Band’s alphabet tour gets to I – so it must be Ipswich

Rock band Ash have ditched making albums and are currently criss-crossing the country with an A to Z map with a difference. As the alphabet tour reaches Ipswich, bassist Mark Hamilton spoke to Jonathan Barnes.

Sorry Inverness, Ilford and Ifracombe, we’ve got the gig.

Tonight, enduring British rock band Ash reach the letter I in their nationwide A to Z tour – and that means Ipswich.

The Northern Irish trio, due to play at the Corn Exchange, might now fall into the veteran category – they’ve been going for 17 years now – but everything feels very new.

For a start, they’re not releasing albums any more; instead they’re putting out a new single every two weeks for a year.

And the 26 singles matches the number of towns and villages they’ll play on their current tour, running through the alphabet from Aldershot to Zennor (a tiny village in Cornwall, with a tiny village hall).

The tour bus rolled out of Hastings on Wednesday night, and it’s the long trip to Jersey tomorrow.

They had wanted to play out-of-the-way towns on the alphabet tour, places they hadn’t been before, so did they consider Ipswich a musical backwater - or was it the only suitable place beginning with I?

Possibly the latter, as the band actually played at the Corn Exchange on the Free All Angels tour in 2001.

“I don’t know – we left it to our agent,” admits bass player Mark Hamilton, struggling to remember the band’s last date in town.

He says the idea for the tour came on the back of the singles plan: “Twenty-six singles, 26 letters of the alphabet; it was sitting on a plate for us really.

“It was our manager who came up with the idea to play secondary towns, smaller places and to hit them alphabetically.

“Most of the gigs are at smaller venues; three, four five-hundred capacity. The smallest one is in Zennor – we couldn’t find anywhere else beginning with Z.

“The village hall has a capacity of 70; the whole village is only about 220 people. We had to cheat a bit with Exmouth, because there’s nowhere that starts with X.”

While the tour is something of a gimmick, the decision to stop making albums is something the band had been mulling over for some time.

Ash have made six of them since Hamilton and his Downpatrick schoolfriends Tim Wheeler and Rick McMurray started out in 1992, combining A-level studies with burgeoning rock stardom.

They’ve sold well too – particularly 1977, released in 1996, and 2001’s Free All Angels – but the band had begun to get restless.

Knowing their 2007 album Twilight Of The Innocents was the last in their deal with Infectious Records, they floated a fresh idea with label bosses.

“We said we wanted to release lots of songs on a very regular basis, a singles-based approach,” says Hamilton. “That freaked them out, they said it was too risky, and that was that - end of the deal.”

But Ash had their hearts set on the idea and decided to do it themselves, setting up their own label, Atomic Heart Records.

The first single of the series, True Love 1980, was released on October 12, on digital download and vinyl, and was followed by Joy Kicks Darkness on Monday.

“It’s much more spontaneous,” says Hamilton. “No one gets to hear the song until it’s released and it keeps the fans engaged, keeps the music coming.

“We can try out lots of different styles and sounds and treat every song on its own merits, rather than thinking about how an album should sound. We’re also not stuck in that three-year cycle of releasing albums, which can get frustrating. We’ve got 44 songs recorded already and we’ll just keep releasing them.”

The trio are playing a number of the new songs on tour, and also have a healthy back catalogue to call upon, with 18 top 40 hits.

They’ve been back to a three-piece for three years now, since second guitarist Charlotte Hatherley left after a nine-year stint.

Hamilton says “it didn’t take too long” to get used to being a trio again and says it’s the close bond between the three which has kept the band going, even though he and frontman Wheeler, both 32, live in New York and drummer McMurray, 34, is in Edinburgh.

“We’ve known each other for so long it’s like a second family,” says Hamilton. “We’ve kept going as we’ve had a lot of success and a couple of big albums, but the main thing is we still love what we do.”

And they’re finding there are new things to savour all the time – like a new generation of fans.

“At the last few shows, we’ve had parents bringing along their children,” says Hamilton.

“Some of our fans are in their late 30s now, and they’re coming to the gig with teenagers. It’s strange, but it’s great.”

Giving up on albums and playing a 70-capacity village hall is probably a bit strange too, but bear with Ash – they might just be doing something great.

Tickets for tonight’s show can be bought on the door or by calling 01473 433100.

For more details about the A to Z singles series go to the band’s website at www.ashofficial.com

DID YOU KNOW?

In 2002, Ash had roles in a horror movie called Slashed, which featured Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland as FBI agents trying to track down a supernatural serial killer. The footage has never been released.

Ash reportedly nearly went bankrupt at the turn of the decade before Tim Wheeler wrote Shining Light, which went on to become one of the band’s best-selling singles and won Best Contemporary Song at the Ivor Novello Awards.

BBC Radio Suffolk broadcaster Stephen Foster has music stamped through him like a stick of rock and that some of that passion was sparked at the Regent.

Stephen Foster's love of music drove him towards a career in broadcasting, beginning with Ipswich Hospital Radio, on to Radio Orwell and now he is the popular host of Drivetime on BBC Radio Suffolk.

In the seventies and eighties it was pretty well obligatory for those heavily into the music scene to run a disco and Stephen duly did.

“I used to do a disco called Magic Mushroom in the Seventies,” he reveals.

At Copleston High School, Stephen had a friend who bought a lot of records and he used to listen to the radio 1 top 20 show.

“At about that time I got into rock music, listening to Radio Caroline, the pirate radio ship anchored off the Essex coast, and those bands were coming to Ipswich - groups like Barclay James Harvest. Caroline was one of the few places to hear rock music.”

