Archive for June, 2007

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Top Ten

Published by Patrick Fox June 28th, 2007 in Bold Street News and History of Bold Street. 3 Comments

10 Interesting FACTS about Bold Street to dazzle your friends, you’ll be a hit in your local pub with these pearls of wisdom.

1. Bold Street was laid out in the 1770’s
2. The street is named after Jonas Bold a local slave owner, merchant and banker.
3. The Lyceum was built to house a gentlemen’s club and was the first subscription library in Europe.
4. Number 100 Bold Street was built to house Louis Daguerre’s Diorama and opened it’s doors in 1825.
5. C.Ferranit, father of Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti innovator in the development of electrical engineering was born at 130 Bold Street in 1864.
6. Phillip George Barraud developed the idea for the famous HMV logo His Masters Voice whilst practicing from 92 Bold Street
7. During the 1980’s, a development plan known as the Shankland Plan proposed to totally cover Bold Street in glass thus making it an indoor shopping area.
8. There are a few apparent secret passages underneath the pavement in Bold Street, one has been discovered running from Foners to an unknown location – the reasons for this are unknown.
9. Bold Street is the first place Doris Mercer (project contributor) saw a poodle.
10. Famous bands including, The Beatles, The Smiths, Maximo Park, the Stone Roses, The Swans, New Order, Midge Ure and Echo & The Bunnymen have all played on Bold Street.

Busker of the Year

Published by Patrick Fox June 28th, 2007 in Community of Bold Street, Exhibition and Your Stories. 0 Comments

Bold Street has become a stage for some fantastic busking talents over the years, some of whom have contributed to the exhibition. Bold Street Bill is featured in an interview and also appears on the album cover of band Jonas Thomassen & JT Scam’s latest album titled Bold Street while Barry has featured heavily in a film by artist’s Foreign Investment.

We’ve also been lucky enough to receive a specially recorded message for the exhibition from Liverpool-based acoustic singer songwriter Alun Parry who started his career on Bold Street and was subsequently voted as the “Liverpool Echo Busker of the Year”.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

All three of these fantastic performers’ work can be found in the exhibition.

I Just Called To Say…..

Published by Patrick Fox June 28th, 2007 in Podcast and Your Stories. 0 Comments

I Just Called To Say “Bold Street” I Love You

In an effort to allow as many people as possible to contribute to the project, we set up a dedicated Bold Street hotline. The number, 0151 324 1555 allows callers to talk about their memories or indeed impressions of the street. These calls are then transformed into podcasts available via itunes, an example of which can be found here.

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

The phone number has been promoted for the past two months via the BBC Big Screen in Clayton Sq, Radio Merseyside and a promotional postcard. This line is still active so please ring with your opinions of the exhibition and Bold Street Stories.

Foreign Investment

Published by Katie Lips June 28th, 2007 in Cultural History of Bold Street, Radical, Freethinking Bold Street and Video. 0 Comments

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All female artists’ group Foreign Investment were invited by Liverpool Culture Company and Alan Dunn to produce a new piece of work that built on the strengths of Liverpool City Centre. Over two days in July 2006 they presented “Tuning-in Op.3″ featuring buskers serenading workers on the site of the Grosvenor, Hanover Street and Bluecoat developments, flyposted graphics, an exhibition at PolishedT and the same buskers, including Bold Street regulars Barry and Phil, touring Bold Street and the city centre on a horse-drawn cart, playing to static audiences rather than the other way around.

You can watch the film on Google Video, and also as one of our Bold Street Podcast episodes. For documentation, see: http://www.alandunn67.co.uk/diversions/

The Bold Street Project, exhibition update

Published by Alan Dunn June 28th, 2007 in Exhibition. 0 Comments

CCTV, Thursday 17.15pm and install in progress

CCTV, 28.6.07Install, 28.6.07

 

Bold Street eagle arrives

Published by Alan Dunn June 28th, 2007 in Exhibition. 1 Comment

This morning our art handler Ben brought the eagle to its new position in The Bold Street Project. The eagle itself is thought to be over 150 years old and has been out of public sight for over 20 years. It formerly rested above a magnificent onyx fireplace in he Reception Lounge in Radiant House on Bold Street and now takes pride of place in the Media Lounge at FACT. Big thank you to the North West Historical Gas Society who recovered the eagle and later the National Gas Archives in Warrington who have cared for the sculpture in recent years.
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Memories of the Mardi Gras

Published by Katie Lips June 28th, 2007 in Cultural History of Bold Street, Guests and Video. 41 Comments

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If you haven’t heard of the Mardi Gras on Bold Street then you probably aren’t into music and didn’t live in Liverpool in the late eighties or nineties. The Mardi Gras is synonymous with the dance and club scene and was a Bold Street, and Liverpool favorite. Club Promoters Jason and Mark Jones managed the Mardi in its heyday, and recently talked to Laura Yates about the club, its history and some of their favorite nights. Laura interviews Jason and Mark in a series of episodes covering everything from the history of the club to the night the Stone Roses played. You can watch all of the episodes on Google Video. A selection has also been added to the Bold Street Video Podcast. Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Working with Chambré Hardman

Published by Katie Lips June 28th, 2007 in History of Bold Street and Your Stories. 0 Comments

We have been lucky to be able to include an insight into working with photographer E. Chambré Hardman. A trip to the Hardman House on Rodney Street recently uncovered an amazing audio interview with Mrs Betty Lindsay speaking about her work at E. Chambre Hardman’s studio in Bold Street. The interview was recorded at her home, 4th August 2004.

