo could win. They couldn’t, eventually fading to seventh behind Nicole, whose song A Little Peace became West Germany’s first ever success. Here are the memories from the woman who held the night together.
Speaking to the Stray Ferret, Jan Leeming recalls:
“My agent rang up and said ‘the BBC would like you to present Eurovision’. I was thrilled, flattered and very worried because Katie Boyle had presented it previously and she was fluent in French. Back then the presenter had to speak in English and French. I am an actress and, apparently, I have a good French accent but I am not fluent.
I was told I’d got the job just as my husband and I were going on holiday to Hong Kong so I took the script in my suitcase and learned it while we were away because the camera at the event would be too far away to read the autocue.
Sitting on an accordion outside the convention centre. Pic courtesy of Jan Leeming
I think I arrived in Harrogate a day, maybe two, in advance. There was only one proper rehearsal so we didn’t have much time. When I wasn’t working I was mainly ensconced in a hotel — I can’t remember which one — but I did get a flavour of Harrogate because they took all the contestants around town to do some filming. My best and oldest friend lives in Leeds and I have been to Harrogate with her several times since. It’s a really beautiful town.
Eurovision was the kind of thing the BBC did very well in those days. It was a huge production, with Michael Hurll as overall director. There were 18 countries taking part and 30 countries watching. Every country took their feed from the BBC and had people working on booths at the convention centre. Terry Wogan was working in one of the booths but our paths didn’t cross.
Jan in the dress she didn’t choose to wear. Pic courtesy of Jan Leeming
All 18 countries’ songs were accompanied by the BBC Radio Orchestra. The orchestra was led by Ronnie Hazlehurst but each country brought out their own conductor for their performance.
It was the only time the BBC ever paid for my wardrobe. I had to pay for the clothes I wore when I was reading the news and when I was representing the BBC at evening events. One of my favourite designers was Gina Fratini and I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to wear one of her dresses but the BBC said it would have been too much like an advert for her and I could have a dress made in-house instead. It was a very nice dress but not one I would have chosen, so it was a bit of a sore point. I wouldn’t have minded if the BBC had always paid for my clothes!
Looking up at the scoreboard.
I was paid £1,000 to present Eurovision. My salary when I went from radio to TV was £10,500 and then it gradually increased over several years. In 1982 I was earning about £13,000. So to be paid about £1,000 to present Eurovision was fantastic. In those days men were paid far more than women and we had to put up with it. As one person told me when I remonstrated — “if you don’t like it, Miss Leeming, there’s the door”.
My nerves were awful when I walked out at the start of the show. I do remember writing in my diary that I would have given anything for a train ticket home. Most actors and presenters tell you nerves never leave you and frankly, they’re what enhance your performance.
It turned out to be a wonderful occasion. I don’t remember much about the show but I remember the party afterwards because the Spanish guitarist asked me to dance. He tossed me around the floor and then wrote on my invitation to the party ‘mi casa, su casa’ (my house is your house) — and I never saw him again! I kept that invitation until a few years ago.
The cake sent by Silvio’s. Pic courtesy of Jan Leeming
There was a business in Harrogate called Silvio’s and it sent me the most beautiful cake, which obviously was shared out amongst the crew. But I didn’t stay long afterwards. I had a husband and a son to get home to.
The UK didn’t host Eurovision again for years because we didn’t win it again until 1997 and the winners got to host it the following year. Then in 2003 we got ‘nul points’.
I wouldn’t have chosen the winning song. I was very surprised that it won. It was called A Little Peace and it was sung by a German girl called Nicole who went on to have a long career, in fact I think she’s still going. But there was more variety and individuality to the songs then. They all seem to be written to the same format now. Everybody copies everyone else. But perhaps I’m only saying that because I’m an old lady now!
