A Derann Story

The last of my four regular cinemas in Wolverhampton was the Odeon. It opened in September 1937 and  was a wonderful example of the Odeon style. Originally seating in excess of 1,900 it was converted to three screens in 1973, became a bingo club in 1983 and closed in 2007. By 2009, it had been…

The Gaumont ‘Palace’ Cinema, which opened in 1932, was Wolverhampton’s first ‘super-cinema’ and could seat nearly two thousand people and was selected for the world premier of George Formby’s “I Didn’t Do It” in 1945 . Later it also held live shows, The Beatles played there in 1965. It closed in 1973. Demolished, it’s site…

The Clifton Cinema in Wolverhampton, started life as the Prince of Wales Theatre in 1865 and over the years was known as ‘The Star’, ‘The Hippodrome’ or, as it was known locally, ‘The Blood Tub’.  No, not because it showed horror movies but because it was built on, or near, the site of an old…

During the course of 1963, my magazines had begun to pile up and my yearnings to see some movies that up to then were only magazine photos was really  welling up. I was only 14/15 and all the films that called out to me were ‘X’ rated, for patrons of years of age 16 and…

Considering I lived in my home town of Wolverhampton for the first 18 or 19 years of my life, I don’t have many memories of this sprawling and busy town, a town  which in  2000 would achieve City status. As a youngster I was often taken to the East Park, as we lived just a…

Remember how they used to use small bulldog clips or clothes pegs to display magazines, like washing drying on a line above and around the stand? Well, while shopping with my Gran, sometime in 1961/2, my eyes were caught by a magazine cover hovering above my head and beckoning me to take a closer look.…

I pleaded a long time for a record player and sure enough for my 11th or 12th Birthday I was given a small unit from Fidelity, a 45rpm single, ‘Little Donkey’ by Nina & Frederik and an LP, ‘Peter and the Wolf / The Young Persons Guide to The Orchastra’.  I upgraded the Fidelity to…

My brother was always playing with a ball, whether it be football, cricket, tennis, snooker and as he matured, golf. During the long school summer holidays he’d spend more time in the local park with his mates, than he did around the house, mind you with a house that had a lawn the size of…

At around the tender age of seven or eight my Mom obviously felt I could be trusted  enough to be out by myself and so I began my weekly visits to the Saturday Children’s  Matinees. These cheaply priced shows were always packed out, although I have no memory of how I arrived at the cinema,…

As a youngster my world was satisfyingly filled with a just a couple of friends, Dinky Toys, numerous plastic model kits and a Muffin the Mule string puppet, which I’m sure was made of a light metal alloy and was painted in bright colours (probably lead based paints too!) I would spend hours crawling around…