1963 saw the closure of the Grosvenor Ballroom for refurbishment, re-opening as the council-owned Borough Assembly Hall. During its closure, the Walton Hall stood in, with weekly rock concerts.

The Grosvenor Ballroom closed at the end of April 1963, initially for three months – but the date of the re-opening was put back a number of times, and eventually to October 7th.

For a list of gigs during 1963, please see below.

During the first months of the year, Eddie Friday continued to promote rock gigs at the Grosvenor on Saturday evenings. Among the artists appearing were Emile Ford and the Checkmates, Eden Kane, The John Barry Seven, Eric Delaney and his Band and the Vernon Girls.

Tony White in the Bucks Advertiser was particularly impressed with Eric Delaney and his Band. Eric Delaney was a drummer and bandleader, and Herbie Goins was the vocalist. Click on image to enlarge:

Walton Hall

The closure of the Grosvenor caused some concern – the Editor at the Bucks Advertiser received a letter on behalf of “A Group of Aylesbury Teenagers” – see below. It was announced that Alan Wallis and Stan Wyatt, who had promoted gigs at the Town Hall before the fire in March 1962, had booked the Walton Hall for 19 weeks, to start when the Grosvenor closed. The first night at the Walton Hall was on 11th May – and the run eventually extended to 21 weeks, ending on 28th September. Click on image to enlarge.

Borough Assembly Hall

In September it was announced that the new name for the Grosvenor would be the Borough Assembly Hall – not popular with many, including Tony White in the Bucks Advertiser:

The Borough Assembly Hall. Look at it. Read it. Let it roll around your tongues for a while. You will probably agree with me. It sounds horrible! Believe it or not, this is the name Aylesbury Borough Council – new owners of the Grosvenor – have decided to call that popular centre of entertainment in the corner of the Market Square …

For goodness sake, why not leave it as it was. The Grosvenor is well-known over a large area either through the jazz club or the Saturday night dances that used to be held there until it closed. “The Grosvenor” is short. “The Grosvenor” is an appropriate name for a building that is to be the venue for the type of entertainment to be offered there.

And I say this. I’ll bet my whole collection of long-playing records that “The Grosvenor” is how it will continue to be known, no matter what the new owners like to call it.

The Bucks Advertiser also published a useful potted history of the venue (click to enlarge):

Grand re-opening

The grand re-opening took place on 7th October, with a charity ball in aid of the Mayor’s Freedom From Hunger campaign, with Joe Loss and his Orchestra and Johnny Thunder and the Thunderbirds.

One of the singers with Joe Loss was Ross MacManus (who also played trumpet); Ross is the father of Elvis Costello (Declan MacManus). He also composed and sang the 1970s “I’m A Secret Lemonade Drinker” TV ad for R. White’s lemonade.

Ian Samwell

Also of note is that during the year Ian “Sammy” Samwell presented record nights in Aylesbury on Wednesdays – initially at the Grosvenor Ballroom and then, after its closure, at the Walton Hall – see report below.

Ian Samwell was a member of Cliff Richard and the Drifters and he wrote “Move It”. He was later a record producer for artists such as Sounds Incorporated, Georgie Fame,John Mayall and The Small Faces. Later he was in-house producer for Warner Brothers in London, bringing artists such as Linda Lewis and America to the label, producing the first America album and the hit “A Horse With No Name”.

Pete Frame writes about Ian Samwell in the Epilogue to his book The Restless Generation. Ian had moved to Sacramento, California.

Sometime in late 1991, suddenly and unexpectedly overcome by breathlessness, he had collapsed and woken in hospital, where he was diagnosed with idiopathic cardiomyopathy. If he didn’t have a heart transplant, he would die, doctors told him – which was a bit of a bummer because he had allowed his medical insurance to lapse only six weeks earlier and the procedure was going to cost in excess of a quarter of a million dollars …

“There was no way I was going to get that sort of bread together,” said Samwell, “so I accepted I was going to die … I phoned a few friends, including Robert Allen, my lawyer in London, to ask him to bring my will up to date, and then fell into a deep sleep.”

When he came to, a hovering nurse came over. “Who are you?” she asked. “Samwell, Ian Samwell”, he replied, nodding toward the case notes at the end of the bed. “Yes, I know that,” she said, but who are you? The phone hasn’t stopped ringing. All these people have been calling with offers of money – Pink Floyd, Cliff Richard, Led Zeppelin … who are you?”

As soon as he had put the phone down, Robert Allen had got on to Jeff Dexter, the DJ / producer / manager who was Ian’s principal sidekick throughout the sixties and seventies, and Dexter phoned everyone he knew … Sufficient funds were gathered for an operation to replace his heart … and it pumped efficiently for another 11 years.

Ian Samwell eventually died on 13 March 2003, aged 66. Nicest guy you could ever meet. And he wrote Move It.