Wearing her Eurovision dress shortly before it was auctioned. Pic courtesy of Jan Leeming
The BBC gave me the Eurovision dress and I kept it for years, waiting to find it an appropriate home. Eventually I gave it to Celebrity Cash in the Attic to be sold by auction in 2014 because I wanted to promote the male testicular cancer charity Orchid. It was auctioned in Chiswick and went for £250.
Prior to 1982 the UK had won Eurovision five times. Since 1982 we have only won it once. Terry Wogan sort of made fun of it and I don’t think the English take it seriously enough. Sweden apparently runs six weeks of heats. Terry called it the Euro Yawn or the Euro Bore but back then it was watched by over 300m people. I looked up what it gets these days and now with all the hype it only gets 100m.
Mind you there wasn’t that much telly around back then. Now you have 360 channels and nothing to watch. Everything was a bit different in the 1980s. It was before the cult of celebrity and social media. I don’t seem to recall it having all the razzmatazz of Eurovisions today.
Eurovision wasn’t quite the pinnacle of my career: the pinnacle was a documentary I made after five years of research into a free French pilot called Rene Mouchotte whose name is on the Battle of Britain memorial. You can watch it here. That was the biggest achievement of my career. But Eurovision was very near the pinnacle. It was an absolute honour and privilege to present it.
Jan Leeming’s new podcast Addicted to Love is now available on Spotify, iTunes etc. Further information is available here or on Twitter @Jan_Leeming.
Amazing aerial photos of Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough from 100 years ago
Amazing photos taken above Harrogate district skies during the first half of the 20th century have been published by Historic England.
The public body this week opened up an archive of over 400,000 shots capturing Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon during a bygone era.
The photos were taken by a company called Aerofilms, which was a pioneering firm of commercial aerial photographers formed in 1919. It combined the fledgling technologies of flight and photography.
We’ve included some of the best photos below but if you visit Historic England’s website and type in a location you will be able to view more from its archive.
The photographers also captured villages such as Pannal during the 1940s when it looked much smaller than the present day.
How has Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough changed since these photos were taken?
The present-day Prince of Wales roundabout, 1921
West Park Stray, 1921
Knaresborough Road, Granby Road, Skipton Road, 1921
Queen Ethelburga’s school, Pennypot Lane, Harrogate, 1926
Knaresborough Castle and the town centre, 1926
Ripley, 1926
Valley Gardens and the Pinewoods, 1928
Goldsborough, 1928
Knaresborough, 1926
Ripon, Williamson varnish and enamel works, 1932
Knaresborough, 1946
Pannal, 1949
Octavious Atkinson, Starbeck 1952
Generations play together at Ripon’s retro games arcadePre-school children in Ripon are just finding out about the antics of Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, but their parents and grandparents have known these animated characters for decades.
The significance of this is not lost on Rory Lofthouse, owner of the New Wave Gaming Arcade on Westgate.
He told the Stray Ferret:
“For the younger children, joining in games featuring Super Mario, Sonic and others, is a new experience, while it’s a nostalgic trip down memory lane for dads, mums and grandparents.
“We have game players aged between four and 70 plus, who can enjoy their visit on many different levels.”
A father and son playing together at the New Wave Gaming Arcade. Picture Rory Lofthouse
The arcade offers retro versions of the video games from the 80s, 90s and early noughties, most of which were originally created for Nintendo, Sega and Sony PlayStations.
It’s a strategy that is working, attracting Ripon families and people from further afield.
Rory pointed out:
“Parents are coming with children as young as four and joining in the games that they used to play when they were growing up.
“We also get grandparents who remember the excitement of sons and daughters, when they received their first Playstation as Christmas or birthday presents.”
Gamers, aged 13 and above, can lose themselves in the fantasy super hero world of Fortnite
Rory, added:
“We are attracting gamers from the wider Ripon area, including Harrogate, because they prefer coming here to travelling to Leeds.
“Teenagers who come with families for a day out, but don’t want to visit the tourist attractions, such as the cathedral and museums, often spend an hour here, while their parents look around the city.”
