Blackpool Tower Wurlitzer (Part 1)
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- Organist Nigel Ogden gives us a walking tour of the historic Wurlitzer Theatre Organ at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, England. He shows us the process of starting up the organ and navigating through a maze of doorways to get to the console underneath the stage and raising it up to stage level, just as it has been done for decades.
Also included, a tribute and some rare archive film footage of organist Reginald Dixon.
The segments I've selected from this video were used by permission of Valentine Music Ltd.
www.valentinemusic.co.uk
The complete DVD titled 'The Organist Entertains' can be purchased from any of these suppliers:
www.soundandpicture.co.uk
www.nostalgiadirect.com
www.organ.co.uk.
Part Two which includes a tour of the organ and several more tunes performed by Nigel is also available on my channel.
NOTE: NOVEMBER 26, 2011
Folks, I've been notified of audio sync issues with the Black Tower videos. This has just occurred in the last few days. Apparently, UA-cam has made some encoding upgrades that has affected these older videos. I am hoping they find a fix soon. My apologies.
For years I have listened to "The organist entertains" Its nice to put a face to the voice of Nigel Ogden
My dad took me there when I was young in the 1960s I thought it was a magical sound and still love it
Just brought a lot of happy memories for me thank you john
I only ever heard Mr Dixon play live once. It was on the Wurlitzer in the Regal Cinema, Kingston upon Thames, in the 1960s. My mother took me. The organ is still in existence, not far away in the Brentford Music Museum.
Just stumbled onto this! Fantastic! Times of innocence past! Great music!
This is probably one of the few videos where you can hear the organ with the amplification turned off. It's well worth trying to track down a copy of this DVD. It's very well presented and the audio quality is superb - better than many of the album recordings in my opinion.
Brilliantly built console and an amazing sound! it's just like watching a Thunderbirds sequence as it rises up to stage level!
I hope what I am about to say is taken the right way. I really love the Tower Ballroom Wurlitzer sound because it has a sound that is smooth and even, not lots of chiff and brassiness. It exhibits what it is I love about my electronic Wurlitzer and Conn organs. Certainly you can tell the Ballroom Wurli is a pipe organ so I am not comparing it to an electronic organ, but I would hope that those who have little feeling for electronic theater & classical organs could sense why they're credible.
ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL (I am now going to watch part two).
Blackpool was the place to be. Just take a look inside the wintergardens and the tower complex, and imagine them PACKED day in day out!
unbelievable how cramped it is understage, cant believe Phil kelsall bends n twists his way to the console
@gymnos2010 What certainly did change after the fire was the piano, tuba mirabillis and the solo string, which were all taken from the Opera house organ. Also, the acoustic is now quite different as theres quite abit of space taken up on the ballroom floor with the tables and chairs round the edge, which never used to be there.
We3ll done I8gel! The last time I saw you was at Phil Kelsall's'40th year at Blackpool organ celebrations. Nice explanation of how theatre organs works.
this video is great. thanks for sharing it with us.
Great video, thanks Nigel.
Fantastic to see under the stage. I pictured a larger, deeper basement.
Wow this is a beautiful pipe organ
What can I say, excellent video, fantastic music
I love it!,it brings a lot of memories from my childhood!!!
Keith,
I was fascinated with the understage tour which was my motivation in posting this video. Very nice to hear from someone who actually knew Reg. Thanks for adding your comment.
Steve
many thanks for posting
You can't beat this!
@MrWurlitzerfan The organ Dixon is playing at the end wasnt the Tower Ballroom organ though, thats the Empress Ballroom organ (the original tower organ with a new console and 3 ranks added), when it was under BBC ownership in the Playhouse theatre in Manchester
@gymnos2010 They organ still had its sparkle until about 15 years ago. It certainly sparkles in the 50-80s recordings!
Very interesting! Thanks for posting. Going to see if i can get a copy of this dvd ;-)
I've just come back from a job at the Tower doing some video work on the stage for a northern soul weekender. Had a look backstage and saw the blower starter featured at the beginning of this video. Sadly it's no longer in use - there's a modern start/stop controller on the wall instead. Nice to see they've left the original vintage electrics intact though.
@kieraneastwood123 when hes playing fascination in this, its not the tower organ. Its the empress ballroom Wurlitzer, when it was in the Playhouse Theatre, Manchester as the BBC`s broadcasting organ.
I sure hope that in these past 4 years since this comment that you have listened to several 78 rpm electronic recordings and discovered that for the most part all of the music is in there, it just takes a slight adjustment in your listening. Within a couple months of steady listening to 78's ( not exclusively, but as part of your listening diet) you just might realize you actually enjoy the natural compression and more subdued fidelity. The 30's recordings come out sounding really nice w/ EQ.
Our old Paramont Theater had one of these organs that rose up form under the stage. Gone now, but interesting to know how it must have worked......The organ was saved......
Top stuff! Thanks for posting;)
Anyone notice at around 3.20 there are no stairs in front of the stage like there is today
I really don't think the 78 rpm recordings 'let him down' in any way. After all, that was early recording technology at its best at the time. So much has improved through the years as demonstrated by the 'Fascination' recording. Glad you liked it, and yes, you can buy the DVD, check out the credits at the beginning. It's also available, I'm sure, through Amazon (dot) com UK and the Organ Historical Society. Thanks for your comment.
@steverabb Also didn't the Blackpool Wurlitzer change over time, with bits added? and how much of it was left and needed replacing after the big fire in the 1950s? So today's organ would probably have slightly differing tonal qualities than the days of 78 recordings - just a guess.
i love black pool
Please can anyone tell me if there is a recording on UA-cam of Prez Prado's "Guaglione" on any Wurlizer?
(I saw & heard someone play it at Blackpool Tower Ballroom on my Honeymoon in May 2005).
Hah, lol. Well, its part of the history of Blackpool. The sounds of the Tower Ballroom Wurlitzer were known (and still are) the world over. There was at one time, 6 instruments like this in Blackpool. There are now only two (The tower ballroom, and in the Opera House)
6:38 or 8:48? 6:38 would be "Somebody Stole My Gal," and at 8:48 its "Fascination." The changeover is done to Fascination quite often.
how many times has that rheostat been rammed to the right ?
The 8:38 song??
A very interesting and informative video. Michael Parkinson
Haha, I'll look that up. I only posted as a joke, since you don't really hear much about Blackpool; and being a Wulitzer such a big deal for the city, well....
Anyone else enojoy the seaside like I do :D
complete with blackpool council litter bin lol
So blackpool was a pretty cool place back in the day??? You could go listen to Mr. Reginald Dixon play medleys and go to the zoo.Too bad it's kinda lame now-a-days