I was having a chat in a pub in Altrincham, Cheshire, UK with my older brother Frank, and a few pals last week-end and the Stones gig in 1963 came up since Frank was a young lad there watching from the stage "wings". Our Dad (also called Frank) was an ex-professional boxer and British Champion in the 1950's and he used to work as a doorman at the old Stamford Hall in Altrincham. My brothers and I were young kids at the time and every now and then Dad would take one of us with him to watch the bands who played there. Whoever Dad took on any particular night would stand in the stage side wings and watch. Frank my brother was telling us all about the gig but he couldn't remember the exact date. An older chap "shiny shoes Tom" who sometimes comes in the pub with us said he remembered that day because earlier on he was in another pub called the Malt Shovels, down the road in Altrincham, having a quiet pint when Mick Jagger and Bill Wyman walked in an ordered a pint each at the bar next to him. He knew their faces as they were at that time just breaking through in popularity and had a chat with them and they said they were in town for a gig later that evening. Apparently the others were in the Barrington hotel further down the road in Altrincham. Anyway my brother Frank said it was a fantastic gig but you could hardly hear anything all night over the girls screaming.. ha! We looked it up on the internet and it was 26th. November - my birthday! I was the unlucky one though, Dad took me the following week to the Stamford Hall, and I saw the Merseybeats! (no dis-respect to them).
Dad was known professionally as Frank Johnson - if anyone's interested just Google Frank Johnson boxer - they used to call him "the master craftsman" and "the golden boy"...

"till the next time..."

Star

Nice story!

Wow!

(I did google your "old man"! Quite a legend, and a pretty exciting career he must've had some 60 years ago, eh?)

Thanks Powderman & Denny for your nice replies. Yes, we (3 brothers & sister) all turned out to be "big" Stones fans for life including my Mum who is now 83! I am not sure how much this could have been due to my Dad who did, as you quite rightly state, have a pretty exciting career - in fact one time he was a bit like Decca I think, in the respect that he turned down the Beatles..! I have attached a copy below from part of an e-mail that one of Dad's old mates in Australia now, sent me a while back...

G/day Steve

It seems a long time since I last wrote to you from Australia but as time passes so do our memories but this morning I put on my computer to read my Internet edition of the Manchester Evening News and I saw an article about the Beatles. It was a story about them appearing at the old Oasis Club and how it was their first "Big" show in Manchester in 1962. It brought back memories when I read that the Beatles oddest venue was at the Urmston Show in the August Bank Holiday 1963, they appeared in a Giant Marquee.

Now I don't know if anybody has told you but in the Rock n Roll era your dad would not have known the difference between Elvis Presley and Cliff Richards, in fact I think the only show business star he knew was Marlene Dietrich. He was offered the contract of providing the security (Bouncers) for the show. When we turned up for work at the Princess he offered us the job at the sum of three quid for the night, we all turned it down mainly because we had seen them on Granada's show "People and Places" a few weeks before. In your dads case he hadn't got a clue who the Beatles were, he didn't want us to do it as it was in a tent. This little story may not mean much to other people but to me it brought back a memory. In Adelaide the Beatles are legends because they appeared here in 1964 and were greeted by a bigger crowd than the FA cup final, not many people believe me when I tell them that we turned them down because we thought they were a bit crappy and our boss didn't want us working in a tent...

Yes, so maybe that is why, in our family, we all preferred the Stones? haa, funny story...

"till the next time..."

Star

Great story, thanks for sharing!

[www.manchesterbeat.com]


"As we say in England, it can get a bit trainspottery"

Great posting about the old Stamford Hall Deltics - yes Dad (Frank Johnson/ ex British & Empire Lightweight Champion) did work the door job for his friend Frank Bell, who was a heavyweight boxer and ran the place. I don't think the Beatles ever played there though. The article photograph shows the place now in Altrincham, where the Stamford Hall used to be - sadly knocked down now - they call it progress.
By the way my e-mail from Australia was from Charlie Fitzgerald who was a doorman with Dad. Happy days!

"till the next time..."

Star