Children under 10 have to be accompanied by an adult and for those over ten, who may be at the arcade to join in gaming with friends, a close watch is kept to ensure that the games are suitable for the age of the players.
For people with sensory needs, the arcade provides a quiet hour on Sunday morning from 10 to 11, when the sounds on the gaming machines are turned down.
As well as catering for young children up to the age of 10, other games can be played by teenagers and adults.
These include Epic’s Fortnite, which is suitable for players aged 13 and above, along with titles, including Ridge Racer, Big Buck Hunter and Gunblade.
Roller skating, Woolies and Carrington’s: Memories of the Harrogate diasporaFor anyone who has moved away from their hometown it will always have a special pull.
There are Harrogatonians living in almost every corner of the globe.
Five of them told the Stray Ferret about why they left, their favourite haunts in Harrogate from back in the day, and whether they would ever return:
I initially left in 1982 to study modern languages at university. It wasn’t until 1988 that I got a job in Germany and moved away from Harrogate permanently.
What I miss most about living in Harrogate are the people and their warm and friendly nature. Germans are much more formal and reserved.
For example, it would be unthinkable to get on a bus here and strike up a conversation with your fellow passengers, whereas that always used to happen to me in Harrogate. Germans find it much harder to let their barriers down.
When I was still at Harrogate Grammar School, I had a Saturday job as a sales assistant at Woolworths on Cambridge Street.
I remember working on the front cash desk and being able to listen to the singles being played at the record counter. The girl who worked on the music counter was a fan of The Police, so even now whenever I hear the song “Message in a Bottle”, I’m immediately transported back to my early days at Woolies.
Meanwhile, down in the basement, the boys who worked in the stockroom would start having loo roll fights the minute they were left unsupervised, so you’d often have to dodge a flying pack of Izal toilet paper whenever you ventured down there.
Cambridge Street in the early 1980s
I also used to love going to Annabella’s nightclub at the base of Copthall Towers (now The Exchange) on the nights when they played rock music and heavy metal.
I was only just 17 and looked even younger, so I went to all the trouble of having a silver pendant engraved with a false date of birth in case my age was ever queried. In actual fact, the bouncers didn’t take their job too seriously and I always got in without any questions asked.
I studied for my A-levels at Harrogate Grammar School. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very academic so I ended up failing my A-level exams, which meant I was unable to go to university in London, as planned.
However, I was restless to leave Harrogate. Fortuitously, a friend from HGS offered me the opportunity to spend the summer of 1990 in the US working at a summer camp. I jumped at the opportunity.
At the end of the summer when it came time to come back to Harrogate, I decided I didn’t want to return home. Instead, I wangled my way into staying in the US. 32 years later I’m still living in America!
Failing my exams at 18 felt like the end of the world. However, if I had passed my A-levels I would have attended university in London and my life would have been very different. I’m a firm believer that when one door closes, another one opens.
I live in Jupiter, which is a relatively non-touristy town on the east coast of Florida. Many well-known people have made it their home over the years like Burt Reynolds, Tiger Woods and Olivia Newton-John. The beaches are unspoiled, the water is aquamarine and there are many restaurants on the water. Dining by the water while the sun is shining is an enjoyable way of life in this part of the world.
Jupiter, Florida
Over the years I have contemplated moving back to be close to family. What stopped me from moving back were my pets: I didn’t want to risk transporting my dogs across the Atlantic.
I’ve been in Florida too long! Sadly, after living in the US for 32 years, I have come to the realisation that the US is my home.
Ms Sullivan today in Jupiter, Florida
I worked at various places around the town, waitressed at Pinocchio’s restaurant and the Damn Yankee; bartended at Legends nightclub, and helped in my parents’ wool and clothing shop on Cheltenham Parade.
When I wasn’t working, I hung out at discos at the Royal Baths, the Chequers pub, or at Picasso’s nightclub. I spent Sunday mornings at the roller skating events in the gym of Rossett High school, watched my school friends breakdance in Harrogate town center, or drove around town in my banana yellow car. Thinking back to those times always brings a smile to my face!
