Down Th'Imp

[conyoviejo]

Mainly for the "older posters" on here ..Who went down Th'Imp ? And which groups did you see? Here's a list of the groups that played down Th'Imp.. I used to live down there most weekends and managed to see most of these .. How sad is that .

great times though and great musical memories..

NELSON IMPERIAL BALLROOM
LIST OF GROUPS PLAYED THERE..

Aldritch
& the Squadronnaires 15/2/58 26/9/59
Amen Corner 25/5/68 4/4/69
Animals 15/8/64
P.P. Arnold 29/5/67 28/7/67 6/4/68
Ashton, Garden & Dyke 27/3/71
Eric Ashworth Jan & Feb 59 All Year
Atomic Rooster 31/12/70
The Avons 27/1/61
B
The Bachelors 9/5/59 25/9/64
KennyBall 22/9/62 10/12/62 19/10/65
8/10/69
Bunny Bakers’ Broadcasting Band 22/3/63
Kenny Baker 24/5/58 20/3/64
Long John Baldry 11/12/64 16/12/67
The Bandwagon 21/12/68
Chris Barber 9/3/57 19/10/57 8/9/62
Barron Knights 18/6/64
John Barry 12/2/61 20/5/61 8/12/61
30/3/62 18/8/62 6/3/63
Beatles 11/5/63 31/7/63

Paul Beattie Skiffle Group 27/4/57
Jeff Beck 5/8/67
William Bell 31/8/68 30/11/68 24/5/69
Cliff Bennett 15/9/62
Ivy Benson All Girls Band 25/3/61
Dave Berry 27/5/67 23/12/67
Mike Berry 19/8/61 11/8/62 23/2/63
The Big Three 8/1/66
Acker Bilk 28/5/60 5/10/63
Cilla Black 27/3/64
Blodwyn Pig 12/12/70
Bluto 2/1/71
Bob & Earl 31/5/69
Brook Bros. 6/1/62
Joe Brown 14/11/63
Eric Burdon 12/8/67
Johnny Burnette 9/11/63
The Byrds 3/8/65
C
Johnny C 22/2/69
Eddie Calvert 23/10/59
Caravelles 19/10/63
Ronnie Carroll 2/3/62
Rhodes Carroll & Orchestra 12/3/65
Casuals 9/11/68 23/8/69
The Chants 26/6/64
Dick Charlesworth & The City Gents 17/3/62
Chicken Shack 27/6/69
Chiffons 17/6/67
Clyde Valley Stompers 28/4/62
Coasters 15/2/69
Alma Cogan 23/5/59
Colosseum 16/4/71
Ken Colyer Jazzmen 3/3/62
Arthur Conley 1/4/67
Jess Conrad 6/4/62
Jimmy Crawford 23/6/62
Cream 8/4/67
Crying Shames 15/10/66
Crystals 3/8/68 23/11/68
Cuddly Duddly 12/9/59
Cupids’ Inspiration 17/8/68
Curved Air 28/2/71
D
Dallas Boys 22/9/61
Mike Daniels & The Delta Jazzmen 12/5/62
Johnny Dankworth 9/2/57 7/12/57 27/9/58 14/3/59 22/8/59 15/10/60 6/10/61
Tommy Daykin & Band 1957 All Year
Eric Delaney 6/4/57 7/9/57 24/10/59
Terry Dene 6/6/59 15/4/61
The Dennisons 16/11/63
Karl Denver Trio 30/96/61 12/5/67
Bo Diddley 15/4/67
Donovan 12/6/65
Lee Dorsey 25/10/69
Craig Douglas 23/8/63
The Drifters 14/12/68 3/5/69 20/9/69 9/5/70
Dubliners 28/7/67 24/11/67
Johnny Duncan 22/2/58 10/6/61
Simon Dupree & The Big Sound 3/2/68
E
Vince Eager 7/9/63 to judge a beat contest
Eagles 25/5/63
Kenneth Earl 13/6/59
Easybeats 22/5/67
Duane Eddy 11/5/68
Ray Ellington 15/2/57 15/3/58
Equals 5/10/68
The Escorts 20/3/63
F
Adam Faith 2/12/61 14/2/64 21/8/65
Marianne Faithful 8/5/65
Georgie Fame 15/4/65
Flee Rekkers 8/4/61
Fleetwood Mac 5/6/71
Flintstones 5/8/61
Flirtations 24/8/68
Flower Pot Men 4/11/67
Eddie Floyd 1/4/67
Wayne Fontana 14/8/65 18/267
Emile Ford 22/4/60 16/10/62 16/12/62 5/5/62 19/5/62 9/3/63
Ernie Forster & Band 25/2/61
Lance Fortune 29/4/61
Fortunes 30/10/65 14/1/67
Foundations 19/1/68 20/4/68 28/12/68 12/1/69
Fourmost 14/3/64


