Over the past five years SalfordOnline.com has been recording the young musicians of the Beat generation who came up through Salford and Eccles bent on world domination.
To name but a few we’ve highlighted the histories of Shades of Blue, Karl’s Marals, The Rogues, The Moorons, and The Chasers; all of whom sought chart success and the glory that went with it.
All this creativity was marshalled in October 1965 by the setting up of one of Eccles’ first ever music recording studios.
In 1960 local businessman Arthur Robinson bought an old fish and chip shop on Liverpool Road and ripped out the fittings, turning it into a haven for music-lovers called The Disc Centre.
It was that rare thing nowadays – a popular record store and music shop selling instruments, strings, sheet music and more.
In 2015 it’s reverted to type as The Godfather pizza and kebab shop.
In his day Robinson was quite the local music mogul.
In 1964 opened his second record store, buying out the old Royle and Leson’s pet shop in Queen Street, Eccles – now occupied by the Post Office – and called it The Music Box.
But his greatest triumph was fostering the local music scene by installing a full-fledged £2,000 recording studio in a former guest house upstairs at The Disc Centre.
Arthur told the Eccles and Patricroft Journal’s music correspondent ‘Tempo’ that he had been working on the recording studio for several months and it could now be put to good use by the many beat groups in the area.
He was able to make demo tapes immediately, and to turn records and tapes to disc in just three days – extremely speedy for the time.
1965 was an era of moral panic over amphetamine-fuelled kids, as several historic court cases on the ‘pep pill peril’ prove.
Read: 16-year-old Salford girl in court on ‘Black Bomber’ drugs charge
Read: 50 years ago in Salford: Teenage kicks see boy, 17, in court for 4,000-pill theft
But despite the distractions of drugs and potential fame and glory, the focus in Eccles was purely on the music.
Sadly what we don’t know at this stage is whether the recording studio ever produced a chart hit.
Did any bands cut a disc there for this budding Brian Epstein?
Contact Local History Editor Tony Flynn by email to tonyflynn@salfordonline.com
With thanks to Brenda Jean Cogswell