I loved the Valley Gardens. My dad used to take me to play on the swings and slides, and as I got older, I played 9 hole golf. This was my weekend treat.
We also used to go to the little pond next to the ice cream stand and play with sailboats. I can still smell the sulphur from the stream that ran down the side of the gardens and the little path that used to run down the side of it. The Pinewoods was also fun too, me and my brother used to ride our bikes up through there and play French cricket.
As I got older I loved the nightlife around Harrogate. Fridays and Saturdays were always buzzing and there were so many unique pubs in such a small square footage.
I enjoyed The Rat and Parrott, West Park and the Blues Bar. Then there was Carrington’s, which was a Harrogate icon for so long. I also loved the uniqueness of the shops around the town, no big chain stores, local and friendly.
When I was younger, Saturday mornings at the Odeon was my highlight, watching westerns or kids shows.
The Crow’s Nest on Knaresborough Road and Graveley’s has some fond memories and of course who can forget Pinocchio’s? Bettys has always been a constant but was too civilized when I was young. Today I order from Bettys every Christmas, it’s my piece of home.
Old adverts from the 1970s
What do I like about the US is it’s so diverse and a melting pot of different cultures, foods and ideas. The US also offers plenty of opportunities to make something of yourself. People here work hard and play hard and depending on where you are there is some beautiful scenery.
Unfortunately, I have not been back to Harrogate much as I wanted, probably about four times in the last 25 years. There was so much to see over here and it was expensive to fly back, especially with two kids in tow, but you cannot touch God’s county.
My favourite memory was going to The Great Yorkshire Show. It was always something I loved to look forward to.
I left Harrogate in 2004 after the birth of my daughter and emigrated to North Cyprus to try something new. I had always fancied living abroad, trying a new language and embracing a new culture. When my parents moved over here two years before, it seemed the right time.
A night out in Harrogate circa 1997
Most of all I miss my daughter. She lived in North Cyprus her whole life and is fluent in Turkish. In 2020 she flew back to the UK to further her studies. We are so close and this has been incredibly hard to come to terms with, I miss her desperately.
Living in North Cyprus offers me and my husband a much more relaxed and less stressful lifestyle. It’s a very slow pace here, where you have time for long lazy lunches with friends and family and enjoy a much simpler less fast pace way of life. We have our own olive grove so this has been interesting to learn how to harvest these.
We do still visit the UK regularly. Primarily to see my daughter and family, but also to just get a fix of civilisation for a short while. We tend to come back for Christmas as it’s just never the same here. I couldn’t live in the UK again now, it’s too much hustle and bustle for me.
Harrogate will always hold a very special place in my heart. I have a lifetime of memories from living in Pannal as a child, going to school and college and living there right up to being 28.
School days in Pannal
My Nanna is also born and bred in Harrogate and is now 96. She used to drive me and my brother around the Stray around this time of year to see the spring flowers in all their glory!
My beloved Dad, who sadly died when I was only 7, let me have my first shandy at the Black Swan in Burnbridge.
There is a lifetime of memories!
I first left Harrogate when I was 24 but I only moved to Ripon, where I lived for six years with my children.
My family were all still in Harrogate. I moved to Ripon to be near a very dear friend who helped me through my early years as a single parent of two babies. Then I moved to Cambridge when I was 30. This was for my career, a very good move in that respect, but we never felt settled there.
We lived in Cambridge for 12 years and I had met my second husband while living in Ripon, so Cambridge was where we raised our children. In 2002 our children were grown up and had left home and I was a school principal. I didn’t enjoy my work by that time, it was stressful and I missed teaching and teacher training.
We loved the outdoors life and so we decided to go to New Zealand for two years. I got the perfect job there and we love where we live.
