Opportunity knocked for a lifetime in music
QUARRY Bank-born Alan Ganner first developed an interest in music at the age of 13, when he attended the Coppice Lane school in Quarry Bank. He was taught the cello and piano and played in the school orchestra.
At the age of 14 he learned to play the pipe organ and his first public performance was playing the church organ at the Mount Pleasant church in Quarry Bank.
His musical talents were soon spotted and his first opportunity came at the age of 22 when he began playing at local venues. These included working men’s clubs at Quarry Bank and Halesowen and the number of pubs in the area, such as the Bull and Bladder (the Vine) at the Delph and the Robin Hood in Brierley Hill, where he played the organ for four years.
During the winter months several Blackpool acts travelled up and down the country playing pubs and clubs, and Alan accompanied them. He also played alongside some of the acts that appears on Opportunity Knocks, hosted by Hughie Green. These included Tony Holland, better known as the “Muscle Man” who flexed his muscles to Wheels Cha Cha, and another novelty act, the Singing Cobbler whose act was to perform a song while clog dancing.
Five nights a week
Alan was never short of work and played five nights a week for 20 years. His first venue paid him 10 shillings for the night.
In the early ’60s he played the Christie organ at the Art Deco style Majestic Cinema in Cradley Heath, after the resident organist and cinema manager William Sykes retired. When the cinema was closed in 1963 it became a bingo club and the organ was played on Friday evening bingo sessions for many years. When the building finally closed in 2000 it was taken over by Hawk Cycles for storage and when it was finally vacated in 2013 the original Christie organ still remained in the building.
Alan played the Hammond organ for the Brierley Hill Operatic Society at the Civic Hall and also at a number of pantomimes there.
Into the 1980s he played the piano for the Black Country Pub Bus for five years. The bus visited various pubs and finished up at the last pub with a faggots and peas supper with further musical entertainment.
For his 70th birthday Alan’s family arranged a break at Blackpool and, unbeknownst to Alan, they had arranged for him to play the Mighty Wurlitzer at the Tower Ballroom, which he described as one of the most amazing moments in his life. Clips can be found on Youtube under the headings Sid Ganner Entertains.
After a career spanning 66 years
Alan is still active today and his musical career picks up from where it all began, as a church organist. He is the resident organist at the Amblecote and Wordsley Methodist Church.
Opportunity Knocks for Alan would be an apt title for his lifetime achievement in music.