As explained in his book, a number of negatives have been lost over the years. So it was great to find missing prints of Jerry Lee Lewis recently. These were taken at Manchester’s King’s Hall in Belle Vue, part of a large Victorian entertainment complex just outside the city centre which hosted a number of pop and rock concerts from the 1960s onwards – the last being in the 1980s (the site was later cleared).
Jerry Lee Lewis was touring with a package tour, supported by Gene Vincent. I have not been able to find a flyer for the exact show but this one for York a couple of days earlier on the same tour through March 1964 gives us the full list of bands. I think Lewis would be backed by The Nashville Teens (who are also featured in Brian’s book).
Brian has been sent jpegs of the old prints which while far from perfect at least give a bit of a flavour of the event. Sadly those of Vincent and the others have not been found.
The on stage shots speak for themselves, Brian able to use flash for some of them. Particularly interesting are the off-stage shots, with Lewis showing off a pint of Manchester’s best, and another with Johnny Hamp, producer of the brilliant Granada TV special which Brian was lucky enough to see being recorded. These were taken on 19th March, and it was one of the first events at which Brian got to meet promoter Don Arden. The Belle Vue shots were taken on the 29th.
Many thanks to Brian for sharing these with us. The hunt goes on!
To read more about the book visit this page.
easy on the eye books 