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Thanks to Sarah-Jane Langley at Mr Chambré Hardman’s Home and Photographic Studio, 59 Rodney Street, Liverpool.

Contributors and Supporters

Published by Patrick Fox June 28th, 2007 in Bold Street News. 0 Comments

Contributors

So many people have contributed, collaborated and supported this project, they are in no particular order:

Debbie and Simon from National Gas Archives, Joseph Sharples, David Lewis
Steve Binns, Everyone @ FACT, Trudy & Lesley from Madam Foners, Douglas from Puscka, Sean Halligan, Dave Woods, Simon Robertshaw, Mandy from News From Nowhere, Liverpool Record Office, Lancashire Record Office Preston, Kate Cowie Utility, David from David’s hair design, Gordon from Minskys, Doris Mercer, Doreen Preston, Liz Gould Greenpeace, Peter Gorman, Audrey Thomas, Roger Hill, Roger Phillips, Annie Davies, Karen Jeff’s of Bold Street, June Ross and Tina Emma Bridal Wear Bold Street, Margaret Peter Kay photography Bold Street, Gordon Hill, Jim Flinn, Amy Deegan, Agnes Curnow, Mrs Gorman, Stewart Watts F.A Welch, John from Radiant House, Margi Clarke, Peter Blaze, Colin Wilkinson, Mrs Brown, Mr O’Donnell, Mrs Doyle, Lesley Cantor, Jean Carlow, Jean Grant, Jo Abley North West Film Archive, Stephen Blundell., Florence Gurston, Katie Chadwick National Museums Liverpool, Pamela Raman Lord Mayors Office, Mark Jones Mardi Gras, Bold Street Bill, Phil (Busker), Barry(Busker) Jeff Davis Probe Records, Johnathan Helga (Shed KM), David Cafe 53, Keith Fireside World, Bernard Fallon, Ambrose Reynolds Urban Strawberry Lunch, Jed Oxfam, David J Colbran, Kate McNichol Merseyside Police, Jayne Casey, Patrick L A Productions, Joanna Rowland National Museums Liverpool, Ramsay Campbell, Anne Gleave National Museums Liverpool, Liverpool Medical Institute, Looks Leather Goods, Arabella Stewart, Victoria Skeet & Emily Burnigham The National Trust, Sean Hawkridge, Jegsy Dodd, Frederick Jones University of Liverpool, Alun Parry Busker of the Year, Brian Beamish, Bren O’Callaghan, Doreen Potter, Lesley and Ian at the League of Welldoers, Ron Formby at Scottie Press, The Down Memory Lane Group at the Lee Jones Centre, Karen Sampson at Llyods TSB group archives, Bernard Fallon, Ken Marsden, Frank Green artist , Fred O’Brien , David Charters at Post and Echo, Mark McNulty, Olivia Greenberg, Radio Merseyside, Ciara Moloney, Jonathan Swaine, all of our Flickr friends, Sarah-Jane Langley, Dolly, John, Vera, Kath, Mark H, Mark D, Steve, Warren, Mavis, Steve and many many more.

And obviously a big thanks to everyone on Bold Street past and present.

If we’ve forgotten you, we’re sorry!

Binn There, Done That!

Published by Patrick Fox June 28th, 2007 in Cultural History of Bold Street, History of Bold Street and Video. 0 Comments

In May we spoke to local City Council Community Historian Steve Binns. Steve agreed to a filmed interview and talked about Bold Street in the 1800’s. He gave a real insight into the atmosphere at the time and the significant changes that have occurred to the street over the decades.

Also, prior to our conversation we had very little detail about Jonas Bold (whom the street was named after), and it was Steve himself who confirmed that Jonas was in fact a prominent slave trader. Click here to watch the interview.

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The Bold Street Project in Metro

Published by Alan Dunn June 28th, 2007 in Bold Street News, Cultural History of Bold Street, Exhibition and Work in Progress. 0 Comments

An interview with Katie Lips about The Bold Street Project, Metro, Wednesday 27 June 2007.

Metro 27.6.07

We Love The Lyceum

Published by Patrick Fox June 27th, 2007 in History of Bold Street. 1 Comment

These placards are outside the Lyceum on Bold Street. The building was built in 1800 and is the street’s only listed structure. Originally built to house the first Gentlemen’s Subscription Library in England, the building has had an eventful 207 years.
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Raiders of Lost Architecture

Published by Patrick Fox June 27th, 2007 in History of Bold Street. 0 Comments

Laura and I recently paid a visited to Lancashire Record Office and came across some hand drawn architectural drawings of work both proposed and completed on Bold Street. These drawings date back to the mid 1800’s and a selection of the images will be available on Flickr soon.