The Four Pennies 21/9/63 29/11/63 31/12/63 22/8/64
Charlie & Inez Foxx 2/11/68 17/5/69
Freddie & The Dreamers 17/8/63 18/12/63 13/6/64 27/8/66
Free 20/2/71
Billy Fury 29/8/59 21/11/59 16/10/65 24/9/66
G
Gengis Khan 26/12/70
Gerry & The Pacemakers 4/5/63 21/9/63 7/3/64 18/12/65
Julie Grant 17/1/64
Groundhogs 14/11/70
Reg Guest Combo 16/6/62
H
Russ Hamilton 28/3/58 6/11/59
Tommy Hansen Showband 5/1/63
Wee Willie Harris 9/5/59 11/11/61
Jet Harris & Tony Meehan 8/3/63 22/6/63
Bill Hayley & The Comets 2/9/64
Ted Heath 3/5/57
Hedgehoppers Anonymous 11/12/65
Heinz 20/6/64
Jimi Hendrix 6/5/67
Clarence Frogman Henry 31/12/69
The Herd 19/8/67 30/8/69
Herman’s Hermits 4/9/65
Johnny Hobson Skiffle 8/11/57
Michael Holliday 29/3/57
Hollies 17/4/63 1/2/64 29/8/64 20/2/65 2/10/65 30/5/66 30/7/66
Honeycombs 4/12/65
John Lee Hooker 22/5/65
Engelbert Humperdinck 8/3/67
I
Impressions 16/9/68
Big Dee Irwin 4/4/64
Ivy League 13/3/65
J
J. J. Jackson 2/8/69
Root’n Jenny Jackson 6/9/69
Tony Jackson & The Vibrations 24/10/64 5/6/65
Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers 26/5/62 20/11/64
John St John 23/8/69
David John & Mood 2/5/64 17/6/65
Johnny & The Hurricanes 2/2/63
Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon 10/10/70
Juicy Lucy 24/10/70
Mary Johnson 22/3/69 4/10/69
Paul Jones 23/1/67
Tom Jones 10/4/65 26/6/65
K
Eden Kane 9/9/61 6/5/62 20/4/63 23/5/64 7/11/64 24/12/65
Johnny Kidd 4/3/61 12/10/63 11/4/64 12/9/64
Ben E. King 28/3/69
Sammy King & The Voltairs 24/5/64
King Bees 22/5/64
King Bros. 4/10/57 3/2/61
King Size Taylor & The Dominoes 19/6/64
Kinks 8/8/64 4/6/66 1/10/66 28/1/67 2/9/67 6/1/68
Kathy Kirby 10/1/64
Ivor & Basil Kirchin Band 12/5/66 22/3/57 31/5/58
Billy J. Kramer 4/5/63 2/11/63 9/5/64 5/12/64
L
Cleo Lane 9/2/57 10/3/62
Don Lang
and the Frantic Five 17/1/58 2/10/59
Jerry Lee Lewis 19/5/62 15/10/66
Vic Lewis & Orchestra 2/11/57
John Leyton 13/10/62 23/2/63 10/8/63
Terry Lightfoot 12/8/61 21/1061 15/10/68
Little Richard 17/5/64 26/11/66
Humphrey Littleton 11/5/57 11/1/58 14/11/59 14/1/61
The Locomotive 7/2/70
Dennis Lotis 22/11/57
Love Affair 15/6/68 21/9/68 18/10/69 19/9/70
Love Sculpture 1/2/69 9/8/69
Lovin’ Spoonful 8/11/69
Lulu 10/10/64
Kenny Lynch 19/8/61
M
Ken Mackintosh 7/2/58 28/11/59
Pete Maclaine and The Clan 24/8/63
Manfred Mann 15/5/64 31/7/65 16/4/66 3/12/66 13/5/67
The Marauders 10/11/62
Marmalade 27/7/68 1/11/69
Tex Matthews & The Caribbean Steel Band 26/3/65
Chas McDevitt & Shirley Douglas 6/4/58 19/6/59
Medicine Head 12/6/71
George Melly with Mick Mulligans’ Band 1/6/57 12/4/58
Merseybeats 9/1/65 24/4/65 22/1/66
Bob Miller and The Millermen 5/12/69
Gary Mills 20/1/61 5/8/61
Garnet Mimms 23/11/68
Mindbenders 11/2/67 10/8/67 30/12/67
Mojos 16/10/64
Chris Montez 12/4/63
The Mood 20/11/65
The Moody Blues 20/3/65
Lionel Moreton Four 24/8/63 21/9/63 25/2/67 5/8/67 27/10/67
Move 4/5/68
Mungo Jerry 3/4/71 4/9/71