And his musical tastes were fed by the Gaumont where he could see the acts he so admired on the wireless.

“I have been to hundreds of gigs at the Gaumont. I kept all the memorabilia; I kept the ticket stubs,” he admits.

Stephen Foster collaborated with East Anglian Daily Times photographer David Kindred on a book, From Buddy to the Beatles subtitled When the Regent Rocked. The book charts the years from March 1958, when Buddy Holly hit town to 1964 when the Beatles raised the roof.

On the same programme as Buddy Holly was an act billed as “The comedian with the modern style” he was to return after the interval to sing a few old classics including Oh You Beautiful Doll. And who was this wunderkind whose comedy was modern style but whose song choices were more musical hall style? It was a 26-year-old Des O Connor.

Jerry Lee Lewis (Great Balls of Fire) was due to play Ipswich Gaumont on a 37-date British tour but when it emerged he had bigamously wed his 13-year-old cousin Myra Gale the ensuing scandal put an early end to the tour. Lewis returned to the US and skiffle artist Chas McDevitt and Terry Wayne took his place.

The book also recalls the Victor Sylvester Dance Studio where dance instructors Bob Morley and Rita Carlton taught a generation of young people to waltz and cha-cha in the late 50s and 60s.

But, of course, this was before Stephen's time.

As a DJ on Radio Orwell in the 80s, Stephen, was among the lucky few allowed backstage to do interview the artists. “The Gaumont was like a second home to me,” he says.

“David Lowe (the manager) was extremely helpful when I was at Orwell. He used to come in and talk about the gigs and he let me in to review - it was like a passport to heaven. It was fantastic.

“I used to do backstage interviews and these days I still do a few.”

Among those early interviews Stephen talked to a “very young” Billy Bragg.

“Another time I was backstage to interview Chrome Molly (a heavy metal 80s band from the Midlands in case you're wondering) and I spotted Ozzy Osbourne sitting on his own in a dressing room. I introduced myself and he said he was fine to do an interview but I had to run it by his wife (Sharon).

“I went to find her and she said 'No problem at all, go ahead'.”

And so Stephen was allowed five minutes with one of the biggest names on the rock scene. “I've still got the interview on a cassette somewhere,” reveals the broadcaster whose enthusiasm for contemporary music is undimmed.

While Foz, as he is affectionately called by listeners, has seen more concerts than most, he still harbours a few regrets.

“My big regret is I wanted to meet Roy Orbison - I don't know why I didn't put in a (interview) request. I was probably so immersed in rock…”

“My first gig was Roy Wood. I remember he had a stomach ulcer so they cut the set short.”

Because of that the band came back and Stephen laughs as he recalls: “They did exactly the same show; exactly the same length!”

Some audiences were noisier than others: “The Bay City Rollers was a nightmare. You couldn't hear a thing there was so much screaming.

“On a picture of the crowd queuing for tickets outside the Gaumont, I'm right at the back - it was nearly all girls,” he recalls. (Sadly the EADT was unable to locate this particular picture)

These days Stephen enjoys taking his stepson Oliver, 14, and son Joseph, 9, along to shows, introducing them to the music he loves.

And, in that huge canon of music, Dr Feelgood is Stephen's top band.

“I've seen them 30 to 40 times and the first time was at the Gaumont in 1977. In the 70s and 80s virtually anyone who was anyone played the Gaumont.

“I can't imagine Ipswich without the Regent. It's imperative that the borough council finds the funds to keep it going. It put Ipswich on the music map.”



Stephen Foster has a list of music acts that appeared at the Gaumont prior to 1991 and it reads like a Who's Who of popular music over the decades. There were lots of unforgettable names but here are some you might have forgotten from those earlier decades…

1957: Johnny Duncan

1958: The Treniers with Chas McDevitt and Terry Wayne (Jerry Lee Lewis had been billed to appear)

1960: Freddy Cannon; Emile Ford

1964: Mike Sarne

1967: Paul and Barry Ryan

1969: Gene Pitney; Mary Hopkin and Engelbert Humperdinck

1970: Satisfaction; Johnny Hackett

1972: Family (Roger Chapman and his band)

1975: Man

1976: Focus; Camel; Uriah Heep

1977: The Streetwalkers

1978: UFO

1979: Sutherland Brothers

As Mary Hopkin probably sang when she performed at the Gaumont in 1969, those were the days, my friend.

Suffolk man and top music promoter John Hessenthaler was in the audience when the Beatles played the Ipswich Gaumont - now the Regent - back in the 60s.

John Hessenthaler started out as a chartered surveyor but he had always been interested in music.

“I used to run a disco in the mid-70s out at a village hall and they would pay 50p or £1 on the door and I got a couple of hundred through the door. I didn't realise I was learning a business.”

But he was and within a few years he was promoting nationally.

“I had been totally into music. Everybody (in his generation) got in because of the Beatles and I saw loads of stuff at the Gaumont. I went all the time in the mid-70s.

“I went to see Genesis and Peter Gabriel didn't turn up so Phil Collins came out from behind the drum kit to be the lead singer. I have signed autographs I got between the two gigs they did here.”

“I remember standing in the wings with Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders in the 80s and she said 'I'm getting too old for this 'and she's still going.”

“When the Kinks came, Ray and Dave Davies argued with each other on stage and only did half the gig.”

Music is a way of life for John and, as a promoter he takes “the full financial risk”. He admits there have been bad times as well as good. “I have kept it going through better and worse. It's in my blood.”

“I have been promoting at The Regent (and before The Gaumont ) since 1976.”

