Torch Revival Manchester Hardrock March 1975

[Guest]

Once more down memory lane .....

Taken at the initial " Torch Revival " all - dayer at The Hardrock in Manchester , in the March of 1975 , can anyone help putting names to the faces of those not named , in the photograph below .

The lads to be identified all came from Barnsley , and may still be on t'scene .

Pictured left to right -

Back row : Lady B - Phil Westgarth - Paul Seward - ? - ? - ?

Front row : Yours truly - Mike Dilcock - ?

Malc Burton

Edited November 26, 2009 by Malc Burton

[Guest POTTERIESPECK]

Correst me if i'm wrong Malc, but was this a Chris Burton promotion that went a bit t*ts up.Did he originally intend the venue for Allnighters but the MANCHESTER POLICE objected and turned down the application for the liecence. Think i might have the advert somwhere.

[Guest]

Correst me if i'm wrong Malc, but was this a Chris Burton promotion that went a bit t*ts up.Did he originally intend the venue for Allnighters but the MANCHESTER POLICE objected and turned down the application for the liecence. Think i might have the advert somwhere.

You are correct : here is the full SP on it ......

Chris had mooted the idea of a Torch Revival all nighter for a while after HS had closed , and was looking for a suitable venue in an " agreeable " location .

SOT was obviously out of the question , and because of the problems with The Torch , he was turned down by countless venues because of his association with it .

It took nearly two years after HS had closed , for Chris to get an " agreeable " location to stage the revival all nighters . The venue was a large nightclub in Liverpool - my apologies but I cannot recall the name of it - and the date for the initial all nighter was set for early March 1975 .

Less than two weeks before the opening date , liverpool council informed Chris that they would not allow it under any circumstances .

This forced Chris to seek a hurried alternative , which had been his second choice - The Hardrock in Manchester .

Everything went OK : The Hardrock was announced , but with less than four days before the opening , Manchester Police objected to the all nighter , citing their reason as being they did not want to experience , or deal ( no pun intended ) with the problems again they had with The Wheel .

After lengthy discussion between Chris & MP , MP agreed to let him stage all dayers but under restrictive conditions . Chris begrudgingly agreed , but admitted after their meeting , that it was , and would be , a fated excecise .

The all dayer went ahead , but there was an air of unease about the place : Manchester PC Police and the DS were in attendance , attempting to " blend in " , but hassled people spoiling their enjoyment of the proceedings .

The all dayers were short lived ( three ? ). Chris was told by The Hardock management that it was not economically viable to stage them , but he later heard that MP had told them if they did not cancel their contract with CB , they would have their licence revoked .

Pictured below is my membership card for the new Torch all nighters ( number # 002 given to me by CB , he saved # 001 for himself ) .

Malc Burton

Edited November 27, 2009 by Malc Burton

[Citizen P]

Could be wrong, but I thought there were only 2, well I can only remember attending 2.

Don't feel the place lent itself to Soul anyway very 70's style, plastic mushroom chairs an all that.

as an aside ,I do remember a lot of Salford Boys raving about a certain David Bowie concert there can't

place the date but it was before he went MEGA.

ATB

Tony

[Guest]

Could be wrong, but I thought there were only 2, well I can only remember attending 2.

Don't feel the place lent itself to Soul anyway very 70's style, plastic mushroom chairs an all that.

as an aside ,I do remember a lot of Salford Boys raving about a certain David Bowie concert there can't

place the date but it was before he went MEGA.

ATB

Tony

I was not sure if there were two or three AD , so I went on the caution side , and put three .

I attended the second out of " loyalty " , but did not enjoy it as I did the first one , as I found it was an effort to do so , resulting in my giving it up as a bad job . As you say , the place did lend itself to being a venue for NS music which did not help : it may have been a different scenario if the all nighters had taken place .

Malc Burton

Edited November 28, 2009 by Malc Burton

[Mark B]

totally forgot about this always wondered why i had that membership card, nearest ever soul do to me could walk it in 15 mins. it was a perfect place for a normal pop disco, but totally wrong for nothern nighters or all dayers.

mark

[Citizen P]

totally forgot about this always wondered why i had that membership card, nearest ever soul do to me could walk it in 15 mins. it was a perfect place for a normal pop disco, but totally wrong for nothern nighters or all dayers.

mark

Was on the site of the Old Bowling Alley wan't it??