N
Nashville Teens 23/1/65
Nero & The Gladiators 13/5/61 16/9/61
New Savona Orchestra 17/2/61
The Nice 26/10/68
Jimmy Nichol & The Shubdubs 28/11/64
P
Pacemakers 28/7/62
Jack Parnell 22/2/57
Peppi & The New York Twisters 20/4/62
Johnny Peters & The Crestas 6/10/62
Sid Phillips & Band 21/9/57
Piltdown Men (Sons of) 10/8/63
Pink Floyd 30/9/67 10/2/68
Pinkertons’ Assorted Colours 5/3/66
Robert Plant 17/2/68
Platters 19/10/68 7/6/69 6/12/69
Brian Poole & The Tremeloes 31/8/63
Mike Preston 24/3/61
Pretty Things 29/5/65 14/1/67
Dickie Pride 18/4/61
P.J. Proby 7/8/64 27/3/65 7/8/65
15/1/66 16/3/68
Bobby Purify 13/12/69
Q
Tommy Quickly 10/8/63 30/5/64
R
Rainmakers 20/7/63
The Ramrods 17/11/63
Terry Randall & Band 25/5/57
The Rattles 24/4/64
Ravens 23/6/62
Otis Redding 1/4/67
Ken Reece & Band 2/8/63
Andre Rico 5/12/58
Richie 21/2/70
Danny Rivers 17/2/62
Smokey Robinson 7/9/68
Tommy Roe 26/10/63
Rolling Stones 1/5/64 25/7/64
Max Romeo 13/9/69
Ronettes 3/8/68
Jimmy Ruffin 6/3/71
S
The Saints 27/4/57
Sam & Dave 1/4/67
Chris Sandford 22/2/64
Mike Sarne 25/8/62
Screaming J. Hawkins 25/2/65 23/2/69
The Searchers 25/1/64 16/1/65 19/6/65 20/11/65
Del Shannon 1/6/63
Helen Shapiro 2/10/64
Sandie Shaw 18/9/65
Small Faces 6/11/65 19/2/66 22/4/67 18/4/69
The Smythe Bros. 21/6/69
Sounds Incorporated 17/6/61 29/11/61 19/5/62
Spencer Davis Group 12/3/66 28/4/66 3/7/66 3/9/66 7/1/67 19/5/67
7/11/67 2/3/68
Dusty Springfield 17/1/64 8/1/66
Crispian St Peter 5/3/66
Edwin Starr 12/10/68 24/1/70
Status Quo 23/6/68 26/9/70
Cat Stevens 4/3/67 10/6/67
Swinging Blue Jeans 10/4/64 14/11/64
T
Booker T. & The M.G.s 1/4/67
Felice Taykor 19/10/68
The Temperance Seven 24/3/62
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee 21/10/61
Joe Tex 18/1/69
Them 6/3/65 2/4/66
Carla Thomas 14/2/70
Johnny Thunder & The Thunderbeats 29/1/65
Johnny Tillotson 30/10/64
The Toledoes 6/5/61
Traffic 24/2/68
Tremeloes 29/4/67 13/1/68
T-Rex 23/1/71
Troggs 13/8/66 18/11/66 25/11/67 9/3/68 24/12/69
Ike & Tina Turner 27/4/68
Twinkle 1/5/65
U
The Undertakers 28/2/64
Unit 4 Plus 2 15/5/65
Uriah Heap 15/5/71
V
Ricky Valance 15/4/61
Van der Graff Generator 6/11/70
Vanity Fair 15/11/69
Malcolm Vaughn 13/6/59
Gene Vincent 28/1/61 8/3/61 17/6/61 24/11/64 2/9/64
Viscounts 17/11/61
W
Junior Walker 20/10/67 25/1/69
John Walker 26/8/67 7/10/67
Gary Walker (Leeds) 29/3/68
Walker Bros. 24/7/65 27/8/65
Bob Wallis & The Storyville Jazzmen 4/8/62
Geno Washington 2/12/67 12/4/68 14/9/68 29/11/69
Chris Wayne 28/1/61
Mary Wells 10/5/69
Alex Welsh & Band 10/8/57 2/6/62
Keith West 23/9/67
White Plains 3/10/70
The Who 11/9/65 29/1/66 1/10/66 11/11/67
Marty Wilde 8/2/64
Danny Williams 24/2/62 30/3/63
Windmill 3/1/70
Tobias Wolfe 31/7/71
Stevie Wonder 14/10/67
Brenton Wood 31/1/70
Y
Yana 16/10/59
Yankee Clippers 17/9/71
Yardbirds 26/3/66
Yes 24/4/71
Jimmy Young 18/1/57
Z
The Zephyrs 12/6/64
The Zombies 19/12/64

