Podcasts about Birmingham Town Hall

My Story Talk 15 Ministry at Colchester 1962-68 Part 3 Welcome to Talk 15 in our series where I am reflecting on God's goodness to me throughout my life. Today is the final talk about our ministry in Colchester between 1962 and 1968. These were the first few years of our married life and so far I have shared with you about the birth of our first two children, our housing, employment, holidays and transport.   We have talked about the growth of the church and the reasons for it, testified to an outstanding miracle, explained how I got to know more about Assemblies of God, and how God called me to give up my teaching job and go into full-time ministry.   Today I'll be sharing first how this led me into a wider ministry, and concluding with two important lessons I felt God was beginning to teach me.   A wider ministry – the Students' Pentecostal Fellowship If I had thought initially that God's purpose in leading me into full-time ministry was just so that I could give more time to the local church, I was soon to learn otherwise. It certainly did that, but I soon began to receive invitations to preach in churches at weekend conventions, and, more significantly, to speak in Coleford at a National Day School Teachers' Conference on the relevance of the baptism in the Holy Spirit in day school teaching today.   It was there I met members of the AoG Home Missions Council and the National Youth Council who, if I remember correctly, had jointly organised the conference. The invitation came, no doubt, not only because I was a pastor who had until recently been a schoolteacher, but also because of my ministry in praying for people to receive the baptism and my role in the Students' Pentecostal Fellowship.   I have already mentioned how, while I was at Oxford, I was asked to share my testimony at the AoG National Youth Rally held in the Birmingham Town Hall and to contribute an article in Redemption Tidings entitled Pentecost in Oxford University. So I was by no means unknown in the wider fellowship, and it was probably not surprising that, when Richard Bolt resigned as Travelling Secretary of the SPF, I should be asked to take over his role of visiting colleges and universities, preaching and praying for students to be filled with the Spirit, which of course would not have been possible if I had remained in school teaching.   Universities where I conducted meetings on those early SPF travels included Oxford, Cambridge, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham, Durham, and Newcastle. Later, after I had left Colchester, I also preached in the University of Louvain (Leuven) in Belgium, and in 1972 in the majority of universities in the state of Illinois.   The purpose of all these meetings was to tell people about the baptism in the Spirit, explain why it was biblical, and to pray for them to receive as I laid hands on them at the close of the gathering. Among the many who received were the chaplain of Queen's College, Cambridge, and William Kay a student at Trinity College, Oxford, who had come to Christ at a Billy Graham meeting in London.   Valentine Cunningham, a student at Keble College, and the son of an AoG pastor, invited William to a meeting he had organised where I was to preach on the baptism in the Spirit. After he graduated he became a member of my church in Basingstoke, a close friend, a lecturer at Mattersey Hall Bible College, and a university professor who has contributed much to Pentecostal education around the world.   Val Cunningham went on to become Professor of English at Oxford and was a great help to me when I wrote Be Filled with the Spirit, a booklet published by the SPF, which proved to be the springboard for my ministry as an author.   Other former SPF members who became professors were John Miles and Michael Collins. John, after spending some years as a missionary in Congo became Professor of French at Wheaton, and Michael, after serving as SPF General Secretary, became Professor of Engineering at City University, London.   He was succeeded as SPF General Secretary by Andrew Parfitt, who after spending years in school teaching, became an AoG minister, as did Jeff Clarke who received the baptism under my ministry while he was a student at Oxford, and David Littlewood who received while was a student at Essex.   It is clear from all this that during the course of my lifetime Pentecostals have moved on from being suspicious of higher education to embracing it and playing an active role within it. This will become even clearer when we consider in a later talk the educational developments in our Bible Colleges.   Lessons I learnt at Colchester Of course, I myself had never been to Bible College. And although I had received excellent teaching from my father and from Leslie Moxham, my pastor at Elm Park Baptist, I had received no formal training for ministry, and back then there was no provision in Assemblies of God for supervision from a more experienced minister. So I was very much learning on the job and was conscious of my need for the guidance, help, and the enabling of the Holy Spirit.   But my experience at Colchester taught me many lessons. The most significant of these was learning to trust God for our needs after I had relinquished my secular employment, which I have already mentioned. But there were two other areas the importance of which I began to understand more clearly. These were:   o   the nature of the ministry God had given me o   the importance of a balanced theology of healing.        The nature of the ministry God had given me In my teens I had been greatly impressed by the ministry of Billy Graham. I had seen thousands of people walk forward in response to his appeals for salvation. Surely this kind of evangelism must be the answer and, when I felt the call to the ministry at the age of 16, I soon began to have dreams of becoming an evangelist. Later, after I was baptised in the Spirit, I came to see the importance of healing in evangelism and, as I have mentioned previously, was greatly influenced by Richard Bolt who was seeing remarkable healings in his evangelistic crusades.  And at that time the American Pentecostal evangelist T. L. Osborn had made his books on healing available to students free of charge and I had read them avidly.   So I now wanted to be a healing evangelist, a desire which was evident in the two evangelistic and healing missions I conducted at Colchester. And that was why, although I shared with others the responsibility of preaching and teaching on Sunday mornings and midweek Bible Studies, I always did the preaching at the Sunday evening Gospel Service.   But when Harold Womersley, veteran missionary of the Congo Evangelisitc Mission visited us on itinerary, he asked me – purely out of interest, I think – about what I was teaching at our Bible Study meetings. And when I told him that, when it was my turn, I just gave whatever word the Lord had put on my heart, he graciously suggested that as the pastor it was my responsibility the feed the flock by regular and systematic teaching of the truths of God's word.   This, I think, would have been at about the time that I had given up my school teaching job, and so, taking his words to heart, I set about planning various series of weekly Bible studies, and I discovered that I really enjoyed it and, to my surprise, so did those who came to hear me. It was gradually dawning on me that my primary ministry was not to be evangelism – though I have not been totally unsuccessful in that area – but teaching.   Of course, I had no idea then how that teaching gift would eventually be expressed not only in churches, but also as a Bible College principal and as a writer. But that brings me to another closely related lesson I began to learn at Colchester, the importance of a biblically balanced doctrine of healing.   The importance of a balanced theology of healing As I mentioned at the beginning of this series, ever since my father told me of the healing of my aunt who had been deaf and dumb from birth, I have always believed that God still works miracles of healing today. I grew up with the belief that everyone could be healed if only they had enough faith and that the lack of miracles today was entirely due to lack of faith.   This understanding was confirmed by the teaching of Richard Bolt and the books of T.L.Osborn and was directly related to the doctrine that Jesus died not only for our sins, but for our sicknesses too. We can claim our healing in just the same way as we can claim forgiveness of sins, and all because Jesus died for us. I embraced this teaching wholeheartedly, and that is what I preached.   But my experience as a pastor in Colchester didn't always seem to confirm this doctrine. It was great when we saw people healed, but what could I say to those who were not? Did I really have to tell them that the reason they were not healed was lack of faith, or that there must be some unconfessed sin in their life? And whereas this might apply in some cases, it surely was not true of all?   I simply could not believe, for example, that when Jack Joliffe was diagnosed with a cancer that first disfigured him and eventually destroyed him, it happened because of lack of faith or some secret sin. I knew him too well. He was a godly man, full of faith, and an elder of our church. It's all too easy for evangelists to preach these doctrines and then move on, while pastors are left with the care of Christians who have not been healed and have been wounded by the teaching that if they are sick it is somehow their fault.   But it is not my intention in this talk to repeat what I have already said at length elsewhere. My rejection of this view is comprehensively explained in my Ph.D. thesis, Healing and the Atonement, where I argue that, although there is a sense in which healing may rightly be understood to be in the atonement, it is not true to say that Jesus died for our sicknesses in exactly they same way that he died for our sins. I have also explained this in my book Just a Taste of Heaven – a biblical and balanced approach to God's healing power, which is available from my website www.davidpetts.org.   I simply mention it here because it was at Colchester that I began to question what I had previously believed about healing. Of course, we mustn't build our doctrine on our experience, but if our experience doesn't tally with our doctrine it's always good to consider whether we've understood the scriptures correctly.   So I was learning important lessons at Colchester which were to stand me in good stead for the next ten years when we would be pastoring the assembly in Basingstoke. Life is a continuing process of learning and sometimes unlearning, and Basingstoke was no exception. Next time I'll begin by telling you how we came to move there.  

