Solo at the Dolphin

I'm sure this is Christmas 1968. Hmmm, only 37 years ago.. Not such a long time really. It looks like everyone is having a good time. I see one of the Seeburg cabinets at stage right and also my Vox Conqueror amplifier.
I don't remember why I was there by myself, but I did have Brian Rossi playing the drums and Tommy Bates on the organ, which reminds me of several of Brian's favourite lines......... Tonight I'm sitting here about 3500 miles away, drinking a Newcastle Brown and thinking of the pints of mild I used to enjoy back then.
One night when Jimmy and I drove up I saw a little white mouse crouching and looking terrified right next to the wall. The headlights must have frozen it. I jumped out of the car, picked it up, put it in my top pocket and then went inside. A few minutes later I was talking with some girls when the little creature peeped out to take a look around. I still remember the screams and spilled drinks.. Very funny. It so happened it belonged to Bill Robinson's daughter and she was very relieved to get it back. I have so many fond memories of those days.

Dene Hunter

I'm sure a lot of people will remember this group.
Dene Hunter is in the front. A good friend of mine is the third person back. Colin Hartley and I went to Church Road School together and we were in the same class.
I think Dene Hunter emigrated to Australia. I've no idea where Colin went. He was a great guitarist by the way. I remember the other two guys, but not their names. If anyone can help me out??

There's a hole in my bucket!!

This was always a lot of fun. We would ask for a volunteer from the audience and then ask her to sing the female part of the song "there's a hole in my bucket"
Jimmy would sing the male part and I would tell the "volunteer" the wrong words to sing. It was different every time we did it and always quite hilarious. Everyone who ever helped out was great. Unfortunately I don't remember who this was on this occasion, but I think she had already caught on to what was happening.
Actually the funniest one of all was at the Red Lion in Brentford, near London. There our volunteer was a French girl who didn't speak English.

21st birthday

Do I look embarrassed? Well I was. This was the lunchtime show on my 21st birthday. 1968. The guy in front is David, the head waiter.
I just noticed that Jimmy has a different guitar. I have no idea what kind it is. Does anyone recognise the make? Some of the songs that we performed then would be Rose Marie, Ghost riders, Greenback Dollar and a host of join in, comedy type songs. It's strange how some things we forget, while other things stay so vivid in our memories.

Photo's of the old Dolphin Bar sight.

It really looks very different than I remember it but this is the new building on the promenade where the Dophin once stood. Progress I suppose..This photo was taken looking north towards Fleetwood. Not more than 50 yards to the left is the Irish Sea.
I can almost taste the salt just looking at these.

These photographs taken and sent courtesy of Pete Skinner of Clansfolk. That's the Penny Black Gig Mobile, illegally parked on the double yellows. What a fine choice in vehicles you have Pete. These pics were taken this very afternoon, wednesday.
Thank you for your contribution to the D.B. saga.

The Country Pie

The Jimmy Rose Duo eventually became the Country Pie. This pic. was taken at the Red Cow in Hammersmith, London. It was just one venue of about seven or so, that we rotated through, a different place each night and sunday lunch.

Does anyone recognise the guy on bass? On drums is Tony Halligan, someone I met while playing with the Detroits showband. One night while we were playing at the Adam and Eve in Brentford Brian Rossi visited and performed with us. As you can see, back then all we would consider using was Vox amplifiers. If you look at my foot you will see one of the very first pedal boards. I made this one out of plywood and it controlled the volume, tone, Binson echo, wah wah, reverb and tremolo. The Gretsch, I still have and will never part with it. I bought it used in 1965 and I still think it's best instrument I have ever owned.

Photo's from my other blog.

Since these images pertain to the Dolphin, I thought I would shift them over to the appropriate place.

This is Jimmy, Brian and me with crazy foam.
Remember that stuff?
Jimmy also made Brian's belt.
One day Brian came in limping. He had been horseriding on my girlfriend's horse.When he stepped down, the horse stood on his foot and would not move. He limped around for about three weeks. We used to rent horses and go ride on the beach. What an incredible feeling to gallop along through the waves as they splashed up on the sand.
Every afternoon during the summer, the three of us would go and play "pitch and putt". We found a different course every time. There must be hundreds of them between Fleetwood and Lytham. Those were really good times.



The next is me in the main entrance when I was about 18. I think I can remember this photo being taken. There was almost always a photographer there who walked around taking photo's of anyone willing to pay. After people had downed a few drinks he would get busier.
The "dressing room" was a little broom closet, right next to the side entrance.

