THIS IS THE BLOG OF COLIN JONES, RHYL TOWN COUNCILLOR: BODFOR WARDl
The opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own and not the views of the town council.
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Ritz Ballroom stood on the Ocean Beach Fun Fair site facing the sea. It was a dance hall created in a part of the old Alhambra Restaurant. It was given the name Ritz Ballroom in 1955 and had a resident orchestra led by drummer Laurie Williams, then by drummer Ken Bailey and eventually by trumpeter Duke Gordon.
The pictures above have been captured from a DVD of an old home movie. That’s got to be Ben Hagin singing. Does anybody know the other faces? My email address is: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk
Guest stars at the Ritz included Matt Monro, Helen Shapiro, Rolf Harris, The Springfields starring Dusty Springfield, John Barry Seven and The Beatles, as well as local bands The Javelins, Kon-Tiki Three, The Informers, Teena and the Knightbirds and others. The Ritz was destroyed by fire in 1968 - there is no trace of it now.
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6720. Two additional images added in July 2020:
Ben(ny) Hagin turns up in this earlier item, a 1955 programme of Queens Theatre, Rhyl. On the bill are Johnny Kennealey and his Orchestra (the resident band downstairs in the Queens Ballroom), Lynn Martine vocalist, Stuart and Dorene Gillespie miming stars, and big-name singer Alma Cogan who died of cancer in 1966 at the tragically early age of 34.
Alma Cogan with those cheeky young upstarts The Beatles. I wonder if the picture has something to do with their song ' I Wanna Hold Your Hand'.
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