Recalling the joint that was jumping on a Saturday night

John looks at the picture (inset) of himself with Ray Ellington. DA7714P3LOOK along the High Street in Amesbury and there is no visible sign of the place that, half a century ago, had the joint jumping every Saturday night.

Ray Ellington, Ronnie Scott, George Melly, Jack Parnell, Chris Barber and many other star names in swing and jazz made the journey to this small Wiltshire town to pack the New Theatre Ballroom, billed as the biggest ballroom in the south, for one of its regular dance sessions.

The ballroom's beginnings were modest, recalls John Poole, who ran the place during some of its most glorious years.

Until the A303 was diverted to sweep past Amesbury's door, the main road to the west country ran straight through the heart of the town.

The Fairlawn Restaurant and Corner Garage, owned by Melville Christie, were ideally placed on the High Street to catch passing trade.

With the build-up of military personnel in the immediate area during the second world war, shrewd Mr Christie saw an opportunity to increase business and converted the building, used for car sales, into a unit where dances could be held.

With a number of professional musicians posted to the area as part of the war effort, he installed a resident band, led by Lloyd Shakespeare, and the ballroom rapidly became the focus of entertainment for the troops and their girls.

"The venue was a success with many a Saturday night dance being broadcast by the BBC with guest artists such as Terry Thomas," says John (82), who still lives in Amesbury with his wife of 56 years, Doreen.

John had worked for the Naafi in the immediate post-war years, but then moved to Christie's garage as a mechanic.

Before long, he found himself shunted next door to cook in the Fairlawn Restaurant. "I was cooking up to 90 breakfasts a morning," he remembers.

In his spare time, he fronted his own band - he had been a semi-professional musician and vocalist since he was 16.

In the 1950s, Anna Valley Motors took over the Corner Garage and, with it, the Fairlawn Restaurant and New Theatre Ballroom.

Managing director Walter Lansly decided the ballroom could stay, but changes had to be made to make it a more commercial proposition.

A curved front was fitted to the stage with new velvet curtains and backdrop, and state-of-the-art Strand Electric stage lighting, complete with four colour changes and dimmers, was installed.

"It made the stage as "hot" as the music in the years to come," says John.

A resident manageress was appointed to run the restaurant and, once Mr Lansly discovered that John had his own dance band, John was offered the job of running the ballroom with regular slots for Johnny Poole and his Music.

The band featured Ken Ranger, who had run his own band in Durrington, on piano with Jack Casey on drums and Ron Casey on tenor sax.

Bill Penny, a friend of John from his teenage years, played lead alto sax for about two years until his expanding business interests took up his time.

Civil servant and former RA Bandsman Tich Broad, now a Chelsea pensioner, was on trumpet, with John completing the line-up on double bass and Jackie Day, a singer from Salisbury, as vocalist.

"We had a front page write up in the Melody Maker with a picture of Jackie," says John.

"She was offered an audition with the Kirchin Band but had just married Keith Cull from Amesbury.

"They have been living in Australia for many years but, on her visits back home, she has called to our house to say hello and recall those days."

Band members came and went - Bobby Johnson (trombone), "Jock" Chalmers (alto and clarinet), Tommy Thomas (alto), Reg Tanner (piano) and Taffy Donlan (trumpet) among them.

"The snack bar was run by Mrs Ball - there was no bar and the only time alcohol was on sale would be our special New Year's Eve celebration," John says.

Dances were held twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays with entry charge at five shillings and once a month a name band was booked through top London agency Harold Davison of Regent Street.

Ray Ellington and his band played twice, once fronted by Marion Ryan - mother of pop singing twins Paul and Barry Ryan - and then by Valerie Masters.

The Johnny Dankworth Seven with Cleo Laine came to Amesbury, returning later as the Johnny Dankworth Big Band.

Ronnie Scott brought all the leading players of the day with him, George Melly was there two or three times, and Chris Barber, Lonnie Donigan, Acker Bilk, Geoff Love, and Tubby Hayes all appeared on the New Theatre Ballroom's stage.

The Rolling Stones stopped by as well, but not to play.

"They were on their way to a television appearance and had broken down," says John.

"They were so smart, very clean and very quiet.

"They used our phone and signed a menucard for me, which I gave to my son Nigel - he promptly swapped it for something else."

The ballroom was not only the haunt of celebrities.

Wedding receptions and private parties as well as the occasional concert were held there, but so too were veterinary clinics, as the band room was turned over to the Dalton veterinary practice once a week.

The RAC used another room to prepare road signs for local functions and a small lock up shop at the front doubled as a dry cleaning collection point.

But the New Theatre Ballroom is probably remembered most as the place where many an Amesbury chap met the girl who was to become his bride.

"I still get people talking about it - they were good days," says John.