Tony

[Keithw]

I was working for Chris Burton at the time and DJed at this one

sure Soul Sam was on too--he broke the dj gear ,everything went dead for 15 minutes

till it was figured out what he had touched

nothin new there then

[Paul R]

I went to one of these, all chrome & glass, a bit like Va Vas big brother. Wasn't the venue actually the Village Disco? I remeber it being pretty bad, with not many people there.

Paul

[Tony Jackson]

Was on the site of the Old Bowling Alley wan't it??

Tony

It was.....and it's now a B&Q store......Tony

[Tony Jackson]

I went to one of these, all chrome & glass, a bit like Va Vas big brother. Wasn't the venue actually the Village Disco? I remeber it being pretty bad, with not many people there.

Paul

It had the Village disco bit and the Hardrock as a concert venue. Loads of big acts of the time were on, Slade, Sweet, Bowie etc etc. Also filmed the weekly kids show Lift Off there, Kid Jensen and Aisha whats er face.....

[Pete45]

It had the Village disco bit and the Hardrock as a concert venue. Loads of big acts of the time were on, Slade, Sweet, Bowie etc etc. Also filmed the weekly kids show Lift Off there, Kid Jensen and Aisha whats er face.....

HI Tony, Peter Oughton here, Yes it was the village disco and on a Monday night was the under eighteen's, and that was where Andy Peebles was DJ'ing , he was I think going out with one of Sean O'hara's sisters, and thats where he heard Sean playing the likes of Mitch ryder/shirley Ellis and the rest of the club classics, I remember Sean and Siz [steve sale] and a few others taking them to the DISCO to get him to play them... where we all danced in a big circle to them with the better dancers jumping in the middle!! Of course Andy Pebbles went on to dj on Piccadilly radio on a Sunday afternoon playing northern and interviewing the top dj's at the time, I had for a long time some of those tapes but with moving around alot I lost them. I also went to the alldayers at the Hardrock and remember seeing Major Lance backed by an up and coming soul group SWEET SENSATION!!

So someday I might return to Stretford and catch up with you at the Greatstone,say hi to Madeline for me,

All the best from Holland, Pete

[shawsoulie]

Had forgotten all about this untill reading the this thread, I remember going to the first one but not going to anymore. And I remember that the place didn't lend itself to the music.

And my wife asures me we have the membership card in some forgotten corner of the house ! Thats a job for another day

[Soulfinger]

I remember these as being grim too - it really was the wrong kind of venue; it was a shame as the Village / Hardrock was a 5 minute walk from my house.

There was also a very short run of Wednesday night "Northern Soul" nights at about the same time. I went because it was handy but the atmosphere was all wrong.

[Chris L]

Monday night was the under eighteen's, and that was where Andy Peebles was DJ'ing ,

He used to DJ at the Chelsea Village in Bournemouth, he would sneak the odd soul sound in

especially Dobie Gray. We got to know him quite well, that would have been 73/75-ish. Then

he schoost off up norther.

[Tony Jackson]

HI Tony, Peter Oughton here, Yes it was the village disco and on a Monday night was the under eighteen's, and that was where Andy Peebles was DJ'ing , he was I think going out with one of Sean O'hara's sisters, and thats where he heard Sean playing the likes of Mitch ryder/shirley Ellis and the rest of the club classics, I remember Sean and Siz [steve sale] and a few others taking them to the DISCO to get him to play them... where we all danced in a big circle to them with the better dancers jumping in the middle!! Of course Andy Pebbles went on to dj on Piccadilly radio on a Sunday afternoon playing northern and interviewing the top dj's at the time, I had for a long time some of those tapes but with moving around alot I lost them. I also went to the alldayers at the Hardrock and remember seeing Major Lance backed by an up and coming soul group SWEET SENSATION!!

So someday I might return to Stretford and catch up with you at the Greatstone,say hi to Madeline for me,

All the best from Holland, Pete

Just spotted this. Hi Pete, long time no see, hope you are well mate. I'll pass your regards on to Madeline, and to Marty Magowan if I see him. I still knock around with Siz, not seen Sean or any of the O'hara's for years though.If memory serves me correct, I believe Andy Peebles lodged at the Greatstone Hotel for sometime, I used to see him in the morning at the bus stop going into Manchester.

Tony

Edited January 3, 2010 by Tony Jackson

[Soulfinger]

Digging through old B&S tonight...I spotted this:

Torch Ad.pdf

Torch Ad.pdf

[Ric-tic]

Once more down memory lane .....

Front row : Yours truly - Mike Dilcock - ?

