by Malcolm Pheby | Feb 14, 2019 | Celebrity, Manchester, Uncategorised
American tennis legend Billie Jean King smiled for the cameras, shouldered her rackets and made her way back to her Manchester hotel. There would be no play again in the 1964 Northern Lawn Tennis Tournament at Didsbury. A weekend of torrential rain meant the courts...
by Malcolm Pheby | Jan 27, 2019 | Celebrity, Liverpool
Two great Liverpool icons – Ken Dodd and the Cavern Club – shared a unique milestone this week in 1964. The much-loved Knotty Ash comedian became the venue’s first ever honorary life member when he stepped on to the famous stage on January 24th. Ever the joker, he...
by Malcolm Pheby | Jan 19, 2019 | Celebrity, Liverpool, Music
It’s hard to believe that half a century has passed since John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged their famous ‘Bed-In’ at the Amsterdam Hilton. The couple decided to spend their honeymoon staging a week-long protest against the Vietnam War and other conflicts. They took to...
by Malcolm Pheby | Nov 16, 2018 | Celebrity, Liverpool
It was supposed to be a party – but tell that to Les Dawson. The comic was at his lugubrious best when he switched on Liverpool’s Christmas lights in December 1980. Famed for his dead-pan monologues and off-key piano-playing, Dawson delighted the crowds with his...
by Malcolm Pheby | Oct 10, 2018 | Celebrity, Manchester
Belle Vue has a special place in the heart of every Mancunian lucky enough to ride the Bobs, make a splash on the water chute or enjoy an ice-cream or two on a hot, sunny afternoon. It was the undisputed entertainment centre for the North West for more than 150 years,...
by Malcolm Pheby | Aug 18, 2018 | Celebrity, Liverpool
Liverpool actress Anne Rogers cut quite a dash when she sashayed down London’s Oxford Street in the company of two models in March 1954. Shoppers stopped and stared as Rogers had a real swagger in her step. She’d just become the West End’s youngest leading lady at the...
