BATLEY venue Origin is launching a new programme of live entertainment, recreating the days of the Batley Variety Club, which drew big stars.
We've dipped into our archive to look back at the famous club. One of the North's biggest venues, it attracted big names such as Louis Armstrong, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Gene Pitney, Neil Sedaka and Roy Orbison, who married one of the club's waitresses.
Pictured above is Jimmy Corrigan, who founded Batley Variety Club, pictured there in May 1968. The previous year, Jayne Mansfield (also pictured above) had appeared at the club as part of a regional tour that also saw her visit Bradford's Kirkgate Market, Brighouse, Baildon Moor and Harry Ramsden's in Guiseley, where she ate fish and chips!
Also pictured are Eartha Kitt, striking a sultry pose by the club sign when she appeared at the venue back in 1968; Shirley Bassey, who was there in 1978; Louis Armstrong, who delighted fans at the club in 1968; and Des O'Connor, who is pictured relaxing in his dressing-room back in 1968.
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