Malc Burton

the guy in the centre[peeping behind] im sure was from bolton colin, and the surname.....dilnot/milnot? a nice guy:thumbsup:

.....though as an afterthought im thinking colin minot

Edited January 4, 2010 by ric-tic

[Guest]

the guy in the centre[peeping behind] im sure was from bolton colin, and the surname.....dilnot/milnot? a nice guy:thumbsup:

.....though as an afterthought im thinking colin minot

Sorry to disappoint , but the name of the chap is as stated , Mick Dilcock .

Malc Burton

[Blake H]

Yes I remember going to this, my overiding memory though is Elton Johns "Philadelphia Freedom" being played almost non stop on the jukebox in the coffee bar area.

Also remember it being very cold.

Blake

[dthedrug]

Hi Happy New Year ---The Torch ls back All-Nighter that never happened? however Chris Burton made it into the All-Dayer, As I got a ticket in advance when he made it an alldayer, I was pee off. However I did go after Wigan, if memory serves me well it was quite good, with Jimmy Thomas singing over "Buetiful night" 2 x or was it 3x. the Hardrock was where TOP of the POPS was recorded, any way as I never throw anything away I have a flyer from the Hardrock I got on the day Dave kil

Edited January 6, 2010 by dthedrug

[KevH]

Didn't go,but still got me membership card.Let PD have a look at it at Bradford,think he liked it !!!

[Guest Electric Bill]

Hello everyone on this posting - i have been researching/writing a book about The Hardrock/Village for a few years now

and would be interested in any photographs/flyers/tickets memorabilia from the venue - please get intouch if you have

anything ?

m32hardrock@yahoo.co.uk

new to forum but will try and post to people who have put things on this post

cheers

Bill Mather (Stretford)

[Peter]

Never went to a "Soul Do" at the Hardrock BUT did go to see Led Zeppelin there early 70's. There was no seating and everyone was sat on the floor, whilst waiting for them to come on stage, music was playing over the PA and I can clearly remember hearing Stevie Wonders Superstition, that was one of the first tracks to get me into Soul as it was then. My ears were ringing for days what concert.

Sometime later I also saw Focus (Jan Akermann, Hocus Pocus) there as well, but then there was tiered seating. Funny last summer I still had all the programmes with ticket stubbs attached and got a hefty price for them on ebay.

P.S

rit-tic love the Avatar badge, I have one myself in orange.

Edited January 21, 2010 by Peter

[Guest MickD]

Once more down memory lane .....

Taken at the initial " Torch Revival " all - dayer at The Hardrock in Manchester , in the March of 1975 , can anyone help putting names to the faces of those not named , in the photograph below .

The lads to be identified all came from Barnsley , and may still be on t'scene .

Pictured left to right -

Back row : Lady B - Phil Westgarth - Paul Seward - ? - ? - ?

Front row : Yours truly - Mike Dilcock - ?

Malc Burton

[Guest MickD]

Well, well, well....!!

I bumped into Paul Seward just the other day (old gits shopping in M&S) and we had a good chat up and down our respective memory lanes. Paul told me Malc had posted this photo (that I'd never seen before). What a blast from the past!! I remember being in on numerous photo's taken at different venues but to date this is the only one I've got and I'll treasure it from here on in. I do remember with great fondness Malc and his lovely wife, Phil Westgarth (top bloke) and Paul who I've known from Junior school. Alas I can't put names to the others albeit their faces are familiar, particularly the lad at the back, who I think is wearing glasses. From the Barnsley end I do remember Big Bub who could make me laugh even whilst seriously blocked (rare) and one Steve Midgley who was cool. What was and remains interesting to me on reflection was that irrespective of where you were from, the scene broke down all the 'silly barriers'. And what I do remember is the 'made to measure' serge blazer and strides I'm wearing cost me a bloody fortune - where did that wardrobe go!

I can't remember how we got there (Question for Malc). Goldthorpe to Man was quite a hike - I do remember the double decker to the Mecca from the Hotel that dropped us off and then got its top deck sliced off going under a too low bridge! What a night that was!

Many thanks to Malc for this posting and sincerest best wishes to one and all.

Mick Dilcock

[Guest]

Well, well, well....!!