[Hroogar]

Many really great memories of Th'Imp.
Your list is extremely comprehensive!!!
The great nights I had were seeing............... The Beatles, Freddie & the Dreamers, Marty Wilde, The Temperance Seven, Swinging Blue Jeans, The Searchers, Dusty Springfield, Brian Poole & the T's, Merseybeats, ManfredMann, Billy J Kramer & the D's, Hollies, Herman's Hermits, The 4 Pennies, Cilla Black, Kenny Ball,
Think that's all ....... you have brought back some great nights with good mates at that time, the place was rocking. Thanks conyoveijo.....

[Rubstuds]

I'm sure that I saw Free down there when I was fourteen. Also Genesis. They aren't on the list. Saw Van der Graff Generator along with about ten other folk.

[LoveCurryPies]

I was only a kid but seem to remember Chubby Checker’s name used to be on the posters. And what about Chuck Berry?

[Bosscat]

I worked with a bloke we nicknamed Del because he had a Del Shannon fixation... He was chucked out of the Batley Varieties for trying to get on stage... security broke his arm he reckoned............

He told us he first saw Shannon live at The Imperial


He was allegedly banned from buying tickets for Shannons later tours due to his fixation.

[Foreverly Claret]

Bloody 'ell...where did you get that list from ? Brought back GREAT memories of when I went there with my old mate Steve (Canada Claret ).My favourites at the Imp were the Hollies and the Searchers...I've looked everywhere for a copy of the book...any ideas.Anybody remember a lad called Tony Holgate ( Kris Ryan and the questions )...he went to BGS in the late 50s / early 60s...I found a copy of his EP at a record fair recently...wonder what happened to him.

[LeadBelly]

I worked with a bloke we nicknamed Del because he had a Del Shannon fixation... He was chucked out of the Batley Varieties for trying to get on stage... security broke his arm he reckoned............

Could he not have runaway
run, run, run run runaway?

[ClaretTony]

I was just too young to have seen some of those top names locally at Th’Imp. It was one of the must go to venues for all the best.

[claret54]

1960s was a great time to be growing up in Nelson/Burnley. Best football team in the country and you could see all the best groups at the Imp. I particularly remember sing Manfield Mann, Sadie Shaw and Dusty Springfield.

[Bosscat]

1960s was a great time to be growing up in Nelson/Burnley. Best football team in the country and you could see all the best groups at the Imp. I particularly remember sing Manfield Mann, Sadie Shaw and Dusty Springfield.

Were Manfield Mann and Sadie Shaw tribute acts








Sorry m8 couldn't resist

[Steve1956]

We used to catch the bus over to the Imp from Rawtenstall,think the only band I can remember seeing there was The Mick Abrahams band not on the list,hitchhiking home at the end of the evening was fun,we must have been accosted by every paedophile in Colne,Nelson and Burnley good fun though.

[Wile E Coyote]

great list, no idea so many big names went there !!
I saw curved air, but it was later than your year.

[mikeS]

Would have loved to have seen many of those bands play the Imp.
Did anyone see Hendrix play there? May 67, what did he play ?

[Wile E Coyote]

Would have loved to have seen many of those bands play the Imp.
Did anyone see Hendrix play there? May 67, what did he play ?

my guess would be a guitar.

[Bosscat]

We used to catch the bus over to the Imp from Rawtenstall,think the only band I can remember seeing there was The Mick Abrahams band not on the list,hitchhiking home at the end of the evening was fun,we must have been accosted by every paedophile in Colne,Nelson and Burnley good fun though.

[Steve1956]

I didn't mean good fun with the paedo's

[Steve1956]

my guess would be a guitar.

Could have played the crowd.

[Bosscat]

I didn't mean good fun with the paedo's

[Wile E Coyote]

wonder if the bands just jumped in the van and left, or were they staying over locally? must've been odd seeing hendrix wandering about on scotland road.
I know for a fact jagger had his haircut on colne road the day the stones appeared at the imp,

[conyoviejo]

Seem to remember some of them stopping in the Zoo.(Lord Nelson)

[evensteadiereddie]

That is one of hell of a list, conyov. You were so lucky to see any of those acts, never mind most.

[conyoviejo]

That is one of hell of a list, conyov. You were so lucky to see any of those acts, never mind most.

Yes,Eddie,great times ..There ars some fantastic acts on there .. It still amazes me how they attracted them all down to play at Nelson..

[beddie]

We used to drive over from Malham, well the ones that could drive anyway, usually about six of us squashed into a small Morris van. Mostly Saturday nights but occasionally Friday and Sunday. I have a vague recollection that Sunday night was just a Disco or maybe the drinks were cheaper, not sure exactly what, perhaps someone can put me right on that. Great memories.

[ShakyLee]

I saw Jimi Hendrix (his name was spelt wrong on the posters). He sang Hey Joe, Purple Haze & The Wind Cries Mary in his set. He also appeared to play guitar with his teeth at one point. I don't think Chuck Berry played at Th'Imp, but he did appear at King George's Hall. Some weeks I would watch Burnley and go to Th'Imp in the evening, although the only time I really remember was Lochhead scoring all 4 goals as we beat Villa and then seeing Little Richard. I saw soul singer 'Fat Boy' Billy Stewart who doesn't seem to be on the list, Bo Diddley, Duane Eddy, Troggs, Nice, Manfred Mann, Simon Dupree & The Big Sound, P J Proby & quite a few more. Actually Jerry Lee Lewis only appeared once, as the second date was cancelled when his flight from USA was cancelled due to fog. Screaming Jay Hawkins missed his second appearance too - billed together with 'The Fantastic' Johnny C, only Johnny C actually played.

[Hroogar]

Following my post 2 above, brought back further memories - living in Burnley Lane at the time and having little money, used to walk with my mates from around BrowHead to Brierfield and call in the Greyhound Pub - they had a MEN ONLY room at the rear which we used to go in for a few pints.
Then we continued our walk to the Imp. Having had a few drinks at the Imp, only a few cos you could never get to the bar! We used to walk back from the Imp to the Baltic Fleet or the Old Duke for a few more pints (Used to walk there and back as money was a bit sparse then!) It was great to go on a Saturday night after the Clarets had won talking about Jimmy Mac, Ray Pointer, John Connelly......the whole area was out drinking, a great era for Burnley.

[dougcollins]

What a list, wow.
Robert Plant was one of the many that stand out, literally months before Led Zep were formed.Bonzo could have easily played that gig also, he was good mates with Plant prior to Led Zep.

