Through his methodical research and genuine passion for music, he has managed to trace every artist who ever appeared in Halifax during the Swinging Sixties.

What his reasearch uncovered was that Halifax, remarkably, was at the cutting edge of the live performance of the British pop music scene and beat group boom.

The result is Small Town Saturday Night, a book which takes the reader on a musical journey through this fascinating decade, with over 500 illustrations and more than 150 previously unpublished photographs.

"People have often said to me I should write a book and so I thought 'why not?' There has been a lot of research and the story just seemed to get bigger as I started putting it together," he says.

Chatting to Trevor you realise there is little he doesn't know about the 1960s pop music scene in Halifax.

Venues, concert dates and names like Gene Vincent, Marty Wilde, Billy Fury, Adam Faith, Cliff Richard and The Shadows, Dusty Springfield, PJ Proby, Shirley Bassey, Kathy Kirby, Russ Conway, Rod Stewart, trip off his lips.

Some were just starting out in their careers while others were well on their way to stardom.

"When Cliff appeared in October 1959 he had already topped the British pop charts for six weeks with Living Doll, so it was the equivalent of Robbie Williams coming to Halifax," he reveals.

"He was the first home-grown teenage sensation and when he appeared in Halifax he opened the floodgates to a decade of live performances which really did put Halifax firmly on the map as a venue for top performers," he says.

The book chronicles these fascinating times, beginning with the showing of Rock Around The Clock at the old Gaumont Cinema.

This momentous event signalled the start of the teenage revolution and Trevor goes on to reveal how venues such as the Victoria Theatre but more often the Odeon Cinema, drew in big names like The Searchers, Brian Poole and The Tremeloes and Dave Berry and The Cruisers.

"The Victoria Hall at that time was in private ownership and a shambles. In fact Shirley Bassey described it as a dump," he says. "When it closed, the Odeon became the venue for all the shows."
The battle to stage the shows forms a crucial part of the book and Trevor records the competition for live concerts between the venues. It also describes the popularity of traditional jazz and how three local wrestlers, Big Daddy (Shirley Crabtree) and his brothers Brian and Max, promoted dances to herald the beginning of teenage music in the dance halls.

Trevor, was born and brought up in Halifax. He is now 65 and every bit as fanatical about music as he ever was.

He founded Calderdale Hospital Radio and is still a regular presenter. Profits from his book are going to hospital radio funds.

Work has begun on a new volume which will concentrate on Halifax's dance halls: "It soon became apparent while working on the book that there was too much information to squeeze into just one volume," he laughs.

Ticket details
Meet Trevor at the Courier's very first literary lunch – Meet The Authors, which takes place at Berties's Banqueting Rooms, Elland , on Thursday, May 22, from 11.30am. The event, which is sponsored by Finn Gledhill solicitors, also includes guests BBC Look North weatherman and author Paul Hudson and Marion Chesney, aka M.C. Beaton, creator of fictional detectives, Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin.
All three authors will speak about their writing before signing copies of their books.
The event includes a three-course Yorkshire lunch and tickets cost £23.50 or £210 for a table of 10. They are available from Courier reception, King Cross Street; Brighouse Echo, West Park Street; Todmorden News, Fielden Square; Hebden Bridge Times, Crown Street or by ringing 01422 260358 with credit card or debit card details.


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