“I have also hanging on my wall The Beatles signature on a mono Hard Day's Night Album signed between their two performances at The Regent on 31st October, 1964, just prior to the 8.45 pm performance.”

“I recently put on Errol Brown (from Hot Chocolate) at The Regent-having put Hot Chocolate on in Ipswich 30 years prior!”

Among the artists he works with are also Rick Wakeman and the tribute band Illegal Eagles.

John talks of the Regent with enormous affection. “It's my second home,” he says.

“I remember when it closed and the petition that went round,” he says.

It was a painful time for the town and music lovers everywhere when the top venue went dark. But with council backing and vocal support from its many thousands of supported both in the town and beyond, it was re-opened.

“They refurbished it themselves,” John says in admiration of the theatre's recent management.

“There are venues in this country I would give a rating of 10 out of 10 and there are others I would give a minus figure. The Regent today would get a nine out of 10.

“They're efficient; they pay you pretty quickly and their crew are great. The atmosphere backstage is great I would call it 'the joint that don't disappoint'.

Contracts can contain dressing room demands, he confirms: “During the heatwave in the mid-70s one band pulled a gig on me because the orange juice in their dressing room contained an ingredient that meant it wasn't 'pure'. Another band asked for substantial bowls of M&Ms but they mustn't contain any red one and if there were any red ones they reserved the right not to perform.”

LYNNE Mortimer worked as an usherette at The Gaumont theatre between 1971 and 1973. Here she recalls the glories of the uniform, the ice-cream trays and her first encounter with a microwave.

There was an in-house cinema ad which promoted the drinks and snacks available in the foyer.

“Why not try a hot-dog?” it entreated.

Out in the foyer of the Ipswich Gaumont (now the Regent), behind the confectionery counter, stood two young women in candy-striped nylon overalls - standard Rank cinema issue - ready to blast the aforementioned pre-packed hot-dogs with microwaves to a searingly hot temperature.

We also had beefburgers and cheeseburgers, flabby slices of meat inside bread rolls, likewise sealed in cellophane not to mention sweets galore and fizzy drinks.

In the auditorium there were more candy-striped usherettes; one or two in the stalls and one in the circle, with laden trays of ice-cream, iced lollies and Kia-Ora orange squash, a beverage almost unknown outside cinemas.

At this time the Gaumont in St Helen's Street, Ipswich, and the Odeon, in Lloyds Avenue, were both Rank cinemas run by the same management team and staff.

Our manager, David Lowe, was an early exponent of multi-skilling and we all acted as usherettes - tearing the tickets and threading the halves on a string and showing people to seats with our torches; we all sold ice creams and refreshments in the intervals and between screenings and most of us sold tickets too, which were ejected from a machine at the pay kiosk.

The overall was not the most flattering garment. The longer it was, the more we looked like sticks of rock. So as soon as we were allocated a uniform we took it home and turned up the hem by around 18 inches. There was a slight danger than bending down could reveal a glimpse of underwear but we learned to bend from the knee.

Mr Lowe, having a number of daughters recognised there was a risk to tights and kept a ready supply for those who damaged them beyond repair.

Certain films stick in the memory. In those days, only one big Disney animation was released each year. With no videos or DVDs, the cinema was packed for these eagerly awaited-features.

When Sleeping Beauty came to the Gaumont, several mothers collared me in the foyer to complain that it was too scary for children.

Sadly, the early Seventies did not constitute British films finest hour. In fact, there were some appalling contributions to the canon. Who could forget Carry on at Your Convenience, Countess Dracula, Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde, Lust for a Vampire..

But some were better - Young Winston, Wicker man, Theatre of Blood, Don't Look Now..

Movies such as the Sound of Music (1965), would make return visits to the circuit and this was one of those that had an interval - something you just don't get any more. Our cue to fetch the ice-cream trays and man the kiosks would be taken from the cue indicator for the change of reel - a squiggle in the top corner.

As well as the films, there were the live shows and Civic Concerts. The chance to work these gigs was, dependent on the artist, much coveted.

I remember Cliff Richard headlining with his lesser-known support artist Olivia Newton John. He helped to launch her to stardom in the UK although her performance in the film Grease a few years later was to turn her into worldwide pop sensation.

The current trend for touring TV shows began to manifest itself in the 70s. The Comedians, an ITV programme which showcased stand-up comedians, went on the road. And so it was my dubious pleasure to take Bernard Manning and co. a cup of tea in the interval.

Gala nights were real occasions back then. The first night of the Ipswich Operatic and Dramatic Society production demanded evening dresses and DJs or lounge suits. For those consigned to wear candy-stripe, it was a chastening experience.

At the end of the evening, after everyone had gone home, we would check the exits and corridors to make sure the building was secure. The Gaumont is a cavernous place when it is empty although, unlike the Odeon, there was never any suggestion it was haunted.

But there are a lot of memories for me and thousands of other Suffolk people in the fabric of the building. The first dance I ever attended was at the Victor Sylvester ballroom. A few years earlier I had attended Saturday morning dance classes there. We were taught the March of the Mods and my friend from next door, Debbie and I, partnered each other in the waltz and cha-cha.

The dance was a different kettle of fish. The girls sat along one side of the room; the boys the other. I waited to be asked to dance and just when it seemed I was about to win the Wallflower of the Evening Award, a man (he must have been 20 - five years older than me) asked me to dance. I was desperately grateful even though he was an unprepossessing character. He was also shorter than me which is probably why he found it so easy to bite my neck.

My mum wasn't very impressed and I was mortified. I wore the collar on my school blouse as high as I could for a week.

Ah, happy days.

John with a collection of old Ipswich Regent Programmes. 