[Wile E Coyote]

not sure if this is accurate, but i think stewart copeland played drums for curved air down the imp, he married the singer i know that's correct.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

not sure if this is accurate, but i think stewart copeland played drums for curved air down the imp, he married the singer i know that's correct.

I saw Curved Air at Nelson Imp...Think it was 1975...If not 1976...Stewart Copeland would be the drummer at this time and he was married to Curved Air singer Sonja Kristina...……The DJ must have played Thin Lizzy The Rocker half a dozen times...He was plugging Lizzys gig at The Imp just a couple of weeks later....Unfortunately another blaze destroyed the place before Lizzys performance.

[Royboyclaret]

Fair play to the op in compiling such a comprehensive list......And what a list it is.......Some of the greatest global rock bands of the era, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Fleetwood Mac, Free, to name but a few. Just sensational.

Difficult to pick any holes in the list but (and I'd be interested to hear the views of conyoviejo on this) the date of 21/9/63 brought a smile to my face to see both The Lionel Morton Four and The Four Pennies appearing on the same bill.

[Wile E Coyote]

I saw Curved Air at Nelson Imp...Think it was 1975...If not 1976...Stewart Copeland would be the drummer at this time and he was married to Curved Air singer Sonja Kristina...……The DJ must have played Thin Lizzy The Rocker half a dozen times...He was plugging Lizzys gig at The Imp just a couple of weeks later....Unfortunately another blaze destroyed the place before Lizzys performance.

wow ! never knew lizzy were due to play, thanks for the update, , that does sound right.

[The Enclosure]

Certainly saw The Temperance Seven .blimey was that 1962? I had just turned 18 then.

[conyoviejo]

Fair play to the op in compiling such a comprehensive list......And what a list it is.......Some of the greatest global rock bands of the era, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Fleetwood Mac, Free, to name but a few. Just sensational.

Difficult to pick any holes in the list but (and I'd be interested to hear the views of conyoviejo on this) the date of 21/9/63 brought a smile to my face to see both The Lionel Morton Four and The Four Pennies appearing on the same bill.

Royboy,I used to go down Th'Imp most weekends from 1967 ish until it burnt down and thought it would be interesting to see just who had appeared down there as I would have seen most of them.. The list is a gathering from different web sites I found about Th'Imp.. Although it's pretty accurate (I think) There are bound to be a few discrepancies on it,just like the one you pointed out..

[basil6345789]

Billy Stewart was defo on I saw him. He had his bass player and best mate "Jelly" with him. Some Barlick greaseballs were heckling him but he sorted them out
About that time when Garnet Mimms was on. Then there were all those fake Roy Tempest groups...........

[Vino blanco]

Where's my name on that list? In the sixties I played drums for a band called The Purple Hearts and we played down the Imp two or three times. We actually played on the Wednesday or Thursday night when the Beatles played at the weekend.

[Better Call Saul]

I’ve some great memories of the Imp. Here’s just a few of them.
The first band I so on stage was the Beatles, not a bad start. Problem was I only so them for about 10 seconds. I only lived a couple of minutes walk from the Imp and was taking my dog a walk when I came over the canal bridge on Carr Road and the emergency doors were open with a bouncer on duty as they were bring out a girl that had fainted. I persuaded the bouncer to let me have a quick look so that I could tell my mates I’d seem the Beatles.
About 1964 I was walking home from school which was a stones throw from the Imp (Whitefield Secondary Modern) with some mates after a game of football. The back door to the Imp was open and we could hear the sound of a band playing. When we walked up to the door there was nobody about to stop us going in so that just what we did. We eventually manage to get right into the ballroom where Herman’s Hermits were rehearsing for the nights performance. Some of you may remember that they used have about 3 row of sofas in front of the stage as a divide between the dance floor & the stage. We’d gone this far without getting court so we decided to sit down on the front sofa just a few feet about from the band. Unbelievable Peter Noone the lead singer of Herman’s came and sat down with us and we ended up talking football and in particular Burnley. Seem to remember him telling us he was a Manchester United supporter (glory hunter).
The first band I so as a paying customer was the Small Faces about 1966 or 67.
The best act I so a the Imp was the Ike & Tina Turner Show with the Ikettes in 1968.
Finally my biggest regret was missing the Otis Redding Show on 1st April 1967 with tickets costing 15 shillings. How about this for a line up. As well as Otis, on the bill was Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Booker T and the MG’s and the Mar-Keys.

[Vino blanco]

There's been a few mentions on here for Booker T and the MGs. Trivia fact, his full name was Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr.. The reason for the band being called the MG's is not absolutely certain, though it is reckoned it stood for Memphis Group.

[basil6345789]

Where's my name on that list? In the sixties I played drums for a band called The Purple Hearts and we played down the Imp two or three times. We actually played on the Wednesday or Thursday night when the Beatles played at the weekend.

Doctor Pill and The.......

[basil6345789]

Would have loved to have seen many of those bands play the Imp.
Did anyone see Hendrix play there? May 67, what did he play ?

Saw him alright. Played Hey Joe, Purple Haze and some from Are You Experienced. Think his new release was Wind Cries Mary, which he nailed.
We thought he was great but were also curious coz of his work with such as Isley Bros, Curtis Knight and Wilson Picket. Quite soulful stuff, actually.
Upstaged Cream.

