Preston Guild Hall memories from Bowie and Quo to Bing Crosby and Morecambe and Wise

The Preston Guild Hall of 1972 was, in fact, late for its first Guild, being completed and opened in November 1972, too late for the pageantry of the Guild. Bad weather and industrial strikes were blamed for the delay and now, five decades and two Preston Guilds in 1992 and 2012 later, it has an uncertain future, writes Keith Johnson.

If we look back to the bygone days of the Guild Hall, there is no doubt it has been at the heart of Preston's civic, social and sporting life. This was a venue that would have a Charter Theatre, Avenham Suite, Celebrity Restaurant, cafeteria, shopping arcade and a Grand Hall.

From its opening, both the Grand Hall and the Charter Theatre became the main focus for concerts, attracting the leading performers of the period. The man responsible for bringing the star-studded acts to Preston was Vin Sumner, who had been in a similar role at Top Rank and was delighted to take on the task of filling the 2,200-seater arena.

The inaugural concert was held on November 11, 1972, and featured the Little Angels of Korea, who, fresh from an appearance at the Royal Variety Performance, delivered a performance of music and dance. After the official opening, local dancers regularly took to the plush ballroom floor to the music of Johnny Wollaston and his resident band.

During the first 12 months, there was often a queue at the box office, with a clamour for tickets to see the likes of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Elton John, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Fats Domino and the Bee Gees on stage. Certainly, they were stars of the 1970s and beyond who entertained us and left long-lingering memories.

Also among the stars were Detroit-born Suzi Quatro, who had two number one UK hits in the early 1970s, and the Bay City Rollers, who appeared in May 1975. Their performance led to mass hysteria among the sell-out crowd. The audience, mainly consisting of teenage girls, were screaming, shouting and singing along to their favourite tunes, including their recent chart-topping single Bye Bye Baby.

Despite the crush as girls rushed towards the stage, where they were confronted by 50 stewards, only a few minor injuries occurred.

In those days, one group that didn't get the chance to appear at the Chartqr Theatre were the Sex Pistols, whose unruly reputation led to Tory Coun Denis Kehoe seeing that they were banned. In September 1977, the legendary Bing Crosby appeared in the Grand Hall and delighted a star-struck audience just three weeks before his death, aged 74.

It wasn't all about pop and rock music though, as in mid-September 1973 Vin Sumner persuaded Morecambe and Wise to appear twice nightly on a Saturday and Sunday, with the best seats in the Grand Hall yours for £2.

Indeed, there would be a cavalcade of comedians and entertainers in the decades ahead, among them Billy Connolly, Max Bygraves, Victoria Wood, Des O'Connor, Russ Abbot, Frank Carson, Mike Harding, Jasper Carrott, Lenny Henry, Al Murray, Bill Bailey and Ken Dodd, who always had an endless supply of jokes — so much so that you were likely to miss the last bus home.

Nonetheless, it was negotiating the appearance on stage of Bob Hope in October 1984 that Vin Sumner regarded as one of his greatest achievements.

Such was the popularity of the Preston venue that it continued to attract the best of comedians and, in 2002, as the Peter Kay debut tour took off, he included three visits to the Guild Hall in his schedule and left the audience in stitches every time.

There were certainly many star-studded occasions when you consider that Iron Maiden in 1983, Johnny Cash in 1984, Meat Loaf in 1985, Deacon Blue in 1988, The Stone Roses in 1989 and Van Morrison in 1992 all topped the bill.

Since the turn of the millennium, Status Quo made four visits from 2001, while the likes of McFly, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, Lulu, Sugababes, Blondie, Busted and Rick Astley all entertained the crowds.

Memories have certainly been stored up and older generations will tell you of the days they saw the likes of the Nolan Sisters, who got you in the mood for dancing, or The Hollies, Genesis, Sir Cliff Richard, Gene Pitney, Dame Vera Lynn, Tony Bennett, Daniel O'Donnell, Engelbert Humperdinck, Bucks Fizz or even, regrettably, Gary Glitter under the spotlights of the Guild Hall stage.

Or you may be one of those who was delighted to see the Strauss Gala, the Massed Bands, the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Syd Lawrence Orchestra, or the Preston Proms of 1983, when a profit of £2,700 was made. Or you may recall watching the Chippendales gyrating on stage in April 1992.

Chances are, if you were a youngster growing up in Preston, you will have visited the Guild Hall for the annual pantomime in the Charter Theatre. Stars such as Helen Shapiro and comedian Charlie Williams in Aladdin in 1988, or a decade later stars from Emmerdale in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, always assured plenty of laughter.

Such was the success that in 1990, as Guy Pearce from Neighbours starred in Cinderella, box office records were smashed as more than 35,000 attended packed performances.

The truth is there has always been a great diversity of performers in the Guild Hall, which was apparent as recently as 2004 when a concert featured music by Mendelssohn and Mozart; the Moscow State Circus arrived; Lord of the Dance stepped forward; and Romeo and Juliet was staged in the Charter Theatre.

Without a doubt, Vin Sumner, who was only accountable to the Town Clerk during his time at the Guild Hall, established the venue as a place for top-class entertainment before his voluntary retirement in March 1986, aged 62, at which point the Director of Leisure took over the role.

Besides attracting the best from the world of entertainment, Vin Sumner, who died in 2000, left behind a legacy that included the development of the venue as a leading arena for many sporting occasions. That is another feature to follow.