Former ballet star, actor and dance teacher John Raven renewed his old acquaintance with The Regent after he retired.

John Raven, who lives in Woodbridge with his wife, Peggy, was born in Ipswich in 1935.

“After the war, I remember going to the Saturday morning cinema. We used to queue up the ramp (to the left of the Regent's main entrance up the stairs) and there was a box office at the back and that's where we used to get our tickets.

“We were ushered into the stalls - we were never allowed to go into the stalls on the left of the auditorium, there was a barrier there and we were not allowed to go beyond it.”

“There was a neon sign where it now says 'The Regent' and I'm sure I remember it being green.”

As well as the Saturday morning pictures, John saw all the Hollywood musicals at the cinema.

“I think I was taken down there and left in the queue and picked up again later.”

The interior of the building fascinated the young man. “There were wonderful murals in the crush hall (now the stalls bar area). There was George and the dragon… and all the wonderful ferns. I believe there was a grand piano down there. It was a vast area.

“On Sundays we had the Ipswich Civic Concerts which I would do regularly.” John reels off the names of leading musicians of the time - the early 50s - including Sir Adrian Boult.

John was called up for National Service in 1954 and went into the Royal Air Force.

“I came back to work backstage there, pulling the hemp ropes; 'getting a few pennies'.

“The Carl Rosa Opera came for a week in September 1955 - I have the programme. They did Faust and Rigoletto.”

But, says John: “It was still very much a cinema in those days.”

One visitor he remembers particularly well was Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet. In February 1956 the company performed Coppelia, with British dancers Doreen Tempest and Walter Trevor. Sadler's Wells returned on December 10, the same year. “I was working backstage.”

But looking at the programme, something triggered John's memory and he realised that Sadler's Wells had become the Royal Ballet on October 31 so, although the programme says otherwise it was actually the Royal Ballet that played the Gaumont in December 1956. “We were one of the first audiences to see the Royal Ballet.”

John was just about to embark on his own career as a professional dancer. “So there's a big gap to the present day.”

It was to be 40 years before John was to come home and resume his relationship with the Regent Theatre. “I came back in 1996 although I was still commuting up to London to teach.”

“I spoke in the Town Hall at a meeting held to save the theatre when there was a real threat it might be lost.”

He rarely misses a classical music concert or a dance performance and, with his expert knowledge of staging ballet, is always on hand to help the theatre management if needed.

“I love the place,” says John.

David Lowe was manager of the Ipswich Gaumont through the swinging Sixties, the sensational Seventies and the entertaining eighties.

David Lowe

Retired since 1989, he continues to take a lively interest in the theatre he managed for more than 30 glorious years, as Lynne Mortimer discovers.

Manager for a period spanning four decades, David Lowe was the public face of the Gaumont.

His enthusiasm for cinema and live shows ensured his theatre stayed at the forefront of entertainment and for Ipswich he was Mr Gaumont.

He came to the town in 1958 to manage the area's biggest and most prestigious cinema. It had opened to a national fanfare in 1929, built to accommodate the enormous and growing popularity of “the pictures” as well as variety acts.

Like many of its contemporaries it had a Wurlitzer organ that rose from beneath the stalls to be played during intervals and at concerts.

Now, unbelievably 85-years-old, David's memory is as sharp as ever and he recalls: “In 1961 we had a massive flood. The water coursed down Woodbridge Road, straight into the basement and it was soon under 7ft of water. Unfortunately the water went into the workings of the organ.”

The damage was irreparable and so the organ was no more,

“In 1958 there were the odd shows but it was mostly cinema.”

But things were changing and fast. David puts the sudden, new and voracious appetite of young people for live pop music down to a BBC show called the Six-Five Special. It prompted the start of pop package tours and, in Suffolk, there was only one venue big enough to host them; the Gaumont.

With David Lowe at the helm, it became the place for live entertainment locally.

Nothing was too much trouble for David and, as a result, both performers and audiences were keen to come back.

Not that it was all plain sailing.

In about 1969, David recalls some trouble once or twice with gangs who used to come in to the Saturday late night showings and throw fireworks around.

“The press got on to it and asked 'What are you going to do about this, Mr Lowe?' I said I had plans… I had no plans,” he confesses.

“I was on the train to London and I said 'I knew what I'll do, I will only let people in if they've got a pass. And they would have to bring their girlfriend with them'.

“One chap came in and said, 'I couldn't get a girlfriend, Mr Lowe, can I bring my grandmother with me - and he did!” David laughs at the memory.

His creative solution was one you probably wouldn't get away with these days but back in '69, it clearly worked like a charm and what's more, it made the national press… and the international press.

“A man at the US air force base read the story and next thing, it was in the New York Herald Tribune. Ipswich Gaumont was all over the world.”

Brought up in North Walsham, Norfolk, David Lowe left home at 16 and headed for Blitz-torn London to work at the Astoria, in Finsbury Park, for Paramount Pictures as an apprentice projectionist.

When he joined the army, his career was put on hold until after the war when he trained

After the war David went into cinema management and first place he worked was the Odeon, Ipswich, where he did his training. After stints at various theatres around East Anglia he was offered his first manager's post at the Colchester Hippodrome, where he stayed for about three years, reintroducing live shows to the theatre.

By this time David was a married man. He wed Barbara in 1949 and the couple were to have nine children; six boys and three girls.

He accepted the offer of the manager's job at the Ipswich Gaumont with alacrity and arrived in March 1958.

Immediately things went well. “I went to the Gaumont and just at that moment, the Six-Five Special led the clamour for new music - talk about business falling into your lap.