My Story   Talk 11 Brasenose College, Oxford (1959-1962) Part 2 Welcome to Talk 11 in our series where I am reflecting on God's goodness to me throughout my life. Last time I finished by sharing with you how God powerfully spoke to me after a Philosophy tutorial through a verse in Psalm 119. Today I'll be talking in more detail about my spiritual experience at Oxford, which, looking back on it, was to be far more significant for my future life and ministry than the academic programme I was following. The most important thing a young Christian can do when going up to university is to make sure right from the start that they find, and have regular fellowship with, other Christians. There are two main ways of doing this, either by joining the Christian Union or by attending a local church – or preferably both, which is what I did. Christian Union and Local Church The CU at Brasenose was part of the OICCU – Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union. Each college CU would have its own weekly meeting for prayer and Bible study, but there was also a regular Saturday night Bible Study held at the Northgate Hall, situated close to the Oxford Union building. This was well attended by Christians from across the whole university, and I became a regular attender at both these gatherings. I appreciated the opportunity to meet Christians from different denominational backgrounds, and, bearing in mind my experience of the Anglican chaplain at Brentwood School, was particularly pleased to discover that some Anglicans actually did profess the believe the Bible! However, much as I enjoyed fellowship with these good people, having been only recently baptised in the Spirit, and having begun to appreciate Pentecostal worship, I was very aware that something very important was lacking in their meetings – the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. Of course, things are very different today, but in those days the Charismatic Renewal had not yet begun and most Anglicans, who in my experience tended to view other denominations as somewhat inferior, were highly suspicious of, if not totally unaware of, the rapidly growing worldwide Pentecostal Movement. And, of course, I was eager to enlighten them! But first a word about the local Pentecostal church. At the time, the only Pentecostal church in Oxford was the Elim Church situated on the Botley Road just beyond Oxford Railway Station. I was keen to attend there because, however valuable membership of a Christian union may be, there really is no substitute for the life and fellowship of a local church. So throughout my time at Oxford I regularly attended on Sundays both the morning and evening services, which meant incidentally that I missed both lunch and dinner in college because the mealtimes clashed with the times of the services. More importantly, on my very first Sunday in Oxford, it was there that I met three other students who were from Pentecostal churches, which led to our meeting regularly for prayer and to the formation of the Students' Pentecostal Fellowship.     Students' Pentecostal Fellowship The students I met after church that first Sunday morning in Oxford were, Michael Collins who came from Dorchester AoG and was in his second year at St. Peter's Hall reading Engineering, and Gladys Bland and John Miles who, like me, were in their first year. Gladys was from East Ham AoG and was doing postgraduate work in English Literature at Somerville College, and John was from Gloucester AoG and was reading English at Regents Park College. We were all delighted to meet each other because up to then there had been relatively few Pentecostals attending university. We soon became firm friends and agreed to meet regularly together for fellowship and prayer, particularly for spiritual gifts and for Christian students from a different denominational background to be baptised in the Spirit. Michael had a friend called Philip who was already Spirit filled, and he joined our prayer group too. I will never forget the day, early in our first year, when there was a prophecy in one of those meetings that people of all denominations, including professors and university lecturers, would be baptised in the Spirit. As I've already mentioned, the Charismatic Renewal had not yet begun or, if it had, we had not heard of it, and to be honest, I really wondered if that could possibly happen. But it did, and in our own small way we were to be a part of it. What we didn't know then was that similar groups were forming in other universities. There were students from a Pentecostal background at Cambridge and London Universities too, and once we heard about this we naturally wanted to get in touch with them. And a key person to help us do that was Richard Bolt. Richard had been an Anglican ordinand but after he was baptised in the Spirit in an AoG church in Durham his course at Clifton Theological College was terminated because he was laying hands on other students and praying for them to speak in tongues. Shortly after this he was welcomed by AoG and became an Assemblies of God minister based in a small assembly in Colchester. However, as the Lord was using him in healing and in leading others into the baptism in the Spirit, Richard's ministry extended well beyond Colchester as he took time to travel to universities and colleges to encourage Pentecostal students and to pray for others who wanted to be filled with the Spirit. He was certainly a great encouragement to me and my family. My mother was baptised in the Spirit under his ministry. But before I knew anything about how the Lord was using Richard, the thought had already crossed my mind that we ought to form, at least in Oxford, a university society for Pentecostal students. The Baptists had what was known as The John Bunyan Society which met every Sunday afternoon in Regents Park College where John Miles was a student. He and I attended this quite often and I mentioned to him that I thought it might be good to have something similar for Pentecostals. As a result of this, John wrote to Aaron Linford, the editor of Redemption Tidings, the AoG weekly magazine, and asked for advice. And it was at this point that Richard Bolt told us about the Pentecostal students at Cambridge and London. All this led to a gathering in London early in 1961 when the Students' Pentecostal Fellowship (SPF) was formed. Richard Bolt was recognised as its Travelling Secretary and Donald Underwood, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, as General Secretary. We organised annual weekend house-parties where students were exposed to the ministry of Pentecostal leaders, and evangelistic missions where students would sing, testify, and preach during the summer vacations. We also published a magazine known as The Pentecostal and developed a postal library service where students could borrow books by Pentecostal authors. At Oxford our group grew in numbers during our second year, partly due to an influx of students from Culham College led by Andrew Parfitt, the son of the AoG pastor at Maidstone, but also because our prayers were being answered and students from other denominations were getting baptised in the Spirit. But that leads me to how I personally started to be used in leading others into the baptism. Leading others into the baptism It all began a few weeks after I had started at Oxford when, after one of those Saturday night Bible Studies in the Northgate Hall, I was looking at a book on the bookstall which was about a revival that had broken out somewhere in Africa. Chris, one of my Anglican friends from Brasenose, saw what I was looking at and asked me if I had any personal experience of revival. So I began to tell