John Burke's Blackpool

Way back in 1994, when the Internet was somewhere only nerds went, this particular nerd started a web page about Blackpool. I was allocated a magnificent 5Mb of space by my then Internet Service Provider, Demon who pointed out that this should be sufficient to store around 50 books of text. Or was it 15? No matter!

Photographs though, made a huge dent in the amount of web space I had and all the photographs were a tiny 147 pixels wide. Through the years the web pages moved from place to place until I started this blog in 2007 and slowly, the Blackpool pages have been recreated and added to here. After 12 years they were becoming hard to find. Hence this index.

Each topic has an index of its own which can be accessed by clicking or tapping the photographs below. A link at the end of each index will bring you back to this main index page.

Blackpool Illuminations Index

A series of articles showcasing my photographs of Blackpool Illuminations from the 1970s onwards.

Each article can be accessed by clicking or tapping the photographs below. A link at the end of each article will bring you back to this index page.

Return to Blackpool Main Index

Third Blackpool 1977 Photo Album 6 - Illuminated Trams

This will be the final instalment from this particular photo album, but fear ye not, good reader, for truly I was a nerd of gargantuan nerdic proportions in the Seventies and already the next album has been selected. More details later!

This final article for Album No.3 deals with some of the illuminated tram fleet. Nostalgically it looks back at those not seen on the Promenade tracks any more. This is the Shell Hovertram which first appeared in 1963. Cutting a fine figure on the Promenade it was a double-decked tram and an instant hit on the Tour of The Illuminations route. Withdrawn along with most of the other illuminated trams by 2001, it is currently being restored in the North East.

The 1959 Blackpool Belle disappeared off the tracks the very next year after this photo was taken in 1977. In 1978 it went to America and never came back. Based on a Mississippi paddle steamer it was not a passenger carrying tram. Instead it would trundle up and down the Promenade playing music very quietly. If you were walking on the Promenade admiring the illuminations and it approached from behind, there was a moment of puzzlement when you turned to your companions saying "Can you hear something?" before it passed and it became obvious where the sound was coming from.

And lastly - yes, a short entry I'm afraid - here is the fabulous Rocket tram, or Tramnik 1, which appeared in 1963 and was the only tram to have a sloping cabin. It was also the only tram to have two redundant waxwork figures from Louis Tussaud's. No less personages than King Peter of Yugoslavia and General Neguib of Egypt sat in the front above the real driver's cab, dressed as astronauts. It was withdrawn in 1999, but has since made an appearance during the illuminations as centre-piece on the Gynn roundabout.

Thus ends my sharing of photos from this photo album. Album No.4 includes some photos from which I still have the negatives so some may have already appeared on this blog. It does include, however, a record of the Jubilee Air Pageant of 1977, held at the airport and also some shots of the Standard tramcar doing service as a works car.

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Return to Blackpool Tram and Bus Index Page

Third Blackpool 1977 Photo Album 4 - The Illuminations

Once again I turn the pages of a photo album created in 1977. This time we will have a look at the Illuminations.

As much as possible I used to take photos on a wet night. The reflections on the pavement and roadway enhance the look of the Illuminations.

Of course, it did mean that we had to go out festooned with hats, heavy coats and some protection for the camera. I always have some sort of filter on the front of my camera lens anyway. During the day a polarising filter helps me get those blue skies. At night though I want something that doesn't cut down the amount of light going through the lens. So I used to use a UV filter.

I would put the camera into a polythene bag and cut a hole in it for the tip of the lens to come through. The polythene bag would be taped to the side of the filter to keep rainwater out of the bag and a rubber band kept the big hole tight around my wrist so that my hand could operate the camera with water getting to the camera.

One of the great things about living in Blackpool is that it does change fairly regularly. Imagine taking photos every year of Stonehenge. This year's photo would be almost exactly the same as 1977's photo. But the Illuminations change. Other attractions in Blackpool change more than you might find elsewhere too.

We often take photographs of scenery that won't change over decades or hundreds of years. The best memory-jerkers are those photos from your own past that show something you can no longer look at. I have lots of photos of cars that make me smile and remember. Also of family - perhaps the most important memories of all.

But if I were to have thought about things that change and cannot easily be found after the event I would have taken many more photos of shops - which change very regularly over the years. Also things like household items that you don't even think about with a camera to hand.

Mugs. How many of those have you broken in your life? Every now and then when looking at photos of family parties I spot a mug in someone's hand and think "Cor, I remember those..." Another thing I wish I'd taken photos of - or at least wish my parents had taken photos of - are my childhood toys. All you parents - your kids will thank you 30 years on for any photos of things like that I promise!

So these old photos of the Illuminations don't just remind me of old Illuminations, but the older buildings of the Golden Mile, cars of the 70s and fashions of the time worn by people who I hardly noticed at the time of taking the photos.

Or litter bins on the Promenade... Or (look carefully!) the days when cars had radio aerials sticking up from the front wing!

The view from Central Pier. (I was starting to feel guilty at not saying anything about the Illuminations!) The red neon of Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium adds a spot of interest to the Golden Mile - another thing that cannot be seen any more.

Tramcar 680, originally the powered half of a twin-car set was often to be seen operating without a trailer. Both this and the previous photo have been affected by something that has disappeared with the advent of digital photography. A bit of light has got into the film either before or after it went through the camera and it has "fogged" the top of the photos. Seen as little bits of light, on a daytime photo you probably wouldn't even notice it. Against the dark night sky though it becomes very obvious.