“We also had the (classical) Civic Concerts. The biggest orchestra was the Hungarian State - 103 people on stage. That was wonderful.”

There were also the stage musicals. When Ipswich Hippodrome closed the town's operatic and dramatic society asked if it could come to the Gaumont and David replied, 'of course you can'.

Disarmingly, David Lowe says that the new business just “fell into my lap” but it was his approachability and interest in new ideas that made it happen. And he always recognised a PR opportunity when he saw one.

Not that things always went according to plan…

“We'd arranged for a group of players from the football club (Ipswich Town) to be introduced to Engelbert Humperdinck after his show. They were sitting in the front row and he (the club's PR man) had been told to get moving at the end, when they were due to go round to see Engelbert.

“But the PR man never thought what might happen. The players had been told to get up a few minutes before the end of the show and it was while he was singing his new number Please Release Me, that they all got up and left.

“I went backstage and Engelbert had his head in his hands in despair because people had left during his new number. He wouldn't see anyone.”

“John Cobbold (Ipswich Town chairman) was there. He was a wonderful man. 'Don't worry, David,' he said, 'I'm dealing with temperamental people all the time.'

“I once had a drink with John Cobbold and asked 'What is it that you've got? When you choose managers you choose managers who go on to manage England - how do you do it?'

“He said, 'David, I don't know because I'm always pissed,'” says David and roars with laughter.

They were remarkable times.

The Gaumont famously played host to the Beatles twice. The first time was in 1962.

“I got to know the Beatles. In the next 18 months they went worldwide.”

When David heard the group was making a return visit he phoned the chief constable right away.

“I said, 'We've got the Beatles coming.' He said, 'Goodness; heaven help us.'

“The tickets went on sale a full three months before the show - which was unheard of at the time - and everyone came and slept on the pavements all round the Gaumont.

“The police organised a control room… I will never forget the line of sleeping people at the entrance of the Gaumont. They played A Hard day's Night and everyone woke up with a start.

“The selling of the tickets made the television news. And then, three months later, in October 1964, the group came. They were late coming on (stage); time was ticking away. A reporter was there and he said 'They're not coming - I never did think they were coming, it's one of your cheap publicity stunts.'”

It wasn't a stunt of course and David soon got the nod that the group had arrived. David greeted them. “John said: “How do.”

“There were two houses,” David recalls and then tells his great Beatles story.

“John was using his little mouth organ in the first show and he threw it on the side of the stage. My son, Malcolm, was standing in the wing and he thought it had been thrown away. He picked it up, put it in his pocket, took it home and went to bed.”

Back at the theatre, there was a crisis. “I got a message: 'Mr Lennon will not go on for the second house unless he gets his mouth organ back.' I rang home. Malcolm had put the mouth organ under his pillow.”

A taxi was urgently despatched to David's home to collect it and so the show went on.

David Lowe shakes his head slightly at the amount of money Beatles memorabilia fetches today. If he had but known how much an original poster could fetch. “As far as I was concerned we would get rid of posters as fast as possible.”

The stars - and what stars they were - came thick and fast to Ipswich Gaumont. Buddy Holly was David's first show and Roy Orbison came a number of times.

John Denver's Ipswich date was last-minute. David got a phone-call from the American singer's promoter to say he wanted to do a warm-up concert for his London show. With just two-weeks' notice David said, “no problem” and Denver - just one man and a guitar - wowed the Gaumont audience.

As the manager, David was in the front line when it came to dealing with problems and egos.

The tales tumble out - there were the young performers in pantomime who had nowhere to go on Christmas Day because their digs wouldn't have them; Little Richard standing in the wings as his sell-out house worked themselves into a frenzy waiting for him to step out onto the stage as the drums rolled expectantly; the ingenuity of fans trying to get to the stars; the elderly artist who put her caravan in the theatre car park; Paul McCartney hiding out in the Ladies to escape his screaming hordes of fans.

David tells a cautionary tale of over fanatical behaviour.

“Next to the Gaumont was Mann Egerton garage and they had a little concrete road that ran up to the top of the building where they used to do their repairs. It was not too far away from the stage and dressing rooms.

“Part of the Gaumont roof had glass in it and during the war they painted it black. One day I went on stage and saw a leg hanging through. What can you do to stop people doing that?” he asks, still amazed that anyone would undertake such an escapade.

These were golden years. “No one had a theatre that had such varied stuff - Civic Concerts, Gilbert and Sullivan, Ipswich Operatic and Dramatic Society, Co-op Juniors…”

“I lived through the glory days - how lucky can you be?”



The Six-Five Special: Launched in February 1957 it was the BBC's first attempt at a rock and roll programme. It went out live at five past six on Saturday evening and was presented by disc jockey Pete Murray, using the catchphrase: “Time to jive on the old six five”.

1959: On the 30th anniversary of the Gaumont, its new young manager, David Lowe, talked about the future of the cinema.

“In spite of the difficulties which our industry faces, we believe that we will always have a great part to play in entertaining the public.

“We believe that for all the other attractions which appeal to the public today, a visit to the cinema or a big stage show is still something that cannot be emulated by any other type of entertainment medium.

“I am often asked what is the future of the Gaumont Theatre itself… my answer is that I believe that people will always want to “have a night out” at a place of entertainment and that the atmosphere created by audiences enjoying a film, stage show or concert will always remain an essential ingredient of complete enjoyment.”

“The old adage 'There's no business like show business' was never more true than it is today.

“The cinema industry is by no means finished; we are looking forward to the next 30 years.”

1989: David Lowe retired in 1989 after 31 years at the Gaumont. It was also the theatre's 60th anniversary. Interviewed at the time he recalled: “We saw a Tamla Motown show where Diana Ross was just one of the singers and Stevie Wonder was fourth on the bill.”

