Electronic Organ and Keyboard Festivals
How They Started
Are they now getting fragmented?
This year (2007) there are around 35 keyboard related events in the UK - possibly a record number. We wonder if the festival scene is getting too fragmented?
Perhaps it’s more choice for enthusiasts in the short term but with the numbers attending each event likely to drop, it seems that the future is in doubt. Let’s look back and see how it all developed before we look ahead to the future.
Molly Forbes, one time organist at the Regal Cinema, Leicester Square, was the first player to hold ‘Organ Lovers Weekends.’ They were held at St.Anne’s Hotel in Buxton, Derbyshire in the mid 1970’s; her guest players’ were mainly fellow cinema organists, with Bryan Rodwell and George Blackmore being two of her favourites. The audiences numbered around 70 (the capacity of the hotel), with guests coming from various parts of the UK. There was only one organ on the stage – a Hammond C3 with a PR40 sound system, which the star organist’s played in turn.
Molly, in her golden years, was always the star of each weekend, and enjoyed having organ enthusiasts around her. The final evenings had a party atmosphere when
Molly's glass was never allowed to go empty.
In December 1980, a local radio producer and organ society secretary, Cled Griffin, produced the first electronic organ festival for Pontin’s Holidays at their flagship holiday centre at Barton Hall, Torquay. There were 475 guests and the venue was filled to capacity. Over twenty different makes of organs were on show with ten star players - Brian Sharp and John Mann topping the bill. It was at this venue that an unknown Byron Jones was introduced to enthusiasts.
The annual weekend events at Barton Hall continued until 2002 when they moved to the Lyme bay Holiday Village in Seaton, Devon.
The following year, 1981, Cled Griffin produced the first weeklong festival at Pontin’s Tower Beach Holiday Village at Prestatyn, North Wales. Star organists from all over the UK entertained around 2,000 electronic organ enthusiasts. The Home Organist and Keyboard Music Player magazines, together with brand names like Lowrey, put on their own shows each evening with each one trying to beat the other.
The Pontin’s Morecambe festivals started in 1984 under the banner of two magazines and in 1985 Trevor Daniels (brother of magican Paul Daniels) took over the event from the magazines by forming the AOE – Association of Organ Enthusiasts.
Also in 1985, Byron Jones produced his first Easter ‘Music for All’ festival at Pontin’s Sand Bay Holiday Village. It was in the month of May that year that Roy Neal, with the help of Cled Griffin, produced the first Keyboard Cavalcade weeklong festival at Caister in Norfolk. The following October, Roy Neal engaged the famous Klaus Wunderlich for another week’s event to establish festivals at Caister for the following 20 years.
Sue Lowe, another organiser, produced some festivals at Warner sites before having financial difficulties in the mid 1990’s. Shortly afterwards Trevor Daniels also had financial problems and left the festival scene. It was around the late 1990’s and early 2000’s that the first signs of fragmentation started to take place when
a series of well known players, namely Howard Beaumont, Brian Sharp, Tim Flint and later Steve Lowdell, started holding their own events at selected hotels throughout the UK. John Romero added his weekends at Eastbourne to the ever-increasing list. In addition to this, Byron Jones expanded the number of his events to include several hotels in various parts of the country.
Back in May 2004, two former Pontin's managers, Mick Brown and Andy Oakley, decided to do something totally different
and produce a keyboard comedy weekend at the Bancourt Hotel, Torquay, under the banner of M&A Entertainments. This, and some other non-keyboard events, were
meant to fill a gap left by Barton Hall being taken over for childrens' holiday adventures. With
the expertise of Cled Griffin, the keyboard events were an instant success combined with the star cabaret acts
from the world of show business having standing ovations.
In 2007, Tony Stace and Andrew Nix got together to form T & A Events, to produce three festivals during the year, including one at Rythe Mill, Hayling Island. The latest player jumping on the festival bandwagon is DirkJan Ranzijn with at least two events lined up for 2008.
As with all new events, there is an air of curiosity and enthusiasts often visit a new venue to see what it is like. Following this there is the choice of all the others, resulting in reduced attendances all round. One event at the Norbreck Hotel in Blackpool was cancelled due to lack of bookings and recently another festival organiser made a loss before offering his venues to another player already having low figures at his events - with the exception of one long established venue.
Another player organiser is working on such a tight budget that, to ensure that he is in pocket himself, the players he engages are expected to pay for their own meals and accommodation, which are part of a package contract at other events. This, in turn, makes players very reluctant to play at his events.
The venues having consistently good attendances are the weeklong events run by Sceptre Promotions, under the wing of Grant Neal, at Blackpool and Pakefield (formerly Caister) and the Lyme Bay Keyboard Music weekends, run by Cled Griffin, which followed Barton Hall in 2002. The success of the former is due to the number of star players engaged from all over the world. At Lyme Bay the success is due to new players and features being introduced at each event, keeping them fresh and interesting – like, for an example, the recent British Keyboard Player Awards and tributes to Mark Shakespeare and Klaus Wunderlich -
not forgetting Andy Oakley, the most humorous personality in showbusiness and his performances
in the exclusive Keyklix Klan.
When it comes to making a choice, it’s value for money that really counts.
Most hotel events only cater for breakfast and evening meals and the cost for a mid-day snack, and sometimes the Sunday lunch, adds to the total cost. Generally, the holiday village sites prove to be better value, especially those at Lyme Bay and Sand Bay with the restaurant and all the entertainment under one roof. Regarding the cost, the Lyme Bay venue comes out on top with their February full board tariff costing only £115 and the October event costing less than any other weekend (except one hotel event - where Saturday lunch is not included) from the 35 events now available. The October Lyme Bay festival is probably the only event that offers the option of free coach travel for group bookings – making it very popular with many organ societies.
When it comes to putting your hand in your pocket, you pay your money and take your choice. Having compared various venues, the cost, and the entertainment offered, it comes down to atmosphere with the feeling of happiness as you leave to go home. A lot has happened in the past 27 years – but like a good wine, some festivals have improved with age and technical innovations like video screens replacing mirrors, while others have yet to prove themselves with organisers who were still in school when the British festival scene first started. The cake is only so big; it is a pity to see the slices getting smaller!
We end on a positive note by looking at the retail trade. Although the number of organ-keyboard stores are less
in number (compared to when the festivals started) the ones that remain say they are doing fantastic
business. One dealer reports that organs are flying out of his showroom. We sincerely
hope that this trend continues and that more enthusiasts find their way to festivals where
master-classes by professionals will help them to play even better.
To make this report absolutely fair and unbiased, we give below a direct link to a website
where you can see all the events listed, together with the telephone numbers
where you can check on costs and booking availability.
Complete list of UK festivals and organ-keyboard holidays.
Can you recall the twenty brand names of electronic organs that appeared at the Pontin's
Barton Hall Festival in 1980? How many are the now? In a future article we will look
back in time and include views and comments from readers.
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