The Blue Plaque have been used in Britain since the mid-1800’s to denote the locations of significant events in the lives of the famous and influential.
In a normal year, only two to a half dozen plaques are placed around the U.K. but, for this year’s BBC Music Day (June 15), 47 new Blue Plaques saluting important locations and people in music, are being added to the British landscape.
BBC English Regions controller David Holdsworth says: “It is hugely prestigious to receive a British Plaque Trust Blue Plaque, usually only around two are awarded each year. To mark BBC Music Day across BBC Local Radio with 47 blue plaques is a fitting way to commemorate our listeners’ passion and pride for where they live and to celebrate our musical heritage.”
Led Zeppelin are honored with two plaques including the location of their debut performance and the birthplace of John Bonham while three revolve around David Bowie.
The new Blue Plaques:
Fox and Hounds Pub, Caversham – Venue of the only performance of John Lennon and Paul McCartney as The Nerk Twins on April 23, 1960
Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle – Location of Led Zeppelin’s U.K. debut on October 4, 1968.
84 Birchfield Road, Headless Cross – Birthplace of John Bonham
Trident Studios, London – Studio where David Bowie recorded many of his albums
Royal Star Arcade, Maidstone – Location where The Manish Boys (including David Bowie) played.
Hull Paragon Station, Hull, Yorkshire – Train station used frequently by the Spiders From Mars (Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, Mick “Woody” Woodmansey
Royal British Legion, Gloucester – Plaque saluting John Entwistle
The Square, Woking – Home of Status Quo’s Rick Parfitt
The Brighton Dome – Venue where ABBA won the Eurovision song contest
University of Derby Art School – School that Kevin Coyne attended
Port Vale Football Club – Salute to Lemmy Kilmister whose Ace of Spades is used by the club
Far Leys – Location where Nick Drake grew up
Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University – Location where Syd Barrett went to art school
Beehive Cottage, Morton – House where Steve Marriott lived from 1968 to 1977
Byfield Village Hall – Location of Sandy Denny’s last performance on April 1, 1978
The Globe, The Tees – Location where Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett wrote Summer Holiday for Cliff Richard and the Shadows
Three Tuns, Bishop’s Castle – Location where Jeremiah Patrick ‘Jerry’ Lordan wrote Apache and other Shadows hits
The Buttery, North Kensington – Location of Emile Ford’s performing debut
Birmingham – Plaque saluting Nusrat Feteh Ali Khan
Gaumont Theatre, Salisbury – Venue where Buddy Holly & the Crickets played on March 22, 1958
Blue Horizon Studio, Oxford – Studio used by Status Quo, XTC, Duran Duran, Radiohead
The Bamboo Club, Bristol – Venue where Bob Marley, Desmond Dekker, Percy Sledge, Jimmy Cliff and Ben E. King played
Watford Colosseum – Arena that saw performances by The Who, Robbie Williams and Oasis
Harbour Lights, Southampton – Venue where Jimmy Kennedy got the idea to write the song Harbour Lights
The Stables, Milton Keyes – Venue founded by Sir John Dankworth and Cleo Laine
The Guilderdrome, Boston, Lincolnshire – Dance venue where numerous big artists performed
Eric’s, Mercyside – Club where the Clash, the Police, Ramones, Echo & the Bunnymen played
Alan Erasmus’s flat, West Didsbury, Lancashire – Founding location of Factory Records
Marine Hall, Fleetwood, Lancashire – Location of first public performance of Alfie Boe
104 Cedars Avenue, Coventry – Home of electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire
Aspatria Parish Church, Cumbria – Location of first professional performance of contralto Kathleen Ferrier
Leeds, Yorkshire – Birthplace of composer and conductor Angela Morley
Acorn Centre, Grimethorpe, Barnsley – Home of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band
The Shed, Brawby Village Hall, York – Home of theater that brought in world artists
Lincoln, Lincolnshire – Birthplace of Sir Neville Mariner
Church Langston Primary School, Leicester – Where Eric Pinkett founded the Leicestershire County School of Music and the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra
Nottingham Theatre Royal – Location where contralto Constance Shacklock started her career
Norwich Arts Centre – “Britain’s Best Small Venue” (NME)
The Control Room, Corn Exchange, Bedford – Location of one of seven “safe” performance areas for the BBC during World War II
Penzance – Home of singer and poet Brenda Wooten
The Ham – Home of the Sidmouth Folk Week Festival
Site of St. Julien’s Theatre, Guernsey – Site where Domenico Eusanio Santagelo (1882-1970) composed the music for the island’s anthem Sarnia Cherie
Jersey – Venue where John Fry Lobb formed and conducted many choirs
East London – Plaque saluting Haroon Shamsher who fused Bengali music with soul
East London – Plaque for Saifullah ‘Sam’ Zaman (aka State of Bengel), DJ