And remembering that Beatles gig: “Two girls queued outside for three days for tickets and bought A14 and A15 in the front row. They sat through the first half then the Beatles came out and they fainted - and were carried out and never saw the show.

“There were 26 stretchers at the back of the theatre with teenagers on them.”

“Films have provided some great entertainment too with everything from Star Wars to Crocodile Dundee attracting enormous crowds. The Sound of Music ran for six months - from the longest day (summer solstice) to the shortest day (winter solstice).

“People remember me because of what I represent; the fun they had at the movies or live shows. Perhaps the Saturday Morning Club - or their days courting.”

2004: On the Regent's 75th anniversary David Lowe said versatility was the secret of its success. “We provided the people of Ipswich and East Anglia in general with what they wanted. When I arrived in 1958… the front of the theatre was looking a bit neglected and down-at-heel. It was still suffering from the economic problems of post-war Britain. But I could see it could be a wonderful place. We replaced the wartime low wattage bulbs, which immediately brightened the place up, and gave it a fresh coat of paint…

“I was lucky that my arrival in Ipswich coincided with the launch of pop package tours… I have to say the idea of these pop shows was so new that we were completely unprepared for the frenzied reactions of the audiences. Mind you, we learned very quickly.”

The Regent Theatre's general manager David Mansfield talks to Lynne Mortimer about the changing face of live entertainment.

General manager of Ipswich regent david Mansfield with a programe from the openning night of The regent Theatre in 1929

David Mansfield has been at the Regent Theatre for five years and, he says, has been “holding the reins for the last year or so”.

Now general manager, he says: “It's more than a nine to five job,” and he thinks before adding with a smile: “It's a bit more than a job.”

David grew up in Colchester and his career has included a number of years in music and TV production. He was involved with some of the world's biggest names in concert including Elton John and Jean Michel Jarre before moving over to television, producing primetime documentaries.

He then moved into music distribution, working for an events company, putting on concerts and selling the TV rights for huge global artists such as Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney.

When he got married to a “Suffolk girl” David came back to the region and worked as marketing director for BT Brightstar before bringing his considerable and expert knowledge of the entertainment industry to the Ipswich Regent.

When you ask the inevitable question about the possibility of having a bigger stage with wider wings, he considers carefully. David believes the big challenge in years to come will be funding for the arts nationally. He feels the focus of financial support from sources such as the National Lottery is likely to turn to the 2012 Olympics.

“I think, in years to come, it is highly likely that Suffolk will have its own arena. It's interesting how the industry is constantly changing.”

Throughout the changes The Regent will continue to focus on providing the best entertainment, he says.

This means getting in the best artists to attract all the different audiences.

“We take the calibre of artists that are very high profile. The credit crunch has had a strange effect on theatre. The high profile performers are selling better than ever. Those who are not so high profile are not doing so well.”

David gives the example of the world famous River Dance which “sold out for a week-long run”. A sell out performance means there are more than 1,500 people in the house.

By contrast, audiences for Rik Mayall appearing in a stage version of his TV comedy The New Statesman “did not buy that many tickets”.

“I remember having a conversation with him afterwards and he said, 'What is it about Ipswich?' For some reason, that show didn't work.”

It is difficult to predict, says David, but he looks back on some spectacular successes.

“In terms of performances that have surpassed expectations, Friday Night is Music Night was a stunning show.”

He also mentions the Cuban music of the Buena Vista Social Club and rock band the Foo Fighters, highlighting the eclectic tastes of Regent audiences.

“I look back at Peter Pan with Brian Blessed, the first professional pantomime at the theatre in many years. Virtually all successful theatres have a Christmas show.” he says, adding: “Everyone wants a successful theatre.”

It isn't just people from the Ipswich area that come to the Regent. “Last year, 10 per cent of the panto audience came from Colchester.”

It is a big auditorium and David says: “It's about performance. You have to have a certain number of people in the theatre for it to come alive.”

“Because of what the theatre is, it dictates what we can stage there.”

He says fashion is a key factor in putting together a programme that people will respond to - for example, the popularity of shows like The X Factor has brought a raft of new artists on to the tour circuits.

Even experienced performers have their moments, though, and without revealing names, David tells the story of “one artist who managed to drop a radio mic into the loo and thought the best way to solve the problem was to run it under a tap and spray it with perfume before she put it back on.”

It is at times like these that the backstage crew comes into its own.

David pays tribute to the team of people who work behind the scenes and Front of House at The Regent: “The theatre is very much about the people that are there. It's entirely down to the team.”

“There is something wonderful about theatres and something especially wonderful about sell-out performances.

“I think Ipswich is very fortunate to have such a large venue for live shows.”

EAST Anglia's own X-Factor hopeful has made it through another round of live shows after wowing the public with his smooth performance.

Olly Murs, who lives in Witham in Essex, was a huge hit on the ITV1 show's Big Band Night with his swinging rendition of Bewitched.

Inspired by celebrity mentor Michael Buble, he opened the show on Saturday night and the results round-up saw him named as one of the first acts safely through to next weekend.

Olly, who is being guided through the competition by music mogul Simon Cowell, has been supported by friends, family and thousands of fans across the country and has been hotly tipped to make the final.

But it was bad news for girl group Miss Frank, who went home after receiving the least amount of votes from the public.

The trio, mentored by Louis Walsh, had been left in the bottom two alongside Danyl Johnson and the panel of judges could not come to a majority decision.

Next week's show will see the nine remaining acts sing their hearts out and there will be a guest appearance from 2008 runners-up JLS.