him about the baptism in the Holy Spirit. As a result, Chris started to seek the baptism and came along to the Elim church where the pastor laid hands on him and prayed for him. But nothing happened and after a few weeks Chris came to me and said, I want you to pray for me. I'm coming to your room tomorrow and I want you to lay hands on me and pray for me. I was frankly unsure how to respond to this. I was very new to all this myself and I did not know if I had the authority to lay hands on him. I didn't know if such things were the responsibility of pastors, and I wasn't a pastor. But Chris was very insistent and so I agreed. The next day was Saturday and there were no lectures or tutorials for me to attend, so I decided to spend the night in prayer. This was something I had never done before, and have not done very often since, but I realised the seriousness of what Chris had asked me to do and I wanted to get it right. When Chris came the next day, we chatted for a bit, and then he said, Well, are you going to pray for me or not? I think he may have sensed that I was putting it off because, despite my night of prayer, I was nervous about it. He knelt down in front of me, and I plucked up courage and, quietly speaking in tongues, gently placed my hands on his shoulders. But nothing seemed to happen, and I didn't know what to do, when I remembered that in the Authorised Version (which most of us were still using in those days) Acts 19:6 says that it was when Paul had laid his hands upon the Ephesians that the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. In other words, the Spirit came on them after Paul laid his hands on them.  And I found myself prophesying over Chris that he would receive, and that he would receive that very day. At which, Chris got up, said thank you, and left me. And I was left wondering if I had done the right thing. I had my answer at eight the following morning. I was still asleep, having had no sleep the previous night, when I was woken by something digging me in my ribs. It was Chris with his umbrella. What was he doing here?             Oh, it's you Chris. What on earth are you doing here? And then it occurred to me that he might have come to tell me what had happened, so I added,             You haven't received the baptism, have you? To which he responded as he continued to dig me in the ribs,             O ye of little faith! He had, of course, received, and he told me how it had happened. After he had left me he had returned to his room and had been reading a book by, or about, the famous missionary to China, Hudson Taylor. The book emphasised that in addition to faith we need courage in our Christian lives, and Chris realised that that was just what he needed. He looked up from the book intending to say, Yes, Lord. Give me courage. But instead of doing so, he found himself speaking in tongues! Little did I know it then, but Chris was to be the first among hundreds, if not thousands, of people who have begun to speak in tongues through the ministry the Lord has given me. But that's closely related to the subject of spiritual gifts and how I began to exercise them. Beginning to exercise spiritual gifts Shortly after I was baptised in the Spirit I visited the bookshop at the AoG National Offices at 51 Newington Causeway, London. I bought every book they had on the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts. As a young Baptist I had received little teaching about the Spirit and none whatsoever on spiritual gifts. And I was eager to learn. I devoured books like Harold Horton's The Gifts of the Spirit and Donald Gee's Concerning Spiritual Gifts, and I learnt that the baptism in the Spirit is not an end in itself, but a gateway to supernatural gifts like tongues,  interpretation, prophecy, and healing. And I was longing to receive and be used in whatever gifts the Lord might have for me. As it happened, I didn't have long to wait. I was still in my first year at Oxford when I was confronted with a situation at the church I was attending. The Elim church in Oxford was a well-attended lively church where the gifts of the Spirit were regularly in operation. On a Sunday morning there were often prophecies, tongues and interpretation. Some of my Christian friends from Brasenose came along to experience Pentecostal worship and so far I had not been embarrassed in any way by what went on in the meetings. However, one Sunday morning, when fortunately none of my friends was present, somebody spoke in tongues but there was no interpretation. No explanation was given for this and, although I was still new to these things, I knew that the Bible was very clear that speaking in tongues in church should be interpreted. I probably should have asked the pastor about this, but he was a busy man and I did not know him very well. Consequently I kept quiet about the matter, but was still concerned that everything was not quite as it should be. Shortly after that, when Richard Bolt was visiting, I told him about this and asked him what I should do. He said, The answer is very simple David. You interpret. To which I replied, But I don't have the gift. He then said, Then ask for it. But, bearing in mind that 1 Corinthians 12:11 tells us that these gifts are given as the Holy Spirit determines, I asked, But I know God wants me to have it? His answer to this was along the following lines. The very fact that I was concerned about it might well indicate that God wanted me to have it. And, anyway, we know from God's word that it is his will that tongues in church should be interpreted. So I would be in God's will if I went ahead and interpreted it. I should pray about it and next time it happened I should ask God for the interpretation and then speak out in faith. Our heavenly Father gives good gifts to his children when they ask him. Although I still had questions, I decided to do what he said and over the next few weeks kept asking the Lord about the matter. Then, one Sunday morning it happened. Someone spoke in tongues and I waited, hoping that someone else would interpret it. But when no one did, I asked the Lord to give me the right words to say and immediately a few words came into my mind which I began to speak out in faith. I say in faith, but I have to confess that my faith was mingled with doubt. I was half expecting the pastor to intervene and say that this was not the right interpretation! But to my intense relief he said nothing, and after the meeting people came and thanked me for my interpretation. So from time to time, I continued to interpret tongues, but still with the occasional doubt if what I said could really be the interpretation. And later in the series I will tell you how God wonderfully confirmed the genuineness of my gift when I interpreted a tongue that was identified as a language spoken in Africa. God certainly did some wonderful things while I was at Oxford, and I realise now that I was already exercising a ministry while I was there. I was leading our SPF prayer group, teaching others about spiritual gifts, as well as preaching in churches from time to time. It seems that others were recognising this before I did, and I was soon asked to share my testimony at the AoG National Youth Rally held in the Birmingham Town Hall and to contribute an article in Redemption Tidings entitled Pentecost in Oxford University. The Lord was clearly preparing the way for my future ministry. Next time, I'll tell you about my developing relationship with Eileen which led to our marriage immediately after I graduated and how I ultimately decided not to go to Bible College as originally planned, but to accept the pastorate of the Assemblies of God Church in Colchester.

