Charles Hippisley-Cox writes
Although our British Dance Band Collection is predominantly concerned with popular music between the two World Wars, we have some examples of recordings made at the point where Ragtime was about to morph into Jazz. One of the most interesting combinations was a group of American Black musicians based at the fashionable Ciro’s Club. Here they are in 1917
We are looking to recruit an outgoing, enthusiastic and committed individual to work in the University Archives in its multi-award-winning facility Heritage Quay.
You will act as the first point of contact for customers accessing the archives in the research room or via remote enquiries, and you will assist in the day-to-day care of the heritage collections, accessioning and listing collections in Calm (collections management software).
You will have a good general education including GCSEs in English and Mathematics (or equivalent qualifications) and you will have good IT skills. You will be able to demonstrate your experience of dealing with customers in a pressurised environment and your commitment to providing a high standard of customer service. You will also be able to work effectively as part of a team and possess good interpersonal and communication skills.
Closing date Monday 8th July 2019.
For more details and to apply on line please go to https://vacancies.hud.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?VACANCY_ID%3d9612904qbM%1BUSESSION=D390FBEC2E814B8DBEFA5B707325322B&WVID=47489100QU&LANG=USA
Charles Hippisley-Cox writes about a new addition to the British Dance Band Collection
This was not a big seller and a good clean copy has only recently been added to the Heritage Quay British Dance Band Collection. It is Eric Coates’s delightful “By The Tamarisk” played by Jack Hylton’s Orchestra.
Hylton’s Orchestra was a major stage attraction by 1926 and exploring material well beyond the normal expectations of a dance band. Coates was enjoying the success of his Three Bears Suite and Selfish Giant at the time Hylton added “By The Tamarisk” to their repertoire
Charles Hippisley-Cox writes:
Amongst the 12,000 “pre-vinyl” 78s in our British Dance Band Collection are examples of around 200 different record labels. One particularly rare and sought-after brand can be seen here at the start of this video. It is the very short-lived “Gold” Edison Bell label which was only in existence for about 18 months in 1933-4. The rest of the video features still photographs of the Joe’ Loss band. Joe led one of the best British bands of the 1930s and he was still active as a bandleader until his death in 1990.
Charles Hippisley-Cox writes about his British Dance Band collection:
The first authentic jazz recordings in the UK were “waxed” exactly 100 years ago this month during April 1919. A group of young guys has just arrived from New Orleans and had taken London by storm. Columbia swiftly saw their potential and whisked them off to their recording studios and issuing a series of very important recordings. We have a full set of the “Original Dixieland Jazz Band” Columbia 78s in the British Dance Band Collection held at Heritage Quay and here is a link to one of their UK recordings; Satanic Blues:
Following the launch of the England Netball archives early in March 2019, President of England Netball Lindsay Sartori was interviewed on The Netball Show about the history of the sport. Take a listen here:
Charles Hippisley-Cox writes
Here’s another recent addition to the British Dance Band collection here in the Heritage Quay. It represents exactly what was happening in popular music at the end of the Ragtime era before the arrival of jazz. The band was based at Lyons’ Corner House, Coventry Street, London with an instrumentation based on a lead violin, two banjos, piano and drums. Recorded in March 1918 and issued on the Winner record label that had adopted a rather dull colour during the austerity of WW1. Jazz “proper” arrived exactly 100 years ago by boat with the visit of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Next month we will be celebrating this by sharing their first London recording which was in April 1919″
Netball is a boom sport and now its origins and development can be traced by visitors to Heritage Quay.
It has become home to the England Netball Heritage Archive, a large collection of documents, pictures, videos and memorabilia covering the history of “women’s basketball” – as it was originally known – from 1897 to the present day, including recent highlights such as the exploits of the England team, which vanquished Australia to win Gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Based on American basketball, netball was created in England in 1897 at the Bergman-Österberg Physical Training College for Women, in Dartford. By 1900, the rules had been published and the game soon spread across the British Empire.
The All England Net Ball Association was founded in 1926 and in 2016 the modern body England Netball was awarded a grant by the Heritage Lottery Fund to mark the sport’s 90th anniversary by creating an archive.
When the anniversary celebrations had concluded, England Netball sought advice on the best permanent home for the collection, and the UK’s National Archives recommended the University of Huddersfield’s Heritage Quay.
One of the most publicly accessible and advanced facilities in the sector, it also houses the archives of the Rugby Football League. Now it becomes even more attractive to sports historians and enthusiasts by homing the extensive England Netball Heritage Archive, which is fully catalogued online.
At a special launch event, guest speakers included Liz Nicholls CBE, a former netball international herself who is now CEO of UK Sport. Current England Netball CEO Joanna Adams also spoke, and there was a welcome from the historian Professor Tim Thornton, the University of Huddersfield’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor. Also speaking was Councillor Mumtaz Hussain, the Deputy Mayor of Kirklees Council.
After the opening speeches, netball enthusiasts at the launch event were the first to have the opportunity to examine items in the archive.
Joanna Adams said: “Netball has grown massively and been thrust into the limelight, especially over the last 12 months since the England team won the Commonwealth Games for the first time in history. It is wonderful to now be able to look back on how it all began thanks to this archive, and to see how netball got to where it is today.
“I hope others enjoy sharing in the history of this sport as much as I do.”
Sarah Wickham, the University’s Archivist and Records Manager, said: “We are delighted that England Netball have deposited their archive with Heritage Quay. This is a significant addition to our sporting collections. Building on netball’s recent high profile successes, we look forward to welcoming researchers interested in exploring the sport’s rich history, and working with England Netball to develop the archive in the future.”
To donate or loan netball memorabilia to the Netball Heritage Archive, contact ournetballhistory@englandnetball.co.uk.
The special event at Heritage Quay coincided with the University of Huddersfield hosting the Under-17 Europe Netball Championships, taking place in its sports hall.
Story originally published at https://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2019/march/england-netball-heritage-archive-huddersfield/