An empty space

Here we are in the parking lot. I have no idea who the jag belonged to. I also see a mini off to the left.
A REAL Mini!!!
I wish I had one of those cars now. Back then we had a Ford Anglia.
You don't see any of those around anymore.


This shows Jimmy standing on the spot where the stage once stood. Now it is occupied by new buildings leaving no indications that the Dolphin was ever there. It could be so windy there and the spray would come over the parking lot in huge sheets. I remember Brian Rossi announcing " would the owner of red Mini licence plate
so & so, please move it, Radio Caroline wants to come by".
Of course, we all remember Radio Caroline don't we?

Comedy

This is one of my favourite performers at the Dolphin, Dezi Arnold, a very funny man. The last time I saw Dezi was at a newsagents in Cleveleys, near Jimmy's house. He will be missed.

On the right is a photograph of Joey Holliday, another great comedian who performed very often. I believe he became a school teacher. Anyone please correct me if I'm wrong.

My post from a couple of days ago shows a drawing of the Dolphin Bar. If you look carefully at the very front, slightly to the left, you will see Jim Parkinson's wife.
She is very recognisable to anyone who knew her.

I also placed a link to The Del Vykings website. They arrived at the Dolphin around 1969-1970. A fabulous band. They have a great photo taken with Brian Rossi and Brian London. The latter was a good friend of Bill Robinson and a frequent visitor to the Dolphin. He was twice a contender for the European heavyweight boxing championship and is the only man I personally know who fought Cassius Clay. If you look, I believe you will see him right behind Ringo on the Sgt. Pepper album. More to follow.....

The Seahorse Bar

The Seahorse was the small bar down the passage from the Dolphin. An intimate bar away from all the noise and excitement of the cabaret. This is Jimmy and I in the Seahorse. Probably 1965. This was before we officially formed the duo. I still have my Gibson Les Paul Junior which I eventually traded for the Gretsch.

We look mean don't we?
And those were very fancy shirts.
My guitar strap is made of horse brasses.They included King George V. Winston Churchill and John Peel. Very English. I still have it somewhere.
Jimmy did all the bead work on his strap, all the inlays on the neck of his guitar, and also carved the leather. A very talented lad!! Later on, he also made our shirts and waistcoats. Until next time..... Tally ho Ya'll.

Who was on this week?

This is a showcard, I believe from Christmas 1967 or 1968. You can see Jim Parkinson standing in the doorway of the office, behind the bar. Does anyone recognise other people in this drawing? I'll give more secrets away at another time.

Philip and Jimmy in action. Circa 1966.

This is the Jimmy Rose Duo in action at the Dolphin Bar, sometime in 1966. If you can see my Gretsch, you'll notice a bunch of little dolls. These were the rage back then. They were called "Gonks". Some I bought, but most were given to me by girls in the audience.

Yesterday I was talking with my friend Pete Skinner in Blackpool. He remembers vividly, those days. Pete still Plays and he is at the Falcon in Hardhorn, Poulton, Near Blackpool, every wednesday night with wife Eileen and son Simon. I had the pleasure of joining them in 2001 for a great folk music night. Keep up the good work Pete.

Premier Posting

The Dolphin Bar in Cleveleys, Lancashire, England was the place to go and be seen during the sixties and seventies. This is the place where I, among many others, got their first start on the stage. I had been playing other places before, but this was different, the entertainers were mostly professionals and came from out of town.
Big Jim Parkinson was the landlord, then came Bill Robinson. They kept the quality up and there was always a cabaret show, every lunch and every evening, seven days a week.
I remember "Day and Night". They were so funny with their exploding amplifier and skits. June Mack, a fine jazz female vocalist. Comperes Ted Castle and Brian Rossi. Organist Tommy Bates. Oh, and Dezi Arnold, another great comedian. Shirley Day and Sandra Jeans. Of course I have to mention the Jimmy Rose Duo. Jimmy Rose and I teamed up in 1966. Jimmy had already been playing there for several years. We did the summer season in 1966 and again in 1968.
The sound system was fantastic "at the time" consisting of several big Seeburg cabinets. At the back was the tiny Seahorse Bar, and on the top, The fabulous Queens Theatre, which featured rock bands like Dean Hunter and the Trackers, a band from Blackpool. I saw Sonny Boy Williams up there, a fantastic, elderly blues harp player from the southern United States. There was so much going on that you could go every day of the week and not get bored. The song on my album Fishermen of Fleetwood, "The Dolphin Bar" explains, I think, what it was like.
Well now you have an idea what it was like I will from time to time post some of my photo's here. If you have anything to contribute, please do. Thank you.