[redwasp]

Great times. The admission price when I started going in '64 was 10/6 (52p). The Byrds played their first British date there one Wednesday night. There used to be double decker buses at the top of Carr Road to get back to Burnley. I once got told a story that some groups used to wait at the police station 'til all the fans were inside and then get taken down, one night the 'STONES were there and Jagger was playing snooker when he tore the cloth and got a right good bollocking off the sergeant.

[Siddo]

The artist list is taken from the book by Steve Chapples. It was reissued a few years ago and was on sale in the Electron in Burnley.
A lot of the soul artists would appear at the Imp around 11pm and then play the Twisted Wheel all nighters in Manchester later on.

[Espia]

When I first saw the OP's list I thought this can't surely be true ... this must surely be a wind up. But reading several further contributors posts then I guess it must be true. Quite staggering ! ******** ... why wasn't I around then. The past is always the good ole days.

[Guitargeorge]

We were mates with a Preston band called David John & the Mood. They came to the Derby in Scotland Rd before they went on stage and then we would see them after the show for a party somewhere. Great R’n’B band in the true sense of the genre. Played great Bo Dudley, Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters covers. They went on tour with the Rolling Stones and I remember the NME calling them “Stones copyists”.

[houseboy]

Mainly for the "older posters" on here ..Who went down Th'Imp ? And which groups did you see? Here's a list of the groups that played down Th'Imp.. I used to live down there most weekends and managed to see most of these .. How sad is that .

great times though and great musical memories..

NELSON IMPERIAL BALLROOM
LIST OF GROUPS PLAYED THERE..

Aldritch
& the Squadronnaires 15/2/58 26/9/59
Amen Corner 25/5/68 4/4/69
Animals 15/8/64
P.P. Arnold 29/5/67 28/7/67 6/4/68
Ashton, Garden & Dyke 27/3/71
Eric Ashworth Jan & Feb 59 All Year
Atomic Rooster 31/12/70
The Avons 27/1/61
B
The Bachelors 9/5/59 25/9/64
KennyBall 22/9/62 10/12/62 19/10/65
8/10/69
Bunny Bakers’ Broadcasting Band 22/3/63
Kenny Baker 24/5/58 20/3/64
Long John Baldry 11/12/64 16/12/67
The Bandwagon 21/12/68
Chris Barber 9/3/57 19/10/57 8/9/62
Barron Knights 18/6/64
John Barry 12/2/61 20/5/61 8/12/61
30/3/62 18/8/62 6/3/63
Beatles 11/5/63 31/7/63

Paul Beattie Skiffle Group 27/4/57
Jeff Beck 5/8/67
William Bell 31/8/68 30/11/68 24/5/69
Cliff Bennett 15/9/62
Ivy Benson All Girls Band 25/3/61
Dave Berry 27/5/67 23/12/67
Mike Berry 19/8/61 11/8/62 23/2/63
The Big Three 8/1/66
Acker Bilk 28/5/60 5/10/63
Cilla Black 27/3/64
Blodwyn Pig 12/12/70
Bluto 2/1/71
Bob & Earl 31/5/69
Brook Bros. 6/1/62
Joe Brown 14/11/63
Eric Burdon 12/8/67
Johnny Burnette 9/11/63
The Byrds 3/8/65
C
Johnny C 22/2/69
Eddie Calvert 23/10/59
Caravelles 19/10/63
Ronnie Carroll 2/3/62
Rhodes Carroll & Orchestra 12/3/65
Casuals 9/11/68 23/8/69
The Chants 26/6/64
Dick Charlesworth & The City Gents 17/3/62
Chicken Shack 27/6/69
Chiffons 17/6/67
Clyde Valley Stompers 28/4/62
Coasters 15/2/69
Alma Cogan 23/5/59
Colosseum 16/4/71
Ken Colyer Jazzmen 3/3/62
Arthur Conley 1/4/67
Jess Conrad 6/4/62
Jimmy Crawford 23/6/62
Cream 8/4/67
Crying Shames 15/10/66
Crystals 3/8/68 23/11/68
Cuddly Duddly 12/9/59
Cupids’ Inspiration 17/8/68
Curved Air 28/2/71
D
Dallas Boys 22/9/61
Mike Daniels & The Delta Jazzmen 12/5/62
Johnny Dankworth 9/2/57 7/12/57 27/9/58 14/3/59 22/8/59 15/10/60 6/10/61
Tommy Daykin & Band 1957 All Year
Eric Delaney 6/4/57 7/9/57 24/10/59
Terry Dene 6/6/59 15/4/61
The Dennisons 16/11/63
Karl Denver Trio 30/96/61 12/5/67
Bo Diddley 15/4/67
Donovan 12/6/65
Lee Dorsey 25/10/69
Craig Douglas 23/8/63
The Drifters 14/12/68 3/5/69 20/9/69 9/5/70
Dubliners 28/7/67 24/11/67
Johnny Duncan 22/2/58 10/6/61
Simon Dupree & The Big Sound 3/2/68
E
Vince Eager 7/9/63 to judge a beat contest
Eagles 25/5/63
Kenneth Earl 13/6/59
Easybeats 22/5/67
Duane Eddy 11/5/68
Ray Ellington 15/2/57 15/3/58
Equals 5/10/68
The Escorts 20/3/63
F
Adam Faith 2/12/61 14/2/64 21/8/65
Marianne Faithful 8/5/65
Georgie Fame 15/4/65
Flee Rekkers 8/4/61
Fleetwood Mac 5/6/71
Flintstones 5/8/61
Flirtations 24/8/68
Flower Pot Men 4/11/67
Eddie Floyd 1/4/67
Wayne Fontana 14/8/65 18/267
Emile Ford 22/4/60 16/10/62 16/12/62 5/5/62 19/5/62 9/3/63
Ernie Forster & Band 25/2/61
Lance Fortune 29/4/61
Fortunes 30/10/65 14/1/67
Foundations 19/1/68 20/4/68 28/12/68 12/1/69
Fourmost 14/3/64


