by Malcolm Pheby | Jun 29, 2020 | Bits & Pieces
A friendly invasion from five nations engulfed Merseyside in the unforgettable sporting summer of 1996. Anfield became the home stadium for Italy, Russia and the Czech Republic in the UEFA Euro 96 football championships – and thousands of fans came along too. Russians...
by Malcolm Pheby | Jun 23, 2020 | Bits & Pieces
They may have been next-door neighbours for a while, but the stage and screen careers of Oldham actresses Lally Bowers and Dora Bryan were often poles apart. Bowers chose the route of drama, film and TV sitcoms, while Bryan made her debut in pantomime and excelled in...
by Malcolm Pheby | Jun 21, 2020 | Bits & Pieces
It’s odd to think that one of the best-loved TV drama series of the 1970s owes its success to a pink typewriter that nobody wanted. Liverpool bus-driver Cyril Abraham used the unloved machine to type out his first short stories after his wife Joan rented it for him....
by Malcolm Pheby | Jun 18, 2020 | Bits & Pieces
Liverpool football club were certainly looking for inspiration when the first team went along to see Shirley Bassey at the Empire Theatre in May 1965. They were 3-1 down after the home leg of their European Cup semi-final against Inter Milan – and were flying out to...
by Malcolm Pheby | Apr 22, 2020 | Bits & Pieces
The 1973-4 football season was not one to savour for Manchester United fans. George Best played his last game for the Red Devils and the club found themselves in Division Two for the first time since 1938. United were relegated from Division One in 21st position with...
by Malcolm Pheby | Mar 28, 2020 | Bits & Pieces
It’s true to say the tropical palm house at Sefton Park shaped the whole life of Liverpool jazz singer, writer and entertainer George Melly. The incongruous sight of wounded soldiers sitting and smoking among the exotic plants in the 1940s awakened a love of...