#544 Is This About Up the Arse? - Richard returns to Birmingham Town Hall for another couple of weeks of Brum based podcasts. His guest this week is Twitter sensation, Ruth Husko. They discuss how she has shared some great comedy on the moribund social media channel and why she got banned from it, the cockfighting of Wednesbury, why Freddie Starr is schmokin', Richard's plan to win the lottery, how much the public would give up to save Bob Mortimer, Scooby Doo porn, Richard's erotic prejudice against cockneys, how Ruth failed to marry Stewart Lee and whether she should make the leap to full time comedian.Follow Ruth on Twitter @dank_ackroyd. You won't regret it.See a live recording of RHLSTP - https://richardherring.com/rhlstpSUPPORT THE SHOW!Watch our TWITCH CHANNELSee extra content at our WEBSITE Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/rhlstp. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 17: Birmingham, Spooky Surprises, and Cheeky TalesLive from Birmingham Town Hall We kick things off from the grand Birmingham Town Hall, where hundreds of people have gathered to see yours truly. Wish me luck—I'll need all the spiritual energy I can muster for this crowd!A Birthday Surprise for Linda This week, it's a special Linda Pollock birthday edition!

Ever wondered what a British dad looks like on holiday mode? Watch Josh Pugh unleash side-splitting tales of missed mails and shark battles at Birmingham Town Hall. Didn't catch the live absurdity? Relive the madness on https://foqnfunny.com. Love what you're hearing on FOQN Funny? Go a step further and become a member of FOQN Funny+. Enjoy exclusive perks and never-ending laughter. Join now at: https://plus.acast.com/s/foqn-funny. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we get a first look at the new Harrison & Harrison organ at the Guards' Chapel in London. Harrison's Head Voicer, Andy Scott, talks about the Harrison & Harrison sound while he demonstrates voicing the organ.https://www.harrisonorgans.com/https://www.harrisonorgans.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/London-Guards-Chapel-2023.pdfAndrew Macintosh, Director of RCO Scotland and Northern Ireland, talks about his work as manager of the NPOR - the National Pipe Organ Register. He showcases some of the features and links this database offers.https://npor.org.ukThomas Trotter talks about how becoming organist of Birmingham Town Hall, 40 years ago,  gave him his 'lucky break' to become one of the leading concert organists in the world. https://bmusic.co.uk/what-we-do/who-we-are/history-1/organGet in touch: theorganpodcast@rco.org.ukhttps://www.rco.org.uk/

