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Musician's milestone
In autumn 1954 Alan Bell completed his National Service and returned home to the Fylde Coast.
As a keen mountaineer he also returned to the Lakeland hills. In the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in Great Langdale, Cumbria, he received his first performance fee of two bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale for singing six Woody Guthrie songs.
As a member of the Fylde Mountaineering Club, Alan met Brian Osborne and they formed The Marauders Skiffle Group in 1957. (The group had one gig!)
Later Alan and Brian met Blackpool singers Big Pete Rodger and Stuart Robinson and in 1960 they jointly founded the Blackpool Folk Club and The Taverners Folk Group.
The group appeared in hundreds of clubs, concerts, on radio and TV and released several LPs as well as appearing in The Royal Command Performance in 1981, before disbanding later that year. Brian Osborne and Big Pete Rodger went on to pursue solo careers, whilst Stuart Robinson joined with Alan to form The Alan Bell Band.
Alan has written songs and many have become famous with the likes of The Ballad of a Working Man, Windmills, Alice White, The Minstrel and So Here's To You still widely sung.
His most famous song Bread & Fishes has been translated into many languages.
Alan wrote the song cycle Wind, Sea, Sail & Sky for Fleetwood Choral Society to mark Fleetwood's foundation.
In 2000, Alan was awarded a grant to write and produce his show The Century's People. Telling the stories of ordinary people of the Fylde Coast between 1900 and 2000 in words, music and song, the show had a huge cast including the Thornton Cleveleys Brass Band, Fleetwood Choral Society, the Alan Bell Band, local folk singers and two narrators.
Alan started the Fylde Folk Festival in 1972 and in 1998 he founded Folkus, The Folk Arts Network of the North West encouraging music making throughout the region.
On Saturday in Fleetwood Marine Hall he is holding a 75th birthday concert - doubling as celebrating 55 years of performing - to thank the artists, performers, dancers and musicians, who have supported him.
The concert is also to raise cash for The Orchid Cancer Appeal - Fighting the Battle for Men.Visit www.orchid-cancer.org
Compered by Dave Jones, the concert will feature The Alan Bell Band, Gary & Vera Aspey and Scolds Bridle with guests.
Tickets from the Marine Hall Box Office at (01253) 770547 or at www.marinehall.co.uk
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Weather for Blackpool
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 7 C
Wind Speed: 32 mph
Wind direction: West
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Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 8 C
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