unfortunatly ive put a scaffold stage over the top, one day it will rise from the floor, matt who is the ritzises new sparky and i cant quite work out how to upload directly to this page, how do we do this? and if you are passing pop in, yrs t
symonds55 mentioned acoustics and St Johns Hall. I agree with him but I think even worse was The Wintergardens. We ( Druids, The Blue Star Combo ) played there mainly as support and the place was abissmal and dirty. What about The Pavillion? I remember seeing Gene Vincent perform there and if I recall the sound was bearable.
Yes the acoustics at the Ritz were great. I'm proud to say that we where the first group to appear there in the '60's. A pic appears on this site under 'Jimjam Albums' of the occasion. We even got to use the spot light.
The manager told me that the walls were clad in a corck substance and stuck his car key into it.
I'd love to give you a hand symonds55 with the rewiring. I'm sparcky also. But it's along way from Sydney.
@JimJam: I have to agree with SS55 too and having played at the Wints as drummer/vocalist with the Layabouts and as individual folksinger in the 60s, I find St John's Hall where I have done both I already mentioned, plus in addition to these, sung with the Mousehole Male Choir and played with the Newlyn Reelers, infinitely worse though i also admit that the Wints was pretty bad. If you didn't already know, JimJam, there is a 60's band site at http://www.kernowbeat.co.uk/ and you may well have something to offer re The Druids and the Blue Star Combo if you haven't already!
Ha Ha Jimjam a long way indeed, we played the wints with Smiler in the 70's and did a lot of supports there, Tremelos, Marmalade, Mud, Alvin Stardust and many others, and acoustics were ever changing due to the amount of bodies in there. Never played the Pavillion but I was told it didn't lend itself well to electrified equipment.
WOW!! this has changed a bit!...what happened to all the seating/tables?....I went here with a friend of mine as we played Bingo here..and there was seating and tables all in the area of this now vast red carpet, wish I took photo's now....especially of the numbers board which illuminated in red lights.
Ah the Ritz, my Dad (Jack Everson) was a bingo caller there back in the 70's and then onto St John's hall later. I've played the Wints many years ago and if the place was full-ish the acoustics weren't bad at all. After playing St John's hall this year for the PZ Proms I would hope that next year the Proms organisers opt for the Ritz as the sound was atrocious at best. With the sound swirling and bouncing around the place it wasn't a pleasant experience I wish to repeat.
Evo