The latest episode of the podcast which asks; do we really have to hug? And rub-a-dub?The Chart Music time sofa descends upon March of 1993, Pop-Crazed Youngsters – the Forgotten Nineties, if you will. A time where the only options available to The Kids were having their heads filled with rubbish by trampy Americans, or being exploited by Ian Beales in Hypercolor t-shirts who can't play real music and want you to take loads of drugs. Your panel – ligging their way around London, ensconced in an Isleworth love nest and dealing with the misery of Gym Knickers, respectively – look back upon this strange perineum between Rave and Britpop, and have a tentative sniff at itAs for Our Favourite Thursday Evening Pop Treat, it's currently weathering it's 27th crisis under the stewardship of Stanley Appell, two years removed from its Year Zero clearout. The good news is he's been given carte blanche to put on whoever he likes. The bad news is, he's only a few months away from his 60th birthday, and there's soon to be a new BBC1 controller in town who – according to rumour – is thinking about letting Janet Street Porter have a go. Musicwise, it's a reminder that everything is still up for grabs in the post-Neightnies musicsphere: Right Said Fred get the wind of BBC Star Power at their backs, which can be a bit uncomfortable when you've cut the arse out of your trousers. Lenny Kravitz is SuperMuso. After Some Rap, Brett Anderson gets dragged to the front of assembly to explain why he's let the school down by singing too violently. Then it's over to Hawaii to drop in on the Lower-Case Canadian, before she gets a shave off Cindy Crawford. Runrig make their TOTP debut, then Rage Against The Machine, fresh from getting Bruno Brookes suspended for a week, kick off the run of blipverts that passes for the Breakers section these days, which also takes in Bryan Ferry, The Jesus Lizard and Dead Madonna. Diana Ross and a Sexy Saxman appear on the set of a school play of Escape From New York, and we end with some sexy Belgian pinball action, all hosted by Mark Franklin, who was probably younger than you at the time, and still is. Sarah Bee and Simon Price join Al Needham for a rummage under the sewn-on cushion on the Mastermind chair of 1993, veering off on such tangents as being mithered by members of Suede and Elastica at a student disco, why all snack wafers of the Eighties sound like Bryan Ferry LP titles, the Lesbian Elephant, Jonny Sex-Cat and the Accessible Gamesdog, Paintballing with Ride, and Al's Secret Terror. SWEAR SWEAR, SWEAR-SWEAR SWEAR SWEAR, SWEAR-SWEAR SWEAR SWEAR, SWEAR-SWEAR THERE'S SOME SWEARING.Video Playlist| Subscribe | Facebook | Twitter| The Chart Music Wiki | PatreonGet your tickets for Chart Music at Birmingham Town Hall on Jan 13th HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Simon Price, Sarah Bee and Al Needham hit the final stretch of this episode of TOTP with the chance to hear 20 seconds of a Xmas Number One, Bryan Ferry going through the motions, some Americans who want to weld you into a chair and Dead Madonna, then Diana Ross gets all excited at the sight of an oiled-up saxman, and we continue our ongoing mission to praise the Belgians. REACH FOR THE SKIES, POP-CRAZED YOUNGSTERS!Video Playlist | Subscribe | Facebook | Twitter | The Chart Music Wiki | PatreonGet your tickets for Chart Music at Birmingham Town Hall on Jan 13th HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah Bee, Simon Price and Al Needham end up having a massively deep dive on Suede, before being whipped over to Hawaii to watch the Lower-Case Canadian sit on a box for a bit. Oh, and Runrig!Video Playlist | Subscribe | Facebook | Twitter | The Chart Music Wiki | PatreonGet your tickets for Chart Music at Birmingham Town Hall on Jan 13th HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Simon Price, Sarah Bee and Al Needham begin their slog through an early-Nineties episode of The Pops with an examination of the changes Stanley Appell wrought upon our fave Thursday Evening Pop Treat. Then we're immediately assailed by the sight of someone grabbing one of Right Said Fred's arse as they do a bit for Comic Relief, followed by SuperMuso and Some Rap. STICK IT OUT, POP-CRAZED YOUNGSTERS! Video Playlist | Subscribe | Facebook | Twitter | The Chart Music Wiki | PatreonGet your tickets for Chart Music at Birmingham Town Hall on Jan 13th HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#73 (Pt 1): 4.3.93 – Frank BaldSarah Bee, Simon Price and Al Needham gird their loins for a plunge into a TOTP from the early Nineties, but before all that there's a comprehensive leaf through that week's NME. a heartrending discussion about the misery of gym knickers and hair loss, and a massive plug for our live show in Birmingham…Video Playlist | Subscribe | Facebook | Twitter | The Chart Music Wiki | PatreonGet your tickets for Chart Music at Birmingham Town Hall on Jan 13th HERE Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Buy tickets to Desert Island Dicks LIVE with Jenny Eclair next week! Oh... and this week we're joined by the hilarious Josh Pugh! Josh joins James to share who and what he'd hate to be stuck with on a desert island. You can catch Josh's biggest UK and Ireland tour to date, ‘Existin' La Vida Loca', from 1st February 2024 - tickets at www.joshpughcomic.com. Josh's debut stand-up special 'Josh Pugh: Live at Birmingham Town Hall' is also out now and free to watch on YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

LIVE from Birmingham Town Hall, the divine power house that is Self Esteem joined us in front of a wonderful audience.Back in the city mum went to University, we chat over delicious food from Brum's very own Joe Lycett's recommended restaurant Zindiya - and talk all about how she became a pop star, her love of Mexican food, honey and toast nights with her family & her grandma's shiny scones. Rebecca, you are remarkable, such fun and deserve all the success! Listen here See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kids TV legends Dick & Dom join Genevieve to reminisce about the success of In Da Bungalow in the early Noughties and explain why it ended far too soon. The guys chat about bogies, baby racing and blocking the BBC toilets with creamy muck muck. Dom also talks about the demands to stay looking young, while Rich explains why dementia charities are close to his heart. Plus the guys reveal what audiences can expect on their 20th anniversary In Da Bungalow live tour. ===== The Dick and Dom In Da Bunglow 20th anniversary tour kicks off in September and you can get tickets at myticket.co.uk. SEPTEMBER  Thurs 22 - NEWCASTLE – Tyne Theatre    Fri 23 - BIRMINGHAM – Town Hall    Sat 24 - READING – Hexagon    Sun 25 - CARDIFF – New Theatre    OCTOBER    Sat 1 - HIGH WYCOMBE – Wycombe Swan   Sun 2 - PORTSMOUTH – Guildhall     Wed 5 - IPSWICH – Regent Theatre    Thurs 6 - SHEFFIELD – o2 Academy    Fri 7 - BRADFORD – St. Georges Hall    Sat 8 - CROYDON – Ashcroft Theatre    Sun 9 - NOTTINGHAM – Theatre Royal    Thurs 13 - FROME – Cheese & Grain    Fri 14 - WOKING – New Victoria Theatre    NOVEMBER    Wed 2 - SOUTHEND – Cliffs Pavilion    =====    If you enjoyed this episode, don't keep it to yourself! Please tell a friend or share a screenshot on social media so others can discover and enjoy it too.  And please consider donating to support the show! Visit celebritycatchup.com for more details.       If you'd like to say hello, you can find me on Twitter @CelebCatchUpPod or Instagram @celebritycatchuppodcast. ====== Episode hosted, produced and edited by Genevieve. Theme music by Mark Savage @mrdiscopop

