For BBC Music Day on Friday June 9, all 40 BBC local radio stations in England are teaming up with the British Plaque Trust to unveil 40 historic Blue Plaques celebrating iconic musicians and venues.
Apparently the world of music is lacking famous faces nationally, so now is the time to even up the score.
I know a bit about plaques. I helped get the Coventry Stars in Priory Place set up, then later the 2-Tone Trail and finally The Coventry Music Wall of Hits.
Indeed, I was once known as the Plaque Adder. Oh dear! So I thought I would give my guide to some of the people and places you may want to vote for, bear in mind, any artists can no longer be alive.
Some of the venues that first spring to mind would have to be Tiffany’s/Locarno. All the 2-Tone bands graced the stage here. It’s where Pete Waterman began his life in music. There’s that famous Led Zeppelin gig compete with bomb hoax, and it’s where Chuck Berry recorded “My Ding A-Ling”.
The Lanchester Polytechnic (Coventry University) has also had its moments, The Specials, ELP, Genesis, The Clash, The Sex Pistols and so many more played the Main Hall.
Other sites you may consider worthy are Mr George (Pistols, punk and Automatics), The Coventry Theatre ( The Beatles, Laurel & Hardy, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix). The Co-op Hall in Nuneaton saw the Beatles play there, The Eclipse nightclub that gave a legal rave. Horizon studios maybe, or how about The General Wolfe, once a major player in the city that hosted the likes of U2, Roy Harper and Robert Plant.
Then there is Coventry Cathedral and John & Yoko’s trip there in 1968.
As for ‘real people’, where bear in mind they must have passed on, the list is not huge. Lovers of British music hall may go for comedian Reg Dixon (I’m Proper Poorly), T E Dunville (a legend of a man earning £100 a week in the Victorian era). Hollywood star Dennis King, Leamington band leader Jack Payne, legendary drummers Bobbie Clarke, session ace Paul Brook or Prince Rimshot, John Bradbury. Maybe the first Coventry lady to release a record, Beverley Jones.
You may want to vote for the man who gave us The Moody Blues, Coventry’s own Tony Clarke, or clarinet ace and mega musician with The Reluctant Stereotypes, Steve Edgson, Squad man Gus Chambers will be also be a popular choice, I suspect.
So a lot to choose from there, here’s my top three:
At number 3. Matrix Ballroom, where The Beatles played in 62.
At number 2. Woodbine St Studios, Leamington, Where Ghost Town was recorded.
1. My number one is 104 Cedars Avenue, where Delia Derbyshire lived. I often say to our museum visitors, if Delia was alive now, I very much suspect she would be Dame Delia Derbyshire for her pioneering work in electronic music, especially for realizing The Doctor Who theme and bringing electronic music to the masses.
A Coventry road is soon to be named in her honour, and in May we at The Music Museum have a weekend of events to commemorate what would have been her 80th Birthday.
Her genius has been compared to that of Leonardo da Vinci, Archimedes and Isaac Newton. I think she is the only real contender. But there again, you may not.
To vote go to bbc.co.uk/localradio or send an email to. [email protected]. it closes on February 26.