The 1977 frontage of Louis (not Madame) Tussaud's waxworks was a bit less ostentatious as the 2015 version! In the next article we will still be at large during the night, but will leave the Promenade behind and go for a wander around the Pleasure Beach.

Third Blackpool 1977 Album 2

Back once again to 1977 - a popular year at the moment on this blog, with articles on both Blackpool and the cinema from the pages of Film Review magazine currently ongoing!

Today we take an October visit to the Tower during the Illuminations. Before heading up to the lift for the top of the Tower, we'll stop to listen to the organ in the Tower Ballroom.

At this time, dancing was prohibited on Sundays and most people still adhered to the rule. The organist is Barry Jackson - Sorry! Harry Jackson, thanks to the sender of the comment below!

During the week the numbers of dancers had dropped from the heyday of hundreds of dancers on the floor. Here two couples and two children dance. Others sit at tables enjoying the music and dancing without feeling the need to join in. The ballroom was served by a bar at the rear of the room opposite the stage.

Heading up the floors of the Tower building to the roof garden. This had been the menagerie but was now transformed to a jungle adventure theme. Blackpool Zoo had taken the stock of animals, though there were a few flamingoes standing in one corner where a waterfall dropped into a small pool. There were a couple of monkeys too, in a cage at one end of the room - which I remember as consequently having a rather pungent smell. They soon joined their ex-colleagues at the zoo.

The trip up in the lift took a little longer than it does nowadays. For 1977 the Tower had been painted silver instead of the usual dark red. This was to commemorate the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

Here's a funny little memory: in the mid 1960s when I was about 12, there was one bit of wall at the top of the Tower that was whitewashed clean every year and then during the year visitors were allowed to write messages on it. I remember my brother and I decided to add my uncle's name and address and, as he was unmarried, we advertised for a girlfriend... And guess what? He got a letter! Not a whim on a free email, that wouldn't be possible for another 20 years. A real letter that someone had hand written, put into an envelope and paid for a stamp! He wasn't a bit amused...

A look south from the Tower top. No Big Wheel as yet graces the Central Pier and just before the pier to the left of the roadway lights the neon tower of Ripley's Odditorium can be seen.

Looking north past the North Pier, the Illuminations stretch along the cliffs past the Metropole Hotel and the Gynn towards Bispham.

Walking around the Tower top we look east over the town. The Winter Gardens is the most easily identified building. Littlewoods store is recognisable and the ABC is still open for business.

Looking down at the North Pier. These days when we can adjust our digital camera to sensitivities like 6400 ISO and take photos in near pitch dark it's easy to forget what it was like in the days of film. This was probably taken on 100 ASA (ISO) film. Without a tripod (hey and let's not forget that the Tower actually sways with the wind a bit) it would have been a miracle if I had managed to take a perfectly sharp photo. Most people started to introduce a bit of camera shake at 1/30th of a second. I had spent time as a professional photographer and could hand hold at around 1/4 of a second with 4 out of 5 photos being sharp. This probably needed a bit longer and I would have had the camera jammed against the railings.

As I turn the pages of this album, we'll take a look around the Pleasure Beach for the next article.

Return to Blackpool Tower Index Page

Third Blackpool 1977 Photo Album 1

I've dug out another of my photo albums from 1977. This one will include quite a few shots of Blackpool after dark, as it features both the Illuminations and a look around the Pleasure Beach at night. There will also be a visit to Blackpool Tower and some more shots of the Pleasure Beach by day including another shot of the building of the Steeplechase ride.

For this first article we'll take a look at the Golden Mile and the Illuminations on a busy October night! Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium near to Louis Tussaud's waxworks was the first Ripley's to open in the UK. The huge red neon sign made an excellent addition to the Golden Mile at night.

Heading down towards the Central Pier along the frontages of the many amusement arcades in the seventies meant listening to the voices of Bingo callers, snatches of music and the mechanical clatter of the arcade games. As yet there were few electronic games filling the air with whoops and swooshing noises, not yet even the slightly out of tune Donkey Kong (1981) music or the white noise of electronic drumbeats. The simplest Pong tennis games and Breakout had been invented but were very scarce as yet. Most arcades had at least one jukebox to play music, but the videos with their incessant sound effects would soon see them removed.

Burgers were still a meat patty with only fried onions, mustard and/or ketchup to accompany them. You would have been laughed at if you asked for lettuce or tomato... Chicken could be had in a basket... Barkers could be heard shouting "Hot Dogs!" to which my father-in-law, were he out with us, would always add "and cats!" in a loud voice! You would see one or two actual cats sitting expectantly on the pavement in front of a seafood stall, waiting for someone to drop a tasty morsel or the stallholder to toss the occasional prawn their way.

It was a magical time for the Illuminations in the second half of the 1970s. Cars formed solid lines even during the week. At weekends the Promenade was made one-way only from south to north until it was found this was actually illegal. The Promenade and pavement of the sea front would be filled with walking couples and small parties. "Mum can I have a candy floss?" asked a small boy walking north past the Metropole towards the Gynn. "When we reach the next pier..." came the reply.

The weather made little difference to the numbers of cars. But the number of walkers would drop down a bit. A shame really, because the lights were and are seen at their best when helped out by a highly reflective wet floor. Well that's the first two or three pages of the album. Next time we'll have a look inside the Tower and take a trip up in the lift to look at the Illuminations from 500 feet up!

The photo album. Not a photo of Blackpool...