Paula Downes reads her Grandfather and Andrew Downes' father Frank's book, Around the Horn, which tells the story of the Classical Music Industry from the point of view of a professional Horn player. Born 1921, died 2005, his fascinating orchestral career spanned the demise of the silent cinema, municipal seaside orchestras, the RAF Central band during World War II, orchestral playing in pre and post-war Britain, and the rise towards a Royal title for the Birmingham Conservatoire. Chapter 14 is about Frank's appointment to Principal Hornist of the CBSO in 1949. Paula has chosen to end this episode with the second movement of Andrew Downes' Concerto for Piano and Symphony Orchestra, which was premiered at Birmingham Town Hall, which Frank mentions during this chapter.  This work was written for pianist Duncan Honeybourne with the Central England Ensemble, conductor Anthony Bradbury, Leader Anna Downes and Lead Violist Cynthia Downes. This recording is of the premiere on March 1st 2009. Find out more here: https://www.andrewdownes.com/Soloists-with-Orchestra.html#PIANOSYMPHONY

It was standing room only at Birmingham Town Hall on May 5, 1964 - the day legendary anti-smut campaigner Mary Whitehouse launched her ‘Clean Up TV' campaign. Claiming the BBC's Director-General was “responsible for the moral collapse in this country”, she went on to attract 366,355 signatures to her petition opposing the “disbelief, doubt and dirt that the BBC projects into millions of homes through the television screen”.In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion revisit her objections to ‘filth' as diverse as Chuck Berry's ‘My Ding-A-Ling' and concentration camp footage; consider whether her M.O. influenced modern-day ‘cancel culture'; and ask if, in a world of 24-hour news, her feelings about war reporting have achieved some merit... Further reading:• Letters from Mary Whitehouse in the National Archives: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/sixties-britain/letters-mary-whitehouse/• Mary Whitehouse's obituary in The Guardian (2001):https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/nov/24/guardianobituaries.obituaries• From the Huntley Film Archives, the night Clean Up TV launched their petition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO_DqJ85jvkFor bonus material and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/RetrospectorsWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/Retrospectors The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Voiceover: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gestur þáttarins að þessu sinni er Dóra Einarsdóttir fata og búningahönnuður, Hún mætir með uppáhalds ROKKplötuna kl. 21.00. Vinur þáttarins sendir pistil og lag og óskalagasíminn opnar kl. 20.00 - 5687123. Plata þáttarins sem við heyrum amk. þrjú lög af er platan Vol 4. Sem er fjórða hljóðversplata Black Sabbath. Hún kom út í september 1972 og verður því 50 ára á næsta ári. Þetta er fyrsta plata Sabbath sem Rodger Bain stjórnar ekki upptökum á, heldur var Toni Iommi titlaður upptökustjóri. Hann á afmæli í dag, er 72 ára gamall. Sveitin hóf upptökur á plötunni í Record Plant í Los Angeles í júní 1972 og ungu mönnunum fannst gaman að vinna í Ameríku, og kannski var stundum aðeins of gaman vegna þess að upptökurnar voru gegnsýrðar af kókaínneyslu. Þeir fengu reglulega senda stóra hátalara í hljóðverið segir sagan, sem voru fullir af durftinu hvíta. Myndin sem prýðir umslag plötunna er grafísk og gul af Ozzy Osbourne með hendur á lofti og peace-merki á báðum höndum. Myndin var tekin á tónleikum í Birmingham Town Hall í janúar 1972 af náunga sem heitir Keith Macmillan. Platan fékk yfirleitt ekki góða dóma þegar hún kom út en seldist samt í gull á innan við mánuði og hún varð fjórða plata Sabbath í röð til að seljast í milljón eintökum í Ameríku. Hún fór hæst í 13. sæti Bandaríska vinsældalistans og 8. sæti í Bretlandi. Plötunni var fylgt eftir með tónleikaferðalagi um Bandaríkin. Eftir það fór sveitin í fyrsta sinn til Ástralíu á fyrri hluta ársins 1972 og svo var túrað um Evrópu.

Gestur þáttarins að þessu sinni er Dóra Einarsdóttir fata og búningahönnuður, Hún mætir með uppáhalds ROKKplötuna kl. 21.00. Vinur þáttarins sendir pistil og lag og óskalagasíminn opnar kl. 20.00 - 5687123. Plata þáttarins sem við heyrum amk. þrjú lög af er platan Vol 4. Sem er fjórða hljóðversplata Black Sabbath. Hún kom út í september 1972 og verður því 50 ára á næsta ári. Þetta er fyrsta plata Sabbath sem Rodger Bain stjórnar ekki upptökum á, heldur var Toni Iommi titlaður upptökustjóri. Hann á afmæli í dag, er 72 ára gamall. Sveitin hóf upptökur á plötunni í Record Plant í Los Angeles í júní 1972 og ungu mönnunum fannst gaman að vinna í Ameríku, og kannski var stundum aðeins of gaman vegna þess að upptökurnar voru gegnsýrðar af kókaínneyslu. Þeir fengu reglulega senda stóra hátalara í hljóðverið segir sagan, sem voru fullir af durftinu hvíta. Myndin sem prýðir umslag plötunna er grafísk og gul af Ozzy Osbourne með hendur á lofti og peace-merki á báðum höndum. Myndin var tekin á tónleikum í Birmingham Town Hall í janúar 1972 af náunga sem heitir Keith Macmillan. Platan fékk yfirleitt ekki góða dóma þegar hún kom út en seldist samt í gull á innan við mánuði og hún varð fjórða plata Sabbath í röð til að seljast í milljón eintökum í Ameríku. Hún fór hæst í 13. sæti Bandaríska vinsældalistans og 8. sæti í Bretlandi. Plötunni var fylgt eftir með tónleikaferðalagi um Bandaríkin. Eftir það fór sveitin í fyrsta sinn til Ástralíu á fyrri hluta ársins 1972 og svo var túrað um Evrópu.

