Anyone Remember No 13
INTERVAL ATTRACTIONS
While meetings now often struggle to run fifteen heats in less than two hours, we look back at times when promoters staged events at the interval to complete the nights entertainment and which brightened up the evening.
Promoters often added a special event to a meeting in the 50s and the 60s, particularly for one where the opposition weren't really a great draw.
Johnnire Hoskins was one of the first proponents of this added value. In his early days as promoter at Glasgow White City he often came up with interval stunts to grab the fans attention and attendance too. His greatest coup was undoubtedly getting Harry Lauder along to the White City. He was a real superstar in his day and, it would seem, was a bit of a speedway fan too.
Sitting beside Cordy Milne’s father in the stand, Lauder found out that he came from Aberdeen, and subsequently told the crowd this when presenting a trophy to Milne, adding that this made Milne a Scot, something that seemed to strike a cord with Ian Hoskins in terms of later declaring various riders were Scottish or of Scottish parentage - Ron Johnston and Charlie Monk being notable examples.
While 1953 would prove to be Tigers last stand of that era, Ian Hoskins staged a couple of memorable interval stunts. The Tigers had made good progress in the National Trophy, and after four rounds had drawn Birmingham, the powerful First Division side in the quarter finals. The Brummies ran up a huge 70-38 win at Perry Barr, leaving Hoskins with a virtually “dead” second leg, which would be staged just days before the Glasgow Fair holidays, traditionally a poor crowd night. However, always a showman, he secured the services of Kitao, an Egyptian “yogi”, who it was said would “will” the Tigers to victory. This got extensive press coverage and a larger crowd than could otherwise have been expected turned up to see the fun. The yogi lay on a bed of nails and had a concrete slab placed on him which a Tiger subsequently broke with a sledge hammer. All good stuff! May be the yogi did influence the outcome as Tigers won 56-52, although this may have been down to the Brummies tracking their reserves in the final race. May be the “yogi” willed the Brummie team manager into this selection. Aye may be!
An otherwise mundane visit from Coventry was spiced up by billing that it would have the appearance of Scotland’s own Lady Godiva and sure enough she duly appeared riding a white horse the length of the home straight. While wearing a body stocking, it was still pretty risqué for the time.
When Edinburgh reopened in 1960, Hoskins interval attractions were again to the fore. His attractions varied from the standard events, like Beauty Queen, Donkey Derbies and Mime contests, the latter drawing an “Ugh!” manuscript comment in one of my programmes of the time, to the decidedly outlandish – high wire acts like the Great Marcello and the presumably equally Great Orsini and Marianne and also Pierre The International Clown and his Crazy Car. Local pop groups - featuring such notables as "Old Baily and his Trad Jazz Advocates", "Zodiax", apparently Edinburgh's answer to The Beatles, and "The Blue Raven Rock Combo".
With announcer Don Cumming , an STV producer, having many valuable showbiz/TV connections, various TV personalities were invited along - Larry Marshall of "One O'Clock Gang" fame, Bill Tennent an STV newsreader, Eric Milligan an STV chef, and Doreen Keogh and Ivan Beavis - better known as Coronation Street's Harry and Concepta Hewitt
Other Hoskins "staples" involved pie eating contests, a soap box derby and the Beat The Goalie contest, featuring Scotland’s greatest goalie – himself! With memories of a 9-3 defeat at Wembley in 1961 fresh in our minds, he may be didn’t have too much competition!
Over at The White City, Trevor Redmond invited along Bobby Shearer, the Rangers captain, Walter Mc Gowan, a boxing champion, amongst others.
Hoskins, with an eye on Edinburgh's long term future post Old Meadowbank, invited along a few city councillors, including Treasurer Brechin who was put on the spot and declared "Edinburgh Corporation is honour bound to accommodate the sport elsewhere in Edinburgh should the redevelopment of Old Meadowbank go ahead" - another politicians promise unfulfilled.
Elsewhere Reg Fearman staged a couple of memorable half time stunts at Stoke - Igor Baranov, apparently a Russian defector , but more likely a none too successful second halfer previously trying out in Edinburgh; Ray Humphries aka Tyburn Gallows, said to be an assistant hangman - capital punishment still being on the statute books in the early 1960s - hanging an effigy of a Cradley rider - apparently entertaining at the time, though the News of the World thought otherwise.
Exeter weren't to be left out, staging a a high wire act diving into a six foot water tank. Len Silver, ever the showman, climbed the tower . but made the mistake of jumping off it - just stepping off would have resulted in a lower entry velocity - and hit the tank so hard he was concussed.
Motorcycle display teams
Demonstrations by the Royal Artillery Display team were popular in the 60s, but I wonder if a lot of thought went into the scheduling of these displays. Quite incongruously Coatbridge had them as an interval attraction on a night when they were staging a double header against Exeter and Leicester in 1968. While their display might have given the Lions, who were second on the bill, time to get into the pits and warm up their bikes, it was going to add further to an already lengthy night. To compound this, Ray Wilson was the Silver Sash holder giving a further race, and one that was started no fewer than three times. A really late night in Lanarkshire. Leicester too featured these guys the following year, having them on at the interval of the 20 heat East Midland Open Championship.
In a slightly different vein, Mike Parker brought the Cyclo Maniacs Stunt Team to Brough Park when Newcastle raced Glasgow in 1967, possibly to compensate fans as top riders Ivan Mauger and Charlie Monk were missing the meeting as they were booked to ride in The Internationale at Wimbledon. The Maniacs routines included the Flaming Garden Shed, Brick Wall, Tunnel of Fire with their finale, the Plate Glass Window, being described in rather broken English as “Cuts are always received during this, sometimes severe”. Hopefully the fans felt this made up for missing the Mauger/Monk clashes this fixture usually brought.
Ian Hoskins during his year at Newcastle booked in sidecars in a night which provided both more and less entertainment than expected. After a crash a riderless sidecar careered into a lamp standard fusing the lights beyond repair and causing an early finish to the night.
Mopeds and motor scooters
Glasgow’s White City saw some motor scooters races in the late 60s. With times close to two minutes, music was played throughout the races which were a bit of a laugh, but the novelty soon wore off. London’s White City had previously staged some composite events in the mid-50s which included match races featuring Aub Lawson, Barry Briggs and Ronnie Moore riding Vespa scooters. In recent years the Isle of Wight have tried such races while Glasgow featured mobility scooter races for supporters before a meeting.
Hoskins later adopted this “try it yourself” approach at the hot rods at Motherwell when spectators were invited to try a one lap record attempt in their own cars. One or two hairy moments and spectators vowing “never again”.
WHAT INTERVAL ATTRACTIONS DID YOUR TRACK STAGE?
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