Many thanks to the Record Office in Preston.
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The Eagle Has Landed…

Published by Patrick Fox June 27th, 2007 in Exhibition. 0 Comments

This fine Golden Eagle sat above a magnificent onyx fireplace in the Reception Lounge at Radiant House, now the home of HMV and Argos.

Prior to this it graced the facade of the Woolright building which occupied the site of Radiant House and over the years the eagle been the subject of much rumour. In many mythologies, the eagle represents the sun, the fountain of “radiance” and many believe this is the reason for it’s pride of place within Radiant House.
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The eagle is at least 150 years old and will be landing for the exhibition open to the public this Saturday.

I’m Sticking With You!

Published by Patrick Fox June 27th, 2007 in Bold Street News. 0 Comments

Just gone to print are these Bold Street Stickers - a perfect addition to your laptop, jacket, bag, phone or fridge, the stickers will available on Friday in Ropewalks Square from 5.30.

These stickers are the new black and are set to be a must have this summer, don’t leave home without yours.
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Hairy Records

Published by Ciara Moloney June 27th, 2007 in Cultural History of Bold Street and History of Bold Street. 0 Comments

Compiling street directories from 1893, 1924, 1929, 1935, 1960 and 2007, we have built up a partial picture of the activity on Bold Street over the past century. Here are some interesting things we gleaned from this search:

In 1893 John H. M’Clelland is described as masseur and electrician. Whether this is an example of a multi-talented individual or a printing error, is one of the many mysteries of the Gore’s Directories. At number 8, Bell & Co. listed as blouse specialists in 1924 are described in the 1929 directory (presumably correctly this time) as house specialists. At number 34a, in 1924, a Madame Nedgma is listed as a “palmiste”, whereas a few years later, in 1929, Madame Nedjma is listed as a “mental scientist”. Whether one should interpret this as a slick piece of rebranding, or a printing error- or perhaps a combination of the two- is open to debate!

Another possible connection which struck us, was the prevalence of tailors named Gould on the street. Leslie Gould, tailor worked from number 122 Bold Street in 1929. In 1935, a Lazarus Gould worked as a costumier in number 76 and in 1960, Joseph Gould was a tailor in number 5.

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Courtesy of Liverpool Record Office

Finally, the 1960 directory features an ironic twist, with the number of electrolysis salons outnumbered only by furriers. If anyone has any information about these people, please contact us at boldstreet@fact.co.uk

Virgin on Bold Street

Published by Ciara Moloney June 26th, 2007 in Exhibition. 0 Comments

Reading Richard Branson’s autobiography, Losing My Virginity today, we discovered that in March 1972, one of the first Virgin Records Stores ever was opened on Bold Street.

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Apparently, the shop was the place to be seen for the teenagers of Liverpool, as a place to smoke marijuana and to lounge about upon the pillows provided. When this got out of hand, a doorman was enlisted to remind customers that Virgin was a shop, not a nightclub. If anyone has any photographs of the Bold Street Virgin store, has any stories to tell us about it, or even if you knew that doorman, we’d love to hear from you at boldstreet@fact.co.uk

The Bold Street Project, exhibition update

Published by Alan Dunn June 26th, 2007 in Exhibition. 0 Comments

Here is a CCTV shot of FACT’s Media Lounge with The Bold Street Project exhibition build in progress. Michelle Wren’s Bold Street collage model will fit in and around this carousel/bench construction with all the digital content in the windows and doorways of the model and an AppleTV video jukebox at the side (Tuesday 1.47pm).

Bold Street Project CCTV

Public art controversy on Bold Street, 1960

Published by Alan Dunn June 26th, 2007 in Exhibition. 1 Comment

The unveiling of a new piece if public art by local artist Robin Riley for Bold Street is reported in The Daily Post on 19 September 1960: “The draperies fell and there was the sort of silence in which everyone was wondering what to say … a child let out a howl … and a man with a beard said ‘Dreary old Liverpool strikes again’.

There is an emergency meeting of the Bold Street Association and “the statue itself is given police protection” before being removed after only three days. Interestingly, at the time Councillor Maguire of Crosby comments that he “would have liked it put on the Blundellsands sea front” … currently home of course to Anthony Gormley’s 100 iron figures.

Reproduced from John Willet’s “Art in a city” with thanks to Bryan Biggs at Bluecoat who is currently writing a foreword to a reprint of this seminal early 60’s book to be published by Liverpool University Press.

Robin Riley thumb

Beatles on Bold Street

Published by Ciara Moloney June 26th, 2007 in Exhibition. 1 Comment

Perhaps it was inevitable, but we at FACT are still excited to discover that the Beatles played on Bold Street! In 1962 the Fab Four played twice in the slightly dingy surrounds of The Odd Spot Club at number 89, which apparently doubled as a casino. More photos of this can be found here.

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Image by Alan Swerdlow.

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