Last updated 09:12, Saturday, 03 May 2008

My dad Bob was a sign-writer by trade but in the evenings he used to sing at the Silver Grill, Cameo and Queens, where he met my mam, Sheila, who was a dancer.

We lived in Blackpool in the early Fifties and my dad sang at the Leyton Institute.

I can remember when I was six, dad took mam and I to the Blackpool Garden Party which was held at Stanley Park and I had my photograph taken with Joan Regan, Flanders and Swan, The Dangenham Girl Pipers and Harry Secombe.

We returned to Carlisle in 1956 and moved to Port Carlisle in 1958 where dad, family and friends built a caravan site, Carven Cottage. At Carlisle Grammar I started the first record club. When it was raining the pupils used to come inside to listen to the music. I’d charge them 6d and put the money towards buying more records.

I used to cycle from Carlisle to Gretna to the Tower Cinema and dance hall where I was able to buy records from their juke box.

I remember once winning a competition in the New Musical Express (better known today as the NME). The prize was the top 10 singles of that week.

However, instead of keeping them, I sold them on to the King’s Hall Youth Club in Globe Lane. Music has always played a big part in my life. Like all teenagers in Carlisle I used to go to the Kings Hall, County, Gretna, Cosmo, Hilltop, 101 and the Market Hall.

When my parents moved back into Carlisle and bought a guest house in London Road in 1962, they were good friends of Les Leighton. If Les had groups playing at The Cosmo, he’d send them down to stay at our guest house. I can remember Chris Farlowe, Hot Chocolate, The Sweet and The Thunderbirds staying with us.

My grandparents, Jack and Jean Mansell lived at Briar Bank. Jack was the manager of the Cameo and then the Cosmo. Their next door neighbour was Alec Alves who was a member of local band, The Nomads. I once went with them to a gig at Egremont where Johnny Kid and the Pirates were also playing.

In 1963 we hired a mini bus and went to The Cavern in Liverpool on New Year’s Eve. I can’t remember who was on but I wonder if anyone reading this perhaps went and can remember.

In 1964, just after my 17th birthday, I was walking past the stage door at the Lonsdale when a guy pulled me in. He asked if I knew where he could get flasks filled of coffee and tea. The guy turned out to be Dave Clark, of the Dave Clark Five, and when a bouncer came to put me out, Dave let me stay backstage. Other artists on were Gene Pitney and The Hollies.

My record collection just seemed to grow and grow and by 1994 I had accrued a few thousand records. A great opportunity arose for me to open a record shop in the Portland Centre which I thoroughly enjoyed until I got burgled and decided to give it up.

That didn’t stop me collecting but eventually my wife Shirley had had enough of climbing over boxes of records everywhere in the house, so I decided to open another shop, in Wigton Road, called Records Buy Appointment.

Not only did I move my record collection into it, but two juke boxes, 30 guitars, old radios, musical instruments, autographs, amps, and Sixties memorabilia found their way there as well.

Although I closed the shop in 2007, I’m still collecting records today.