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The Granada Theatre Slough opened on 23rd March, 1938 and opened seven weeks after that of the Granada Theatre Welling.  The opening ceremony was officiated over by Leslie Howard who was making Pygmalion at Pinewood Studios.  Mr. Howard was piped down an aisle and up onto the stage to make a speech by The Dagenham Girl Pipers.

The Granada Theatre Slough was not only the first purpose-built Granada that I had ever been inside, but it was also the first cinema I had been to where I was lucky enough to both see and hear a Theatre Organ at close proximity, which meant that I sat in the centre of the front row and was able to get a really good look at the console.  As a child, I had always enjoyed the radio programmes where the cinema organ was played.  I liked to listen to the playing of Sandy MacPherson and was lucky enough to have a request played on From My Postbag.  

Despite these radio programmes being extremely enjoyable, I later realised that there is nothing ……. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that can compare to actually being there and hearing the Organ played in the flesh, so to speak!  (And as they say in certain churches here in the South of the U.S. ……… can I get a witness???)

Sandy MacPherson

Click here to hear Sandy MacPherson play a section From His Postbag on
The BBC Compton Theatre Organ of St. George’s Hall

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The Granada Theatre Slough was equipped with a Wurlitzer Theatre Organ with 3 Manuals, 8 Ranks and a Grand Piano and was introduced to the public at the opening by Dudley Beavan.

Dudley Beavan

I remember watching the Organ as it rose up from a place beneath the stage while the organist played an introductory piece.  Such a sight still causes the hair on the back of the neck to rise!  After the organist completed his selection of tunes, both he and the organ made a spectacular descent back to their place under the stage while his playing was drowned out by applause.

The Wurlitzer Organ of the Granada Theatre Slough

During the time I lived in Langley, I don’t recall my hearing the organ being played too often when I went to the theatre and felt most fortunate whenever I did manage to catch a musical interlude.  The last time I heard The Slough Wurlitzer Theatre Organ played was in 1961 at a matinee performance on a Saturday afternoon when the theatre was showing The Greengage Summer.  Sadly, there was only a small audience present on that afternoon and the applause that the organist received was poor to say the least.

Little did I know that this would be the last time I would enjoy the Theatre Organ at this theatre.  Still, I consider myself most fortunate that I was able to both hear and see it at its original installation and see it rise up and descend into its place in the Pit.  

Gone perhaps, but certainly not forgotten.

The Greengage Summer  Top, Left: Film Poster; Top Right: Susannah York Bottom, Left to Right: Kenneth More, Danielle Darrieux & Jane Asher

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The Wurlitzer Organ of the Granada Theatre Slough was played by a number of great organists over the years.  Reginald Dixon played it during the Second World War while he was stationed at the Royal Air Force Base at Uxbridge and made several gramophone records while playing it.  Here is an example:

Classics of Swing  Reginald Dixon at The Wurlitzer Organ of the Granada Theatre Slough, 1941

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The Organ was removed from the theatre in January 1988 and purchased by a private owner in Sevenoaks, Kent.  In 1991, the organ went into storage at Ivy Hatch, Kent with the possibility of it being installed at the East Malling School.  However, in 1995, it was moved to Somerset where it was restored by Mr. Les Birch and his team and there was discussion about it being installed in a Ballroom venue.  Seemingly this did not happen and the Organ was eventually sold to Mr. Don and Mrs. Dorothy Robinson who installed it in their home at Market Rasen in Lincolnshire.  The Slough Wurlitzer resided in their collection where it was maintained and played by resident tuner, Chris Booth.   The Granada Slough Wurlitzer replaced the Christie Organ from the Plaza/Granada Rugby that Mr. and Mrs. Robinson owned, which has since been sold to a residence in Peterborough.

Today, The Slough Wurlitzer is installed at The Grange Collection(owned by Mr. Jonny Ling at the town of Diss, Norfolk.

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Sadly, like other cinemas, the Granada Theatre Slough  eventually suffered from the fall of ticket sales and despite it being tripled in June 1973, it eventually closed on 19th November, 1987 and was soon demolished.

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PAGE SEVENTEEN CONTINUED
THE ADELPHI THEATRE SLOUGH

The Adelphi Theatre Slough opened to the public in 1930 and was without a theatre organ.  In 1933, the cinema was taken over by Slough Playhouse Ltd. and a second-hand Christie Organ was installed and made its debut in May 1933 with Bruce Wendall at the Console.  The organ had originally been installed at the Empire Theatre Edmonton, which was owned by The Bernsteins, and who had decided to replace it with a Wurlitzer Organ as part of their theatre’s refurbishment.

The Christie Organ from the Empire Theatre Edmonton was later refurbished by Compton where it was converted from a 2 manual 7 unit instrument into one a 3 manual 8 unit.  In addition, a Melotone was added and the instrument was equipped with a new Console.  The revamped organ was first played in April 1937 by Alex Taylor.

The theatre organ of the Adelphi Theatre remained in place until 1971 when it was removed  and broken up. Today, apparently, only the Wurlitizer-style (Granada) ends of the Christie Organ remain and are now attached to the Christie Organ at Castle Hill United Reform Church, Ipswich.

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Frank Hayward (1902-1979)

CLICK HERE to read about
FRANK HAYWARD, resident organist at the ADELPHI THEATRE SLOUGH from 1940-1945