Nostalgia - What are your memories of Stafford?

MISS T

Forum user & abuser
I remember the old market and even where the stalls were, make-up first left, record stall on the right under the stairs that lead to a tea shop I think. Who went on school visit down there when the excavations started and they discovered the bones and bodies??
 

db

#chaplife
this thread is amazing.. i honestly never knew stafford was privy to such a lot of action..
 

Andreas Rex

Banned for smiling
I remember Bagnall's feeling like Hamley's. I went in there a couple of years ago to get some chav-style kids jewelry, and it's actually a tiny shop. It used to be a treasure trove of goodies, and before it shut it seemed like a corner shop.

BAGNALL'S R.I.P
 

Admin

You there; behave!
Staff member
This thread is absolutely fantastic, thank you so much to MISS T for such a great thread. :)

Particular "mad props" to TENSHON and MISS T for unearthing such a wealth of nostalgia-inducing photographs. Let's hope this thread is kept alive for a long time. :)
 

spleeny

A few posts under my belt
Admin said:
This thread is absolutely fantastic, thank you so much to MISS T for such a great thread. :)

Particular "mad props" to TENSHON and MISS T for unearthing such a wealth of nostalgia-inducing photographs. Let's hope this thread is kept alive for a long time. :)
Hopefully in a hundred years (hmm..) or so people will be saying 'I remember when the Stafford Forum was started!'

Aloha! I am Mr Spleeny, and I have no spleen. :ninja:
 

db

#chaplife
welcome, spleeny old bean.. tis true that in centuries to come, El Governato will be heralded as a patron saint - nay, a demi-god of this fine borough :v:
 

gon2seed

(and me! - Ed)
Queen at Bingley Hall, longer ago than I care to remember, was one of the best gigs I ever went to, only eclipsed by AC/DC at Victoria Hall Hanley (before Bonn Scott succumbed to two bottles of Vodka)

Loads of bands played the cattle shed at the Show ground, it used to be the largest venue in the country without any supporting columns (not a lot of people know that!) with a capacity of about 8,000.

Its heyday came when the Daily Mirror Rock and Pop awards were in vogue. All the category winners played at Bingley Hall over the following year.

A non-exhaustive list of acts included Abba, Yes, David Bowie, Boney M, Police, Human League, Sabbeth, Thin Lizzie, Rainbow, as well as those already mentioned.

Special Mention is reserved for The Stranglers who featured a female stripper (Well you didn't think Peaches was about fruit did you?) and were promptly banned by the Staffordshire Agricultural Society stuffed shirts from ever darkening Bingley's door ever again.

For a few halcyon years it was probably the countries foremost venue, but it all melted away as other venues, bigger or with better facilities took over. It really was Stafford's time in the entertainment spotlight, and quite a boost for the local economy, like a regular V Festival! Ah! Happy days.

And finally it was a boon for us North End scallies as the bands often stayed at the Tillington Hotel, and we often got to meet the Stars in person, all of Yes, Ozzie (Who of course lived at Ranton and was a regular in the Yew Tree Pub) and the rest of Sabbeth, and Rainbow.
 

gon2seed

(and me! - Ed)
Sofa said:
So why did the big bands stop playing at Bingley Hall (BH)?
Harvey Goldsmith was the promoter for most of the gigs, (He of LiveAid fame) and I guess he found somewhere else, I honestly don't know, they just stopped! Real shame.

Another notable incident was the Showaddywaddy gig that never was. For those of you too young to know that this was a band not a village in Tanzania next to two dried out river beds; they were a retro group who played in a Rock & Roll stylee, and wore crepes and drapes in primary colours ... Nice!

Anyway someone decided that they were worth a concert at BH, despite the fact that they were on the wain, rockabilly definitely having had its day!! Doh! Despite huge advertising the gig attracted ticket sales of less than 400, and the event did not take place, .............. I got my refund though........ ;)

Now then Stafford and Rockabilly!!!!!! That again is one for another day. OOooo! Its fun on here! I can rabbit on like a Preacher in Crabbery Street without anyone's eyes glazing over, and anyone telling me to shut up, or my audience falling asleep .... well not yet!
 

rich upsetter

Cuffy is the new skill
speaking of bingley hall/county showground, i remember going to the cubs 100th anniversary shindig in the mid 80s. i was about 7 and i think it was probably the first time id stayed away from home without me parents. it was red hot, and if memory serves i think chief cub scout baden powell or one of his sons landed in a helicopter in the middle of the showground, and all us cubs cheered in high pitched voices.

anyone else go to this mighty event?
 
Top