Roadshow and Rose Queens of 1982!
WELCOME to our new Visiter feature – Southport in the 1980s. Over the next few weeks we will be publishing old photos from the pages of the Southport Visiter, after they were discovered by former editor Jane Daly.
They show how the town has changed over the years – when the Red Rum Hotel and Boothroyds department store stood on Lord Street, when crowds enjoyed the Radio 1 Roadshow in the Floral Hall Gardens, and when we had a number of hospitals.
Today’s pictures include a great photo from 1982 of the Radio 1 Roadshow, where Genting Casino and the Ramada Plaza Hotel now stand.
Do you remember seeing any of the shows? Who did you see perform in Southport?
Various DJs from the station would visit British towns, usually on the coast,
The audience enjoyed great pop music and live acts coupled with light-hearted entertainment both on stage and with the audience.
The first roadshow was held at Newquay, Cornwall, on Monday, July 23 1973, and was hosted by Alan Freeman. By 1988 more than 10 million people had visited the show, as presenters travelled more than 2,000 miles during the nine-week season.
The same year, 45 seaside venues were visited, from Southport to Londonderry to Great Yarmouth, from Inverness to St Ives.
DJs invited local people to play their requests, take part in competitions and give away goodie bags of Radio 1 gifts.
Accompanying the DJs were the support crew, led by Tony Miles, nicknamed “Smiley Miley”.
Competitions included “Bits And Pieces” and “Smiley Miley’s Mileage Game”.
In the former, contestants selected from the crowd had to name a series of pop hits after hearing a tape containing a dozen brief excerpts, the winner being the one who accurately identified the most.
In the latter, competitors had to assess how many miles the roadshow truck had travelled from the previous venue.
The typical roadshow summer season started in July and ran for eight weeks, broadcasting live on Radio 1 from the roadshow locations 10am12.30pm each weekday.
The curtain was brought down on the summer roadshows on Monday March 13, 2000.
We also publish pictures of the St Cuthbert’s Church Rose Queen parade in Churchtown and the Crossens Parade in July 1982. Do you recognise anyone in the photos?
And we have a photo of the 47th Southport Guide Company (Victoria Methodist) at Southport Station, waiting to head off for a day trip to London on November 1, 1983.
Their trip included a tour of the House Of Commons and a visit to Guide Headquarters. Are you one of the Guides pictured?
Finally we have a photo of injured police officer PC Mark Patrickson being cared for by a nurse at Southport Infirmary on January 26, 1983.
Do you remember the story behind this? Why was he recovering there?
Please contact us via email at: visiternews@southportvisiter.co.uk or message us via the Visiter page on Facebook with your thoughts on any of these pictures.
If you have any other memories, stories or photos of the good old days in Southport that you would like to share with Visiter readers, please contact us at the same address.