The Four Pennies 21/9/63 29/11/63 31/12/63 22/8/64
Charlie & Inez Foxx 2/11/68 17/5/69
Freddie & The Dreamers 17/8/63 18/12/63 13/6/64 27/8/66
Free 20/2/71
Billy Fury 29/8/59 21/11/59 16/10/65 24/9/66
G
Gengis Khan 26/12/70
Gerry & The Pacemakers 4/5/63 21/9/63 7/3/64 18/12/65
Julie Grant 17/1/64
Groundhogs 14/11/70
Reg Guest Combo 16/6/62
H
Russ Hamilton 28/3/58 6/11/59
Tommy Hansen Showband 5/1/63
Wee Willie Harris 9/5/59 11/11/61
Jet Harris & Tony Meehan 8/3/63 22/6/63
Bill Hayley & The Comets 2/9/64
Ted Heath 3/5/57
Hedgehoppers Anonymous 11/12/65
Heinz 20/6/64
Jimi Hendrix 6/5/67
Clarence Frogman Henry 31/12/69
The Herd 19/8/67 30/8/69
Herman’s Hermits 4/9/65
Johnny Hobson Skiffle 8/11/57
Michael Holliday 29/3/57
Hollies 17/4/63 1/2/64 29/8/64 20/2/65 2/10/65 30/5/66 30/7/66
Honeycombs 4/12/65
John Lee Hooker 22/5/65
Engelbert Humperdinck 8/3/67
I
Impressions 16/9/68
Big Dee Irwin 4/4/64
Ivy League 13/3/65
J
J. J. Jackson 2/8/69
Root’n Jenny Jackson 6/9/69
Tony Jackson & The Vibrations 24/10/64 5/6/65
Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers 26/5/62 20/11/64
John St John 23/8/69
David John & Mood 2/5/64 17/6/65
Johnny & The Hurricanes 2/2/63
Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon 10/10/70
Juicy Lucy 24/10/70
Mary Johnson 22/3/69 4/10/69
Paul Jones 23/1/67
Tom Jones 10/4/65 26/6/65
K
Eden Kane 9/9/61 6/5/62 20/4/63 23/5/64 7/11/64 24/12/65
Johnny Kidd 4/3/61 12/10/63 11/4/64 12/9/64
Ben E. King 28/3/69
Sammy King & The Voltairs 24/5/64
King Bees 22/5/64
King Bros. 4/10/57 3/2/61
King Size Taylor & The Dominoes 19/6/64
Kinks 8/8/64 4/6/66 1/10/66 28/1/67 2/9/67 6/1/68
Kathy Kirby 10/1/64
Ivor & Basil Kirchin Band 12/5/66 22/3/57 31/5/58
Billy J. Kramer 4/5/63 2/11/63 9/5/64 5/12/64
L
Cleo Lane 9/2/57 10/3/62
Don Lang
and the Frantic Five 17/1/58 2/10/59
Jerry Lee Lewis 19/5/62 15/10/66
Vic Lewis & Orchestra 2/11/57
John Leyton 13/10/62 23/2/63 10/8/63
Terry Lightfoot 12/8/61 21/1061 15/10/68
Little Richard 17/5/64 26/11/66
Humphrey Littleton 11/5/57 11/1/58 14/11/59 14/1/61
The Locomotive 7/2/70
Dennis Lotis 22/11/57
Love Affair 15/6/68 21/9/68 18/10/69 19/9/70
Love Sculpture 1/2/69 9/8/69
Lovin’ Spoonful 8/11/69
Lulu 10/10/64
Kenny Lynch 19/8/61
M
Ken Mackintosh 7/2/58 28/11/59
Pete Maclaine and The Clan 24/8/63
Manfred Mann 15/5/64 31/7/65 16/4/66 3/12/66 13/5/67
The Marauders 10/11/62
Marmalade 27/7/68 1/11/69
Tex Matthews & The Caribbean Steel Band 26/3/65
Chas McDevitt & Shirley Douglas 6/4/58 19/6/59
Medicine Head 12/6/71
George Melly with Mick Mulligans’ Band 1/6/57 12/4/58
Merseybeats 9/1/65 24/4/65 22/1/66
Bob Miller and The Millermen 5/12/69
Gary Mills 20/1/61 5/8/61
Garnet Mimms 23/11/68
Mindbenders 11/2/67 10/8/67 30/12/67
Mojos 16/10/64
Chris Montez 12/4/63
The Mood 20/11/65
The Moody Blues 20/3/65
Lionel Moreton Four 24/8/63 21/9/63 25/2/67 5/8/67 27/10/67
Move 4/5/68
Mungo Jerry 3/4/71 4/9/71
N
Nashville Teens 23/1/65