IPSWICH; This is the third generation of the Electric Light Orchestra – but they showed to an appreciative audience last night that they remain fine musicians with a distinctive sound.

The days of Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan might have long gone – but Phil Bates in full flight looks and sounds much like the iconic frontman and few at the Regent last night were left complaining.
The Orchestra is the offspring of ELO Part Two which was the offspring of the original band, and it looked and sounded best when the great hits from the 1970s and early 1980s were being played.
But the six-piece band seemed determined they were more than a tribute band – playing new material as well as old Beatles numbers.
An extraordinary version of Twist and Shout still has me wondering whether I loved or hated it!
But somehow all the other numbers paled into insignificance in comparison with the hits of ELO that those of a certain age grew up with.
They may have been the antidote to punk at the time, but their music has lasted well and it was good to hear and see it being played live.
Only Mik Kiminski and Louis Clark may remain from the original band – but the music is timeless and with great musicians like Glenn Burtnik in the band it still has much to offer.
The Regent may not have been full last night, but those who were there enjoyed a great night of music.

Paul Geater - Evening Star

The X Factor dream of Witham's Olly Murs remains very much alive and kicking after he secured enough public votes to return to next Saturday's show.

The popular 25-year-old won praise from all judges on the show - particularly from mentor Simon Cowell - for his performance of the Ike and Tina Turner track Fool in Love.

Judge Cheryl Cole described it as his “best performance so far”.

Donning a silver suit, Olly's energetic performance on Saturday featured strong vocals and his now-trademark slick dancing.

He was the first person voted through to next Saturday, while 21-year-old Rikki Loney became the latest contestant to see their X factor dream ended.

Ambition: Callum makes it through to the final of Open Mic UK contest

Teenager Callum Robinson’s dreams of stardom could be within reach today as he gears himself up to triumph at the finals of a national music contest.

The 18-year-old of Great Whip Street, is the only youngster from our area to win through to the regional heats of this year’s Open Mic UK contest.

He has the world at his feet and is hoping to do his home town proud by bringing back the title and becoming one of the most promising young singers in the country.

Callum wowed judges in Middlesex last week to win a place at the final with his version of Michael Jackson’s ‘Rock with You’

Earlier this year Callum impressed the X Factor panel enough to get through the first round of auditions but sadly failed to progress any further.

The former FarlingayeHigh School pupil said: “This time I just want to show everyone my potential.

 “Not getting through left me more determined than ever to get somewhere.

“To be successful isn’t always to win, but to be a partaker. I hope that my song choice and performance will show the judges and the audience that I have great potential, confidence and the right determination to make me the next signed artist.”

Callum lives for soul, R&B and pop music and started recording demo cover music in 2007. Since then he has performed locally at numerous venues. Musical influences include Michael Jackson, Beyonce and the late R‘n’B singer Aaliyah.

On November 28 he will travel to Portsmouth for the final of Open Mic UK where he is likely to perform “When You Believe,” a song made famous by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.

Callum said: “Ever since I can remember I've been singing. I love it, I need it… it’s my oxygen!

 “Music is my future, singing is my goal, and this competition could finally be the door I need to walk into my heart’s desire.”

To listen to Callum sing and show your support visit his lovemusic24 profile, myspace.com/callumrobinsonofficial or youtube.com/user/Callum4Christ

Fast Facts

Name: Callum Robinson
Age: 18
From: Ipswich
Influences: My heart’s desire
Musical Hero: Michael Jackson, Aaliyah Haughton
Favourite Song: I like so many, I couldn’t even decide!
Ambition: To become a signed artist and reach worldwide recognition
Other interests: Besides singing I enjoy dance, acting, performing live, photography and travel

Even superstar Robbie Williams wants to be his friend.

Essex boy Olly Murs, 25, is proving that it's not just his singing talent which is winning the voting masses.

Three months ago the down-to-earth Witham resident was singing karaoke in his local pub - now he's singing live to millions of people on ITV's The X Factor.

In fact, Olly is tipped as one of the favourites to win the show. A few bookmakers are offering odds of 11/2 for him to take the crown, despite his mentor Simon Cowell's admission that he thought the singer was “a risk” and “not the best singer in the world”.

Not even former-office worker Olly, who admits to being anything but modest, believes he can win the show.

Speaking during a break from rehearsals in London this week, he said: “I cannot believe I have even got this far.

“I do not truly believe I can win this competition, but I'm going to enjoy every minute and give it my absolute best. I feel so fortunate to be here. It's what I have always wanted to do.

“I'll be stressed when I need to be and feel the pressure when I need too, but at the end of the day it's my dream and I'm going to make sure I love every single minute.

“I'd rather be here than anywhere else in the entire world.”

Olly first captured the nation's hearts with his first audition in front of the X Factor judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh.

His rendition of Stevie Wonder's Superstition, with his trademark dance moves and his cheeky Essex chap personality immediately endeared himself to the masses.

Olly's appeal, it seems, is universal. Superstar Robbie Williams, who performed his comeback single Bodies on the show on Sunday, declared he was backing 'nice guy' Olly and said he wouldn't mind him 'being my mate'.

“It's all a bit surreal. I can't get my head round it,” added Olly, who used to work at recruitment agency, Prime Appointments in Witham.

“Even in this short time, the X Factor experience has completely changed my life. I used to sing in pubs as a bit of a laugh, but now I'm here entertaining the nation. It's mad. Even though my life has changed, I don't feel any different. I'm still the same guy. It's a bit hard to explain really.”

This isn't the first time Olly, who went to Notley High School, has been on the television, although this time he's hoping to be a little more successful.

