Swept away by a Wurl's wind
I never thought I would spend a Sunday afternoon listening to a mighty Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ.And I certainly never thought I would enjoy it as much as I did.
This small chord of a bygone time is very much alive and thriving, having lived at the New Victoria Centre in Howden-le-Wear for More than 20 years, and continues to draw a good crowd.
It¹s not hyperbole to call the Wurlitzer mighty: imagine a giant piano that has collided with a jolly three-storey wedding cake that is also attached to a piano, percussion unit and umpteen bells.
Then imagine that the bit you see is only the beginning, because there are also several rooms back stage full of pipes, panels, and automatic coffee makers.
The whole thing weighs tons and tons and requires a technician in attendance at each performance.
And the sound is impressive too.
If you go to a concert and look down the aisle you¹re sitting in mid-tune, everybody is tapping their feet or playing an imaginary piano quietly on their knee.
The music is thunderous in parts and then, all of a sudden, it will flow into a quieter, more melancholy stretch before galloping off into a march.
Listening to Kevin Grunhill play made me think of heroines tied to railway tracks and silent movie stars like Harold Lloyd and Clara Bow.
The fact that the mighty Wurlitzer is here at all is thanks to the North East Theatre Organ Association (NETOA), who bought it from the New Victoria cinema in Bradford.
It had become redundant in the 1960s but the association bought it out of retirement, and have been keeping it busy ever since.
Concerts, family days, social evenings and members sessions run throughout the year and the association particularly encourages young organists to come and practise.
Joe Marsh, who is vice chair and treasurer of the association, said: ³Every August we have a youth concert we always have done and we always will do.
³We give them the full bells and whistles to really encourage young people to have a go.
³Theatre organs are in my blood; I even played on the concert scene for a while.
³We want to give people the chance to get involved and really enjoy it like we do because it¹s a wonderful instrument and a wonderful venue.
³It¹s here to be shared and enjoyed and under other circumstances the organ might be locked away in a private collection for those and only those.² John Heslop, who is chairman of the association, said: ³It¹s good to feel we have preserved a little bit of history.
³There were about 2,500 of these organs built in a factory near to Niagara Falls.
³Only 90 of them came to this country.
³Less than a third are still playing and there are even less playing in buildings open to the public.² ³A Russian folk orchestra visited us and they were really taken with it as there are hardly any organs like this in their country.
³The accordion player just got on and started playing it extremely well which was amazing!²
All in all the Mighty Wurlitzer is the most fabulously un-snobby piece of art ever invented, and, quite frankly, a must-see and must-hear for anybody who likes a good tune and a slice of living history.
If you would like to find out more, visit www.netoa.org.uk