Gestur þáttarins að þessu sinni er Dóra Einarsdóttir fata og búningahönnuður, Hún mætir með uppáhalds ROKKplötuna kl. 21.00. Vinur þáttarins sendir pistil og lag og óskalagasíminn opnar kl. 20.00 - 5687123. Plata þáttarins sem við heyrum amk. þrjú lög af er platan Vol 4. Sem er fjórða hljóðversplata Black Sabbath. Hún kom út í september 1972 og verður því 50 ára á næsta ári. Þetta er fyrsta plata Sabbath sem Rodger Bain stjórnar ekki upptökum á, heldur var Toni Iommi titlaður upptökustjóri. Hann á afmæli í dag, er 72 ára gamall. Sveitin hóf upptökur á plötunni í Record Plant í Los Angeles í júní 1972 og ungu mönnunum fannst gaman að vinna í Ameríku, og kannski var stundum aðeins of gaman vegna þess að upptökurnar voru gegnsýrðar af kókaínneyslu. Þeir fengu reglulega senda stóra hátalara í hljóðverið segir sagan, sem voru fullir af durftinu hvíta. Myndin sem prýðir umslag plötunna er grafísk og gul af Ozzy Osbourne með hendur á lofti og peace-merki á báðum höndum. Myndin var tekin á tónleikum í Birmingham Town Hall í janúar 1972 af náunga sem heitir Keith Macmillan. Platan fékk yfirleitt ekki góða dóma þegar hún kom út en seldist samt í gull á innan við mánuði og hún varð fjórða plata Sabbath í röð til að seljast í milljón eintökum í Ameríku. Hún fór hæst í 13. sæti Bandaríska vinsældalistans og 8. sæti í Bretlandi. Plötunni var fylgt eftir með tónleikaferðalagi um Bandaríkin. Eftir það fór sveitin í fyrsta sinn til Ástralíu á fyrri hluta ársins 1972 og svo var túrað um Evrópu.

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast 562! Today's guest is an English organist Dylan McCaig. Dylan is a former Head Chorister of the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and achieved his RSCM Gold Award at the age of 11. He studied at St. Edward’s College and was appointed Junior Organ Scholar at the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral during his time in Sixth Form. Dylan has achieved his Grade 8 Piano and Organ with Distinction. He is currently in his final year studying Music at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on a scholarship, specialising in the Organ, under the tutelage of Daniel Moult, Henry Fairs and Professor David Saint. He has also received conducting training from Paul Spicer and Daniel Galbreath. During his time in Birmingham, Dylan has had the opportunity to accompany large scale projects with choirs and orchestras, as well as conducting various choirs and perform as a solo recitalist. In addition to his studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Dylan McCaig was appointed Organ Scholar at St. Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham in September 2017. His duties include playing the Organ at Sunday services, Chapter Masses, as well as any other services required by the Cathedral. Dylan has also been given the opportunity to conduct and accompany the Cathedral Choir as well as visiting choirs in major services during the liturgical year. In addition, from 2017-2019, Dylan was heavily involved in the Cathedral’s Outreach Project, directing/accompanying the Junior Choir as well as playing for Outreach Services. From September 2020, Dylan will undertaking the role of Senior Organ Scholar at Liverpool Cathedral. Past performances have included playing at the Birmingham Town Hall, both Birmingham Cathedrals and St George’s Hall, Liverpool. In addition, he has played in masterclasses for internationally renowned organists, Martin Schmeding, Nathan J.Laube, Kimberly Marshall, and Pieter Van Dijk. ​ Dylan is currently in the middle of preparing for his Major Project titled, ‘Membra Jesu Nostri’ which takes place on Friday 21st February 2020 at 7pm in St Chad’s Cathedral, Birmingham. Dylan will be exploring the work of Dietrich Buxtehude (a great influencer of J.S. Bach) using the Main Cathedral Organ as well as directing a solo SSATB Choir and Baroque Ensemble from the Chamber Organ. This music will be tied into the Cathedral using the theme of Jesus Christ, with the highlight of the concert being Buxtehude’s standalone work ‘Membra Jesu Nostri’. All ticket sales will be donated to Birmingham Children’s Hospital and providing financial assistance for youth volunteers from the Birmingham Diocese to visit Lourdes. For more information, check out: https://www.stchadscathedral.org.uk/events/major-project-membra-jesu-nostri-by-st-chads-organ-scholar-dylan-mccaig/ Today we are talking about the finding some repertoire you absolutely love. To see more of Dylan, check out: Instagram: @dylanmccaigmusic: https://picpanzee.com/dylanmccaigmusic Facebook: Dylan McCaig – Musician: https://m.facebook.com/dylanmccaigmusic/ Website (in development): http://www.dylanmccaigmusic.co.u

