That's entertainment - how Swindonians pulled out all the stops for friends, family and fun

WHEN Mollie Tanner’s bemused troupe of young dancing girls were swiftly ushered from the boards of the Empire Theatre in January, 1955 during a rehearsal for a production of Aladdin while staff around them were instructed “grab whatever costumes you can before they lock it all away,” Swindonians with a penchant for live entertainment may well have feared: “that’s it – the show is over.”

An ornate and turreted redbrick landmark at the foot of Vic Hill, The Empire was a bastion of song, dance and music-hall mayhem and mirth for the best part of six decades – 57 years, to be precise – after it was erected as a speculative Victorian venture.

However, the curtain fell forever on Swindon’s very own palace of pleasure and panto after it became blighted by disputes and entangled in administrative wrangles before the grand old dame herself was reduced to a heap of rust-coloured rubble and dust four years later.

But “the show must go on"... and in Swindon it did courtesy of a vast and varied array of local musicians, thespians, troupers, comedians and showgirls (and boys) who simply staged their own entertainment for anyone who wished to come along to see and hear it.

Now a four-month exhibition which opens at the Bath Road museum and art gallery in Old Town next week celebrates how local people “did it for themselves”... entertained each other, that is, in pubs, social clubs, community centres, school halls and a host of smaller, intimate venues dotted around town.

Entertaining Swindon focuses on the era between the closure of The Empire Theatre and the opening of The Link Centre’s arts suite in West Swindon in 1985 – a 30-year period which conveniently wound-up 30 years ago.

From the relative high-brow of light opera to the relative low-brow of pub rock, it is an across-the-spectrum look at the performing arts in Swindon over the aforementioned decades featuring nostalgia drenched images and information on scores of groups, troupes and artistes.

Memories will invariably be jogged and recollections sparked at material diligently amassed over the past few months by graphic designer/design communications consultant Kate Parsons who has put together the exhibition on behalf of Swindon Borough Council.

Kate, who has lived for most of her life in or around Swindon, freely admits to being “a bit overwhelmed by the amount of information I’ve had to process.”

She says: “This exhibition barely begins to tell the story of all the people who performed in Swindon from 1955 to 1985.

“I could have put it on five times over. There are a wealth of performers who aren’t featured. From the Seventies to beginning of the Eighties there were 69 drama groups active in Swindon - and that’s just drama. There’d have been an even greater number of bands and musicians.”

Kate took the closure of The Empire as a starting point because it signalled the end of an era, the downfall of a fine old theatrical institution that left many of its patrons wondering “what next.”

But as she soon discovered they needn’t have worried because plenty was already happening in the name of entertainment around town, with oodles more to come over the years ahead.

Putting the exhibition into an historical context, Kate says: “Life in Swindon - and Britain - was very different in 1955 than it is to today. Very few homes had a TV and many more people made their own entertainment.

“Many performing arts groups sprang up around a political movement, a church or an employer – and in particular the Swindon Railway Works. Its venues and staff associations are connected to many performance groups, many of which continue to this day.”

She went on: “Fifties Swindon was very much a blue collar town with a strong community spirit, civic pride and a focus on betterment – amateur and professional performers mucked in and helped each other to form an incredible interconnecting network of musicians, dancers and actors.

“There was nothing middle class or aspirational about it. There was no X Factor. They were entertaining themselves and their mates, and having fun and a laugh while doing so.”

Kate said that by the time the Seventies rolled along, when families were invariably glued to their tellies, the arts in Swindon flourished, aided by a “healthy arts budget and visionary community arts leaders.”

It was decided to omit arts festivals and “Swindon’s much fêted famous exports, such as Diana Dors and XTC” from the exhibition in favour of showcasing “Swindonians who have performed for Swindonians".

She has interviewed more than 30 performers from the era, some of whom are now in their late 80s.

They were more than happy to regale Kate with recollections from their halcyon days on-stage as well as rummage through bottom drawers, tea chests and attics in search of old photographs.

She said: “I’ve enjoyed a cuppa with some lovely people who have been entertaining us Swindonians since the Fifties, and have been so generous with their time, their memories and their memorabilia.”

As well as the likes of the Kentwood Choir, Tanwood Dancers, Phoenix Players, Swindon Dance, Swindon Folksingers Club, SALOS and Swindon Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Kate was keen to include some of the more down-to-earth performers.

“A lot of Swindon people go to pubs for entertainment and I felt that this aspect should be represented at the exhibition. One impression I have of Swindon is of people going out, having a drink and listening to a band.”

She chose brash exponent of rock’n’rhythm Ian Doeser as the personification of Swindon pub entertainers.

A member of the town’s first punk band the Aggravators in 1977, Ian’s group The Hamsters From Hell, with its ever fluctuating line-up, is currently celebrating its 30th beery year of existence.

Exponents of more left-field entertainment, who Kate felt were somewhat unsung in their efforts to provide al fresco fun and larks, are also included… notably Robert Stredder and Jackie Bardwell’s fire-breathing duo-on-wheels Theatre des Bicyclettes.

After almost three months of intense work Kate says: “The project has given me a really nice feeling about Swindon… that it has a lot of pride in itself and a lot of soul.”

Entertaining Swindon runs from July 16 to November 7 at the Swindon Museum and Art Gallery, Bath Road, SN1 4BA, smag@swindon.gov.uk, 01793 466556.

The museum is open between 11am and 3pm, Wednesday to Saturday. Admission Free.

Ex-Tanwood girl has fond memories of performing in Swindon

SEEING an on-line bill for the exhibition, Sandy Norton, now of Torquay, posted on Facebook, with no little excitement: “Lots of names on that poster that I remember!

“I am a former Swindon girl - born and raised there - and was a well-known singer on the local live scene for many years.

“I was lead vocalist with the Johnnie Stiles 18-piece Big Band Sound Orchestra and did several radio and TV broadcasts with the band before Johnnie passed away.

“I also sang with the Gordon Talbot Band. He used to arrange my music for me when I turned professional as a solo artiste.”

Sandy performed with a string of local groups and show-bands and was one half of the duo Autumn Gold who were “very popular on the Swindon entertainment scene in the early-to-mid Eighties.”

Sandy, who appears to have had her work cut out entertaining Swindonians, is also an ex-Tanwood girl and sang with the Kentwood Choir for five years, up until she was 15.

“Lots of names on the poster bring back fond memories,” added Sandy, who still sings professionally will soon, she hopes, be Swindon-bound to catch the exhibition.

What will you look like in stage gear?

A hands-on element to the exhibition will see costumes from locally-staged productions on display which visitors can try on.

A changing booth and mirror will provide the opportunity to squeeze into colourful outfits supplied by the Tanwood School for Performing Arts.

The project also saw Kate concoct a spaghetti junction-like chart showing the connections between Swindon performers and venues featuring jazz and brass bands, choirs and operatic societies, dance groups and music clubs and bags more.

The exhibition will feature a rare, well-preserved copy of the Swindon punk-era fanzine Flash featuring a host of local groups from the late Seventies, which Kate was thrilled to unearth while fishing around for exhibits.

The mag includes a piece on Urban Disturbance, whose drummer Steve Carvey sadly passed away last month.

Also on display will be a copy of the Swindon compilation LP Songs From Pigland comprising tracks recorded by local bands circa 1979/80 at Brian Hamley’s Bull’s Hit Studio in Manchester Road.

Only 1,000 copies were released and one recently went for £55 on eBay.