Ian Samwell obituary The Independent

Date	Venue	Promoter Name	Artist 1	Artist 2
5/1/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	Emile Ford and the Checkmates	Mike Sagar and the Crestas
12/1/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	Johnny Carr backed by Mel Turner and the Mohicans	Dave Seaton and the Leons
19/1/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	Eden Kane backed by the Rhett Stoller Group	The Lee Atkins Combo
26/1/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	Johnny, Mike and the Shades	Bobby Patrick Big Six
2/2/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	Peter Nelson and the Travellers	The Tartans
9/2/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	The John Barry Seven	Johnny Anger and the Wild Ones
16/2/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	Johnny, Mike and the Shades	Dru Harvey and the Jokers
23/2/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	Doug Sheldon backed by The Sceptres	Bobby Rio and the Dominators
2/3/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	Eric Delaney and His Band with Herbie Goins	The Lee Atkins Combo
9/3/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	The Tartans	Paul Dayton and the Deputies
16/3/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	Russ Sainty and the Nu-Notes	Mark Douglas and the Prowlers
23/3/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	The Original Checkmates	Ricky Marino and the Stormbreakers
30/3/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	The Barry James Show featuring The Strangers with Gary and Lee	Mike Sagar and the Crestas
6/4/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	The Black Arrows	Paul and the Hustlers
13/4/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	Peter West and the Embers	Paul and the Hustlers
20/4/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	The Vernon Girls	Mark Douglas and the Prowlers, The Noel Francis All-Steel West Indian Band
27/4/1963	Grosvenor Ballroom	Eddie Friday	The Fabulous Flintstones	Ricky Marino and the Stormbreakers
11/5/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Johnny Milton and the Condors	The Twistettes, Nick Troy and the Trojans
18/5/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Golli-Golli Show	Johnny Shadow and Danny Gavan, Paul and the Hustlers
25/5/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Ray Pilgrim	Tony Vince and the Minutemen, Colin and the Champions
1/6/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Jet Harris's Original Jetblacks	Terry Judge and the Waders
8/6/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Ricky Brown & The Hi-Lites	Mike Harper & The Cerveza
15/6/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Robb Storme and the Whispers	The Cavaliers
22/6/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	The Barry James Show with Gary and Lee and The Strangers	Terry Judge and the Waders
29/6/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Kevin Scott & His Kinsmen	The Strangers
6/7/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Johnny, Mike and the Shades	Mick Barber and the Travellers
13/7/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Mike Everest and the Alpines Crazy Gang Show	The Strangers
20/7/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Steve Francis	Johnny Anger and the Wild Ones, Apex Group with Colin York
27/7/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Dave Dee and the Bostons	The Cervezas
3/8/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	The Gamblers	Roy Powell and the Off-Beaters
10/8/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Jet Harris's Original Jetblacks	The Cavaliers
17/8/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	The Federals
24/8/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Laurie Jay Combo	Gerry Temple, The Cervezas
31/8/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Johnny, Mike and the Shades	Terry Judge and the Barristers
7/9/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	The Dowlands	The Soundtracks, The Stranglers
14/9/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	The Ravin' Savages	The Cavaliers
21/9/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	The Six Citizens	Del Summers, Roy Powell and the Off-beaters
28/9/1963	Walton Hall	Alan Wallis	Brian Fisher	The Raiders
7/10/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Gala Opening	Joe Loss and His Orchestra with Rose Brennan, Larry Gretton and Ross MacManus	Johnny Thunder and the Thunderbirds
11/10/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Stanley Wyatt Promotions	Ray Piligrim and Minute Men	The Phantoms
12/10/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Eddie Friday	Johnny Carr and the Cadillacs	Johnny Anger and the Wild Ones
18/10/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Stanley Wyatt Promotions	Ray Pilgrim and Minute Men
19/10/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Eddie Friday	Troy Dante and the Infernos	The Delta Five
25/10/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Stanley Wyatt Promotions	Danny Storm and Strollers	The Strangers
26/10/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Eddie Friday	Johnny, Mike and the Shades	Russ and the Sabres
1/11/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Stanley Wyatt Promotions	The Citizens	The Apollos
2/11/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Eddie Friday	The Barron Knights with Duke D'Mond	Johnny Anger and the Wild Ones
8/11/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Stanley Wyatt Promotions	Robb Storme and the Whispers
9/11/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Eddie Friday	Unit 7	The Jimmy Ritchie Combo
16/11/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Eddie Friday	Johnny Carr and the Cadillacs	Eddie King and the Chequers
23/11/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Eddie Friday	The Redcaps	Jimmy Richards and the Javelins
30/11/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Eddie Friday	Rockin' Henry and the Hayseeds	The Pagans
7/12/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Eddie Friday	The Eric Delaney Band	Dale Curtiss and the Blunotes
14/12/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Eddie Friday	Johnny, Mike and the Shades	Johnny Anger and the Wild Ones
21/12/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Eddie Friday	The Gamblers	The Coasters
28/12/1963	Borough Assembly Hall	Eddie Friday	Johnny Carr and the Cadillacs	Cliff Adams and the Twilights