A night of absolute chaos at Anfield as Liverpool were victorious over Arsenal on penalties after a pulsating 5-5 draw. Is it time for Jose Mourinho to step in at The Emirates? NO. NO IT IS NOT.Arsenal host Wolves next, so we naturally discuss Nuno Espirito Santo’s attempt to balance such animals and how Halloween might effect the game, while we also look at Southampton’s potential destruction at the hands of Man City, Man United and Norwich making trips to the south coast to visit Bournemouth and Brighton, respectively. Will Daniel Farke be shouting yet? We can but wonder. Elsewhere more on Bruges, yet more Bristolian controversy and all the usual nonsense. We're currently on tour and playing Birmingham Town Hall tonight! Join us at venues across England, Europe, USA and Canada for Football Ramble Live - expect all your old favourites (including Pete Donaldson), brand new games and a load of laughs. Get your tickets now at ramblelive.com!Search ‘Football Ramble Daily’ on social media to find us, and email us here: show@footballrambledaily.com ***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***Further reading:Liverpool may have to move their Carabao Cup clash with Aston Villa: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50240295Southampton donate their wages to charity after their 9-0 drubbing: https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11700/11847303/southampton-squad-donate-wages-to-charity-after-leicester-thrashingA good night for Mesut Ozil:https://theathletic.co.uk/1339391/2019/10/31/ozil-and-the-first-touch-of-redemption/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

#217 Adrian Chiles - Exiting Stourbridge Multi-storey Car Park. RHLSTP comes to Birmingham Town Hall and the biggest audience Richard has ever performed to (outside of charity gigs) with over 1000 people in attendance. Blimey. Richard and Adrian discuss failing an interview for MI5, the rollercoaster ride of hosting (and watching) the One Show, what people say to you when you were once on TV but aren’t so much now, an horrific childhood accident, an unrequested story about having a wet dream and why God lets bad things happen to good people. Plus if you watch the video version you can see the show being signed and see a lot of rude things being acted out by some nice ladies. Do come and see the show on tour if you can - amazing reception from the unfortunate people of Brum.SUPPORT THE SHOW!Check out our website, become a badger and see extra content http://bit.ly/rhlstpwebSee details of the RHLSTP tour dates http://bit.ly/RHLSTPgigsBuy DVDs and Books http://bit.ly/gofasterstripe See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dumteedum Live in Birmingham, Keri Davies and Charlotte Martin meet Lucy and Roifield See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week’s Dumteedum comes from Rachel and Bernie in Madrid... Hola ustedes dos! Last call folks for a Birmingham extravaganza! And it’s not often Birmingham has one of those. A live Dumteedum, at Birmingham Town Hall at 3pm, go to the Birmingham Town Hall website to book. Featuring Roif, Lucy, Keri Davis and Charlotte Martin who plays the wonderful Susan Carter. https://dumteedum.com/product-category/archers-weekend1. There are only 3 places left of the BBC tour2 .There are 10 spaces left on Reflex night club3. Andrew Horn will be wearing a real disco shirt to the Relex Night Club4. There are only 10 places left for dinner at the Cosy ClubThis week we hear from Blithe Spirit, Witherspoon, Erika, Mike and Red Agnes. But first, before the callerinnerers, let’s brace ourselves for Lucy V Freeman’s week in Ambridge... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

At the heart of the city stands the famous Town Hall – a symbol of Birmingham since 1834. For all these years its history has been interwoven with the story of the city’s rise, fall and renaissance. The venue for great cultural events including premieres of works by Mendelssohn and Elgar and the first public reading of the Pickwick Papers. It also witnessed some of the great and sometimes violent political gatherings. But like the city itself the Town Hall fell on hard times in the mid-20th century. Unbelievably there was even talk of demolishing this Victorian Gem. Today it has been restored to its rightful place at the heart of the vibrant city. Keywords: Birmingham, Charles Dickens, Music, Arts, Carl Chinn

Shaykh Zahir Mahmood delivers a profound lecture on the power of Dawah and its legacy at the iERA Conference held in Birmingham Town Hall 2011.

Stirring, emotional and unmistakable: The Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah is the subject of this week's Soul Music. The Alzheimer's Society runs a group called 'Singing for the Brain'. It's for people with dementia or Alzheimers and their carers who come together to sing in a group. As music is tied so closely to emotional memories, often lyrics and music remain firmly fixed in the brain, even though other memories have died away. Julia Burton of the Alzheimer's Society recalls the power of the Hallelujah Chorus, as performed at a special event by Singing for the Brain groups in Wiltshire and Dorset. Mrs Vera Fiton, whose late husband - Ted - had dementia talks about how important the weekly singing group was for both of them. Taking Ted from his care home to 'do the Hallelujah' was a weekly highlight, he enjoyed it so much, Vera recalls, that he'd still be singing in the taxi on the way home. Carol Pemberton, of the Birmingham-based a capella quintet 'Black Voices', took part in the reopening concert of Birmingham Town Hall in 2007. The programme director suggested they sing The Messiah, but not as Handel intended, rather a daring interpretation arranged by Quincy Jones, called the 'Soulful Messiah'. It's a soul/gospel version which has to be heard to be believed! Carol describes performing it as one of the biggest highs of her career to date. Jennifer Blakeley runs Alphabet Photography, a photo company based in Niagara Falls in Canada. She came up with the idea of staging a Flash Mob to promote her company. The Hallelujah Chorus had long been a favourite piece, and she - along with her local choir - set up a flash-mob in a local shopping mall. The result was emotional, extraordinary... and achieved so much more than the intended aim to boost her business. Passers by , not linked with the choir, joined in... others cried, emotions ran high. And the resulting You Tube video has now attracted over 37 million hits. Paul Spicer, composer, conductor and organist, describes the historical backdrop to Handel's exhilarating composition. Producer: Karen Gregor.

Transcript -- How Dickens started his reading career with A Christmas Carol - a reading he did for charity - in Birmingham Town Hall.

How Dickens started his reading career with A Christmas Carol - a reading he did for charity - in Birmingham Town Hall.