Gerry and the Pacemakers - Wintergardens Theatre - Blackpool - England

Gerry and the Pacemakers - 1964

Gerry and the Pacemakers - 2017

Our show

Lulu had a gig in Glasgow. Our train would be traveling right through Liverpool. I googled Gerry Marsden and to my surprise - he was still touring. 

Gerry and the Pacemakers were a very popular band in Liverpool in the 1960s. Brian Epstein managed just three acts - The Beatles - Gerry and The Pacemakers - and Cilla Black. George Martin produced all their records. When the Beatles made a movie - Hard Days Night - it was only natural to follow it with the Gerry's movie - Ferry Cross The Mersey. 


People do not know that Gerry and the Pacemakers were the only group to have their first three singles go to number 1 in the nation. 

Blackpool - We stayed at the Pelham Lodge - a tiny very old hotel for 50 pounds a night. It was a fantastic time warp - with eclectic furniture - but great service and very clean. The owner made us breakfast. The dining room sat 75 people. The stairs were wooden and there was surface wiring - but it was warm and had hot water. 

We walked the beach - but the 40 degree temperatures and 30 MPH winds - churned the sea and shortened our walk. 

The Wintergardens Theatre has been there forever. The Beatles filled it 8 nights straight in July of 1964. Blackpool is close to Liverpool and the Beatles and Pacemakers used to hang out here as youngsters. John Lennon - who was raised by his Aunt Mimi - spend holidays at Blackpool with his cousins. 

The crowd for our concert was old. There were a lot of gray heads and bald heads - both on the stage and in the audience. It was just a nice crowd to be with. People come back for the rock and roll shows every year. The national flower show was going on in the same old complex - and many of the ladies showing their flowers in the show - also wanted to see the old rockers. 

We arrived in town at 3 PM Friday on the train - and the show was at 7. I was tempted to wait until show time and take my chances with the touts - but Lulu said I came a long way to see this show. I bought 2 tickets in the Circle (lower balcony)  for 35 pounds each. That came out to about $90.

The show was great - I wish we were closer to see their faces better - maybe not  :-)

It lasted almost 3 hours with a 20 minute break. Gerry played until the break - then the Searchers came out and finished the night. Gerry is 75 now - I figured he had an early bedtime :-)  Sorry - for all the old jokes. 

This was the last night of Gerry's Finale Tour. Gerry does have knee problems - he collapsed on stage in March - and had to end his show. He lingered a little while before he left. He did a great show - and his hits made a lot of people very happy. 

His third number one hit - "You'll Never Walk Alone" - has become the rally song of the Liverpool Soccer Team. When he sang that - the whole place belted it out. 

After the show we only had to walk 3 blocks to our hotel. In the morning we walked around Blackpool - Lulu loved the shopping. We went to the arcades on the pier. We caught our train to London around noon. There were a few delays on our train to London - and Virgin Trains announced halfway to London that they would refund our money for the trip. That came to about $120. So subtracting $90 for the tickets from the $120 refund - we made $30 by going to the concert  :-)

Check out the 3 videos from the show below. 

Preston Train Station

Funny Signs

Pelham Lodge - checking in

Hotel lounge

Ticket for the big show

Streets of Blackpool

Wintergardens Theater - our show

Lulu's Guiness - my fru fru cider

Seats in the circle 

Brian Poole and the Tremelos

Our hotel breakfast

Acts on the pier

The Pier - 30 MPH winds

The famous Blackpool Tower - 1890

Blackpool Carnegie Library - 1911

Library blue sign

We feel like we know this guy

The library was a very active place. 

Funny - Dixyland Chicken and Ribs

Scotland - Touring Glasgow

University of Glasgow about 2 miles west of downtown. 

While Lulu did a presentation at Strathclyde University - I toured around town. After her visit - she took a uber cab to the Kelvingood Museum to be with me touring. It was cold - wet - and dark - outside. Temperature was around 40 degrees. The sun was down around 4:30 PM.

We rode the subway back into town. There is only one subway - it makes a loop around downtown. You can ride in either direction - inner loop - or outer loop. It was $1.60 a ride. It crosses under the Clyde River twice. 

I noticed lots of pictures of Oliver Hardy around town. I looked it up and he was raised in a government house in the south of town. 