In 2007, when Olly was a striker with WithamTown, he appeared on the Channel Four show Deal or No Deal. Unfortunately Olly made just £10 from his 45 minutes of fame.

A serious knee injury a few weeks after his television debut ended his football career, which Olly admitted used to be his life.

“Now when I look back, in a way the injury was the best thing that could have happened to me,” he said.

“I truly believe that things happen for a reason. Because I wasn't playing anymore I started going to pubs and started singing in pubs, just karaoke to start. After a night of karaoke at my local The George in Witham, the landlord John said he would pay me to do an entire gig. I think I got about £150 for the night, but I knew from then what I wanted to do. I guess I owe it to John for believing in me.”

During the week the X Factor finalists, now down to 11 acts after Kandy Rain got voted off the show on Sunday, all live in a house in London.

Loyal to the other contestants, Olly refused to reveal who he thinks will win the show and denied any negative competiveness between them.

He said: “The house is such a good laugh.

“I wish I could tell you otherwise, dish the dirt, but we genuinely all get on very well. I'm mixing with people who the same drive and ambition as me.

“I get on well with Stacey from Dagenham. She's brilliant. And the twins are brilliant. If I'm having a bad day, they can proper cheer you up. They are always upbeat and doing funny stuff. Dan is a clean freak. Jamie is the messy one.”

Unfortunately, Olly wasn't able to reveal what song he'll be singing tonight to save himself for leaving the show, but he did promise “a lot more personality”.

“Each week I want to bring more of my personality to the show, be more cheeky with the judges and give the public a taste of the real Olly. Everything I do, is the real me. I would never try to be anyone different. There is also a lot more dancing to come.”

Finally, Olly added: “I'd like to thank every one of my supporters, my family and friends, for getting behind me.

“I couldn't do it without them. I just hope I can make them proud.”

Interview by Kate McGrath (EADT)

More Pictures - Click here

Curtis is taking a new look at old favourites.

Curtis Stigers played Ipswich’s Regent Theatre on October 17th. LoveMusic chatted to the singer about his new album and love of performing.

Curtis Stigers started his musical career in punk bands.

He said: “I wasn’t from a musical family but there was always music around. We were always listening to music in the car and I became a fan of music early on.

“Added to which there was a good music programme at my school. I played punk rock after school and clarinet and saxophone during the day and that’s how I got into jazz.”

Now 44, for two decades, Curtis has demonstrated time and again that the lines between jazz, pop, soul, rock, blues and even country are not as clearly defined as they may seem and the vocalist-saxophonist-songwriter has spent the past several years cementing his reputation as a formidable jazz performer.

He said: “One of the great joys of what I do is being able to hear past the common perceptions about songs – based on a well-known original recording or a classic arrangement – and get right to the issue of whether it’s a great song or not.

“In the end, it’s a matter of answering some simple questions. Is it honest? Is it real? Is it emotional? If all those basic elements are there, it’s amazing how easily some very disparate songs can fit together.”

His latest album – Lost in Dreams - was released at the end of September.

He said: “When I started talking about making this record a lot of people were telling me, ‘We love that you do these modern songs as jazz tunes, and we love the way you’re really pushing the envelope in that regard, but it would be really great to hear you sing standards.

“So I decided I would just do it. And not only would I make an album of standards, but I’d do the most obvious, overdone standards. I’d do the ones I said I have hesitated to record because they’ve been done so many times, or the perfect version has been done already.”

And Lost in Dreams includes standards like My Funny Valentine, Bye Bye Blackbird and In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning as well as jazz renditions of Annie Lennox’s Cold, Ron Sexsmith’s Reason for Our Love and John Lennon’s Jealous Guy.

Curtis added: “As the album of standards was coming together, I started falling back into my old habits.

“I love the idea of finding songs by modern composers and modern singer-songwriters – songs that no one ever thought of interpreting in a different way – and then doing just that. Very seldom do people hear a song by John Lennon and say, ‘Hey, that could be a really swinging jazz tune if it were done a different way’.”

The father of one said the four-week UK tour is a chance to perform – something he loves to do.

He said: “I know a lot of people are turned off by jazz but I love to communicate with the audience and make mu-sic for people. That is the whole point of what we do. We have a good time and we are entertaining.

“What I like about what I do for a living is that it’s never boring. It’s always changing – from song to song, from gig to gig, from album to album.

“It’s always a surprise – not just to the audiences and the critics and the record company and the publicist, but to me too. Every time I sing a song, something in it surprises me. There’s always something I hear that’s new.”

Did you know?

Curtis Stigers recorded a track for the soundtrack to the Whitney Houston film The Bodyguard.

Q & A

What is the highlight of your career so far?

“Tomorrow night – every time I get to play to an audience is a highlight.”

What’s the best thing about being a musician?

“I get paid to do what I would do for free. I adore being on stage.”

What car do you drive?

“A 1997 Nissan Pathfinder.”

Do you have a diva demand in the dressing room?

“Yes, a pint of real ale.”

What have you been up to today?

“Promos and interviews, I went out for a curry last night and I’m out tonight for dinner with some friends.

WITHAM singer Olly Murs has won through to the final 12 in hit talent show The X Factor.

Olly, a 25-year-old office worker and former pupil of Notley High School, will now take place in the live show element of the prime time contest.
The former karaoke singer, who has recently been playing with a duo he calls the Small Town Blaggers, now faces the daunting prospect of battling it out in the final live shows with eleven other acts.
He is among the favourites to win the show, along with fellow over-25's contestant Danyl Johnson and group Miss Frank.