I bumped into Paul Seward just the other day (old gits shopping in M&S) and we had a good chat up and down our respective memory lanes. Paul told me Malc had posted this photo (that I'd never seen before). What a blast from the past!! I remember being in on numerous photo's taken at different venues but to date this is the only one I've got and I'll treasure it from here on in. I do remember with great fondness Malc and his lovely wife, Phil Westgarth (top bloke) and Paul who I've known from Junior school. Alas I can't put names to the others albeit their faces are familiar, particularly the lad at the back, who I think is wearing glasses. From the Barnsley end I do remember Big Bub who could make me laugh even whilst seriously blocked (rare) and one Steve Midgley who was cool. What was and remains interesting to me on reflection was that irrespective of where you were from, the scene broke down all the 'silly barriers'. And what I do remember is the 'made to measure' serge blazer and strides I'm wearing cost me a bloody fortune - where did that wardrobe go!

I can't remember how we got there (Question for Malc). Goldthorpe to Man was quite a hike - I do remember the double decker to the Mecca from the Hotel that dropped us off and then got its top deck sliced off going under a too low bridge! What a night that was!

Many thanks to Malc for this posting and sincerest best wishes to one and all.

Mick Dilcock

Morning Mick .

In answer to your question above : We went from Goldthorpe to Manchester ( collecting the Barnsley lads on the way in Barnsley town centre ) on one of Bagnall's ( the Goldthorpe taxi firm ) mini buses . The driver got lost going into Manchester ....... and lost on the way out .

I remember well the Mecca double decker bus incident . John Hepworth from Doncaster hired and drove the bus , and he caused the " conversion " to it , by misjudging the height of the bridge . All hell ensued following the accident ( John very nearly lost his job because of it ) , and it was reported in the Blackpool papers and even got a mention in the Doncaster Free Press .

I saw John recently for the first time in 33 years , and during the conversation I brought up the subject . As you can imagine , John is still very sensitive , but did manage a smile about the incident whilst calling me a b*****d .

Malc Burton

Edited February 2, 2010 by Malc Burton

[Pete S]

Could be wrong, but I thought there were only 2, well I can only remember attending 2.

Don't feel the place lent itself to Soul anyway very 70's style, plastic mushroom chairs an all that.

as an aside ,I do remember a lot of Salford Boys raving about a certain David Bowie concert there can't

place the date but it was before he went MEGA.

ATB

Tony

Bowie played twice at the Hard Rock, first was apparently the opening night, second was on the Aladdin Sane tour may or june 73, I've got rubbish quality tapes of both of those gigs.

28/12/72

and

7/6/73

Edited February 2, 2010 by Pete S

[Citizen P]

Bowie played twice at the Hard Rock, first was apparently the opening night, second was on the Aladdin Sane tour may or june 73, I've got rubbish quality tapes of both of those gigs.

28/12/72

and

7/6/73

Pretty sure it was the '72 gig we're talking about,

But we've all passed a lot of water since then

ATB

Tony

[Guest MickD]

Morning Mick .

In answer to your question above : We went from Goldthorpe to Manchester ( collecting the Barnsley lads on the way in Barnsley town centre ) on one of Bagnall's ( the Goldthorpe taxi firm ) mini buses . The driver got lost going into Manchester ....... and lost on the way out .

I remember well the Mecca double decker bus incident . John Hepworth from Doncaster hired and drove the bus , and he caused the " conversion " to it , by misjudging the height of the bridge . All hell ensued following the accident ( John very nearly lost his job because of it ) , and it was reported in the Blackpool papers and even got a mention in the Doncaster Free Press .

I saw John recently for the first time in 33 years , and during the conversation I brought up the subject . As you can imagine , John is still very sensitive , but did manage a smile about the incident whilst calling me a b*****d .

Malc Burton

[Eddie Hubbard]

It had the Village disco bit and the Hardrock as a concert venue. Loads of big acts of the time were on, Slade, Sweet, Bowie etc etc. Also filmed the weekly kids show Lift Off there, Kid Jensen and Aisha whats er face.....

Ayshea , Tony , she recorded the great version of " Only love can save me now " on Polydor .Cheers ,Eddie

[Guest Unionjack]

I just dug out my mebership for the '75 Torch. Member 2699. Everyone was really excited and looking foreward to it but there was so many changes happening I remember peeps saying it wasnt going to work blah blah. But a couple of us got tickets for that 1st dayer and thought it would be a good night.

Got everything sorted, car was running well,the Riker company left us some prezzies so we was in the mood.

Gets 1/3 up the mororway and car gets a flat, Hadnt got a spare grrr so couple of hours sorted that out. Hour later radiator overheats lol ended up weeing in it!!!

Well gets inside and had a boogie, but really strange atmosphere, everyone was talking Ds and theres us with bottles.

One of the lads got busted in the toilets and we heard everywhere else which put most people on a downer.

A real shame