Tom Jenkins Plaza Swansea Christie Organ BBC

Tom Jenkins Plaza Swansea Christie Organ BBC.An organist and Christie organ I had never heard before. Sadly very poor quality! As another 5 minutes from the paper-backed tape, the rest had delaminated all too far sadly and this little section took some detailed bodging to get it to play! But thought it was another historic few minutes of a cinema and Christie cinema organ and organist long gone.
The Plaza Cinema was a grand imposing building on Swansea’s Kingsway. It was the largest cinema to be erected in Wales and it opened on 14th February 1931 with Paul Whiteman in “King of Jazz”. The cinema was equipped with a Christie 3Manual/10 Rank cinema organ which was opened by Tom Jenkins.
Tom Jenkins, a native of Neath, began his musical studies on the piano at the age of seven. Between the ages of twelve and seventeen ne was mainly engaged in piano competitions and Eisteddfodau where he won 185 prizes. His piano teacher, who was also an organist in a large church at Neath, began to give him lessons on the organ, but in less than a year the teacher died and Tom Jenkins took his place as the organist at the age of seventeen.
Eighteen months later he became organist and choirmaster and assisted Dr. Hopkin Evans in forming the Neath Choral Society.
The war broke out, and he joined the Glamorganshire Yeomanry, where he played the clarinet in the regimental band. After the war, he became an assistant organist to
Frederick Dalrymple at Tredegarville Baptist Church. Cardiff, and also served as organist in two other Cardiff churches.
He left Cardiff to take up a cinema job, and for four years worked as an organist for silent pictures. When the Cardiff Plaza opened, Tom Jenkins was appointed musical director of the orchestra from 1926 to 1931, since when he has been the organist and manager of the Swansea Plaza. He gave his first broadcast from there in 1932, and subsequently broadcast every week for years.

[@JohnSBatts-wy6cc]

Another first for me, even though I was taken into a Tom Jenkins' broadcast from The Plaza, Swansea, as a baby -- according to my father who was holidaying nearby!

[@sparkybfg369]

I saw the lovely console of this organ,many years ago,when it became redundant. (The organ had been installed in St Mary's Catholic Church Aldridge,West Midlands. ) Had just been rebuilt,and the surplus console was acquired by the late Steve Tovey.( what a character 😂) not sure wjat happened to it after that. Managed to have a toit on the organ from the new console!😊

[@wurlitzer895]

Hi there, Kevin. A great addition to the series, and not an organist I've come across before. He certainly was a nimble-fingered man!! I very much enjoyed the clip, so again many, many thanks for your painstaking work in getting these recordings uploaded for our enjoyment. If it's not too tactless a question, may I ask from where you obtain these recordings? Peter A :) :) :)

[@BramleyProductions]

Thanks yes this was new to me as I said in another comment answer I have no idea of date of this snippet of this broadcast. Having looked at the BBC index Tom Jenkins was a prolific organ broadcaster right from the early 1930s and by the 1950s it seems he was doing orchestral broadcasts as well for the BBC. The person that taped this from his very old tapes I have to say all the tapes are very muddled indeed, to say the least! You go from a late 50s Home Service "Midland Console" then after that, you get a 1974 The Organist Entertains! or such like. Or halfway through a 1967 Trevor Willetts Organ Broadcast from the Odeon Leeds, it changes suddenly and you get an hour of "Two Way Family Favorites!" He may well have taped this as maybe this was played once on the old Robin Richmond organist Entertains Radio 2 Prog in the 1970s and then when Nigel Ogden took over in 1980 till the show ended But an interesting few minutes nonetheless. Thanks for your most kind comment. Kev.

[@michaelholmes4344]

What date might this be?

[@BramleyProductions]

Sorry, I do not have a clue about the age of this snippet of this Tom Jenkins recording. We know the cinema shut in 1965. Most of these tapes have mid to late 1950s recordings on them. But some have been recorded over quite late! into the 1960s and even 70s! And there again some have recordings copied from Acetate records. They were recorded by an amateur organist in the Bristol area. So not sure of the age so sorry I could not be any more helpful on that thanks. Kev.