We had supper in the Victoria Pub - just across the street from our hotel. 

Tomorrow at 11 AM - we take the train to Blackpool. We plan to attend the Gerry and the Pacemakers concert there. The next day we will be back home in London with Joan.

Kelvingrove Museum - the number one museum in Glasgow

English money - 2 pound - 1 pound - 50p - 20p - 10p. The one pound and two pound coins are made of two separate medals - easy to notice. 

The 2 pound coin is worth $2.62 cents today. 

Windmill

Orrery (sun - planets - moons)

Glasgow University 

Van Gough

1925 - Top Statue in Europe

The oldest surviving set of armor

Organ in Kelvingood Museum

Statue of Franklin Roosevelt

Shopping on Argail Avenue

Queen Victoria

Kilted Roger Federer Beat Andy Murray In Glasgow Last Night - I Crawled Out Of Bed To Go

All pictures and videos taken with my iPhone 7.

Andy Murray in Glasgow last night

Roger is wearing my favorite army uniform -
kilts and sneakers -
so I can crap and run at the same time!

Hydro Arena - I got a ticket outside for 10 pounds

Roger Federer - world rank 2 - beat Andy Murray -
world rank 16 - last night in Glasgow 

The view from my 10 pound seat

This video Roger (we are on a first name basis now) played in a kilt.


This video Andy was on my side.

Last night - the University of Strathclyde took Lulu to dinner. I crawled into bed early. I got an email from my son - Keith. He said that Andy Murray is playing a benefit at the Hydro Arena and that I should go. I emailed back asking him who Andy Murray was and that Mom was at a dinner. He wrote back and said that since Mom was gone she would not miss me - and that Andy Murray was Scotland's favorite son in tennis. Federer is number 2 in the world - Murray is ranked number 16.

I pulled on my clothes and out I went. I got a cab - and 5 pounds later I was 2 miles down the River Clyde at the Hydro Arena. The crowd was already inside - but one tout (scalper) had a single ticket to the sold out event. The ticket's face value was 170 pounds ($220) - but he would give it to me for 150 pounds! I said - I did not even know Andy Murray - I was just here from Florida for entertainment - I would try to get a free one. So I stood there with one finger up for 10 minutes. He told me I was nuts - and I agreed. A few late stragglers walked by - no tickets. Finally the tout came over and said he was going home. He offered one for 20 pounds - I said 10 pounds - he said okay. Then I noticed it was a print out - and I asked him how would I know if it was real. He said for 20 pounds he would walk me in. I gave him 10 pounds and took the ticket.

The Hydro Arena is beautiful inside and out. I could not believe how clean everything was - and it was already 5 years old. The help staff was so helpful - an old guy (old than me) walked me from the door to my seat. I was 3 rows behind the Andy Murray hitting the ball.

The crowd was all white - they all spoke funny - and I swear every lady was married to Andy Murray. All I heard was "I love you Andy." It took me a few sets until I realized it was not Andy Roddick! As I was videoing - I was tempted to say out loud - "Who the hell is Andy Murray?" What a video that would have been.

I was really getting into it. You think a 100 MPH baseball pitch is fast. These guys were serving at 150 MPH! And they were spinning them to make REALLY curve balls. You could hear the balls whistle by. Some came into the crowd right by me. But I was not fast enough for these ladies.

Since this was a benefit gig - both Andy and Roger (we are on a first name basis now) were playing the crowd. After all - these folk paid 170 pounds for the benefit night out. Federer put a kilt on - Murray put a plaid hat and whig on. The folks were all in on the jokes.

I watched for about 2 hours. The match was over - Federer won. Next Andy and Roger were going to play some brothers in a doubles match - but I had promised to keep and 2 miles to go before I slept.

It took me 30 minutes to walk the 2 miles back along the Clyde River - it was cold and windy - there was very little traffic - I did not see any cabs. I got home and Lulu was fast asleep.

This morning she had to leave early for her presentation. She will read about this here - and watch the videos after you do. Just another rub with greatness for the Griswald European Vacation.

Asides to my buddy Harry Wallasea - does this make up for my McDonalds hot dog in Luxembourg? Also is McDonalds a local restaurant in McScotland?