Nero & The Gladiators 13/5/61 16/9/61
New Savona Orchestra 17/2/61
The Nice 26/10/68
Jimmy Nichol & The Shubdubs 28/11/64
P
Pacemakers 28/7/62
Jack Parnell 22/2/57
Peppi & The New York Twisters 20/4/62
Johnny Peters & The Crestas 6/10/62
Sid Phillips & Band 21/9/57
Piltdown Men (Sons of) 10/8/63
Pink Floyd 30/9/67 10/2/68
Pinkertons’ Assorted Colours 5/3/66
Robert Plant 17/2/68
Platters 19/10/68 7/6/69 6/12/69
Brian Poole & The Tremeloes 31/8/63
Mike Preston 24/3/61
Pretty Things 29/5/65 14/1/67
Dickie Pride 18/4/61
P.J. Proby 7/8/64 27/3/65 7/8/65
15/1/66 16/3/68
Bobby Purify 13/12/69
Q
Tommy Quickly 10/8/63 30/5/64
R
Rainmakers 20/7/63
The Ramrods 17/11/63
Terry Randall & Band 25/5/57
The Rattles 24/4/64
Ravens 23/6/62
Otis Redding 1/4/67
Ken Reece & Band 2/8/63
Andre Rico 5/12/58
Richie 21/2/70
Danny Rivers 17/2/62
Smokey Robinson 7/9/68
Tommy Roe 26/10/63
Rolling Stones 1/5/64 25/7/64
Max Romeo 13/9/69
Ronettes 3/8/68
Jimmy Ruffin 6/3/71
S
The Saints 27/4/57
Sam & Dave 1/4/67
Chris Sandford 22/2/64
Mike Sarne 25/8/62
Screaming J. Hawkins 25/2/65 23/2/69
The Searchers 25/1/64 16/1/65 19/6/65 20/11/65
Del Shannon 1/6/63
Helen Shapiro 2/10/64
Sandie Shaw 18/9/65
Small Faces 6/11/65 19/2/66 22/4/67 18/4/69
The Smythe Bros. 21/6/69
Sounds Incorporated 17/6/61 29/11/61 19/5/62
Spencer Davis Group 12/3/66 28/4/66 3/7/66 3/9/66 7/1/67 19/5/67
7/11/67 2/3/68
Dusty Springfield 17/1/64 8/1/66
Crispian St Peter 5/3/66
Edwin Starr 12/10/68 24/1/70
Status Quo 23/6/68 26/9/70
Cat Stevens 4/3/67 10/6/67
Swinging Blue Jeans 10/4/64 14/11/64
T
Booker T. & The M.G.s 1/4/67
Felice Taykor 19/10/68
The Temperance Seven 24/3/62
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee 21/10/61
Joe Tex 18/1/69
Them 6/3/65 2/4/66
Carla Thomas 14/2/70
Johnny Thunder & The Thunderbeats 29/1/65
Johnny Tillotson 30/10/64
The Toledoes 6/5/61
Traffic 24/2/68
Tremeloes 29/4/67 13/1/68
T-Rex 23/1/71
Troggs 13/8/66 18/11/66 25/11/67 9/3/68 24/12/69
Ike & Tina Turner 27/4/68
Twinkle 1/5/65
U
The Undertakers 28/2/64
Unit 4 Plus 2 15/5/65
Uriah Heap 15/5/71
V
Ricky Valance 15/4/61
Van der Graff Generator 6/11/70
Vanity Fair 15/11/69
Malcolm Vaughn 13/6/59
Gene Vincent 28/1/61 8/3/61 17/6/61 24/11/64 2/9/64
Viscounts 17/11/61
W
Junior Walker 20/10/67 25/1/69
John Walker 26/8/67 7/10/67
Gary Walker (Leeds) 29/3/68
Walker Bros. 24/7/65 27/8/65
Bob Wallis & The Storyville Jazzmen 4/8/62
Geno Washington 2/12/67 12/4/68 14/9/68 29/11/69
Chris Wayne 28/1/61
Mary Wells 10/5/69
Alex Welsh & Band 10/8/57 2/6/62
Keith West 23/9/67
White Plains 3/10/70
The Who 11/9/65 29/1/66 1/10/66 11/11/67
Marty Wilde 8/2/64
Danny Williams 24/2/62 30/3/63
Windmill 3/1/70
Tobias Wolfe 31/7/71
Stevie Wonder 14/10/67
Brenton Wood 31/1/70
Y
Yana 16/10/59
Yankee Clippers 17/9/71
Yardbirds 26/3/66
Yes 24/4/71
Jimmy Young 18/1/57
Z
The Zephyrs 12/6/64
The Zombies 19/12/64

Coliseum - only time I ever went there. Great band and great night.