Read about where it all began… 40 YEARS AGO!
It takes a lot of bottle to jack in a well-paid job in advertising to launch a new concept in motorcycle shows. Alan Whitehead did just that to start what became the highly successful International Classic Bike Show.
The idea of a show for classic machines came to Whitehead, a British bike enthusiast, on a train journey back to his Bolton home after a visit to the Earls Court show.
“I had been really bored wandering around looking at Japanese machines that I could see at my local dealers. And I saw that one of the biggest crowds was around the Vintage Motor Cycle Club stand,” he said.
That set him thinking. “I felt that there must have been plenty of like-minded enthusiasts who would welcome a show devoted to classic bikes.”
The decision was made. Whitehead gave up his job as northern advertising rep on Commercial Motor magazine and booked a weekend in October 1980 at the Manchester Belle Vue exhibition centre.
“Looking back, it was a very impulsive thing to do at 35 years old with a mortgage and two young children. But Hilary and I had this blind faith it would work.”
The gamble paid off, and although not exactly a millionaire after the first show, this young classic bike enthusiast knew he was on to something.
The move to Stafford…
The move to Stafford was an enforced one. The news that Belle Vue was to be developed in 1986 was devastating for Alan, for although the grubby corridors of the Manchester venue weren’t ideal, they had become the spiritual home of what was, by then, a rapidly growing classic scene. And, although it wasn’t quite like starting again, attendance took a turn in the wrong direction, and it took a good three years for the crowd at Stafford County Showground to build back up to the very best of the Belle Vue days.
A new millennium… and new show owners!
Twenty years later and heading into the new millennium, Alan was ready for a rest – and here at Mortons Media Group, we were ready for a new challenge!
During the late 90s and early 2000s, the powers that be at Mortons were busy building our specialist motorcycling portfolio of magazines, and were ready to dip their toe into the world of events. Kicking off the first show in April 2000, with Alan on hand as consultant, the team celebrated the show in all its glory, with racing legend Phil Read as guest of honour for the weekend. Here’s to the next 40 years!