We’re right on the ocean, with the water just at the end of our road . We have hills behind our house where we can go walking for hours, and the mountains are our backdrop.
Covered in snow, they look beautiful against the sea and a blue sky. It’s a 90-minute drive to the mountains. Unfortunately a couple of huge earthquakes destroyed the city in 2011 and 11 years on, we’re still in demolition and rebuild mode. It takes a very long time to rebuild a city.
An earthquake destroyed much of Christchurch in 2011. Credit – Wellington City Council
As for Harrogate, I miss my family there, of course. I miss the Valley Gardens, the Nidd Gorge, and the surrounding dales. Until Covid hit, I flew home three times each year, spending about four and a half months in England.
My time there was split between the midlands where our children and grandchildren live and Harrogate. Because of Covid, I haven’t seen my family for two years and the separation is awful. My health is quite precarious and the journey home is difficult for me so once the Covid situation settles down, we will probably move back to England.
Historic images projected onto Ripon Workhouse Museum at nightPictures of local people from the past are lighting up the front of Ripon’s Workhouse Museum with a new after-dark display.
People of Ripon’s Past, features historic photographs from the Ripon Re-Viewed collection including, among others, North Eastern Railway staff, workers from Ostcliffe’s Tannery, land girls and a refugee family.
Running until March 21, the daily display can be seen between 6pm and midnight.
The Images are projected onto the museum with a design created by locally-based audio-visual and lighting specialists Fusion LX
Helen Thornton, director of Ripon Museum Trust said:
“We had some fantastic feedback from the community on our previous lighting displays and we wanted to continue into 2022.
“After talking with Ripon Re-Viewed, we came up with the idea to display some brilliant historic photos of Ripon in days gone by, as a way to bring the community together through our shared past.
“Hopefully, the display will intrigue and inspire anyone passing by the museum on Allhallowgate.”
Mandy Whitehead, project lead at Ripon Civic Society said:
“A big thank you to the Workhouse Museum for the opportunity to share some of the fabulous images from Ripon’s past. We hope it will give the local community an insight into life in Ripon.”
Cartoonist’s tribute to legendary Harrogate record shop Mix Music
Harrogate district music lovers from the 1990s and 2000s have fond memories of independent record shop Mix Music.
From Britpop to the indie boom to metal, dance music and hip-hop, the small shop on Oxford Street stocked a deceptively comprehensive selection of CDs and vinyl.
Award-winning comic book artist and cartoonist Tim Bird grew up in Harrogate and went to St John Fisher Catholic High School.
The 39-year-old specialises in drawing scenes that conjure up the history and memories of place.
Mix Music was a haven for teenagers that were into alternative music in Harrogate, which Mr Bird said made it the perfect place to draw.
“I used to go there in my school lunch hour, me and my friends. We didn’t necessarily buy music, we’d just hang out there.
“I remember buying the White Stripes there on vinyl, and Radiohead’s Kid A when that came out. It was that era of indie rock. There was lots of really obscure stuff too.”
The name Mix Music was a pun on the owner’s name, Mick, who was always knowledgeable and generous with customers.
Mr Bird said:
“I was a big fan of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci and the owner would give me promotional posters cos he knew i was into them.”
Mr Bird said he was surprised there was no trace of Mix Music ever existing online, which made it difficult to remember how the shop looked in its heyday. It closed around 15 years ago.
Now living down south, Mr Bird used Google Street View to help him with the cartoon. Part of the shop is now home to the cafe Baltzersens.
He added:
“Now everything has a record online forever, so it’s strange how this has just disappeared.”
Mr Bird has also done a drawing of Our Price, a chain of record shops owned by Virgin that was on Station Parade near the Victoria Centre. Although his first purchase there in the mid-1990s was not quite as cool as the White Stripes.
He said:
“I have a fondness for Our Price as it’s where I bought my first CD. It was the PJ and Duncan album. That’s really embarrassing!”
Our Price on Station Parade. Credit – Tim Bird