Robin Ross, Author at Blackpool Social Club

28 Apr

Cats at the Opera House

Robin Ross0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & Performance

I attended the Blackpool Opera House last Tuesday morning for a cup of coffee and the launch of Cats. That'll do for me. I was the run through presenter for the rehearsals so this is my behind the scenes introduction. It should have been a problem for the show, following Mamma Mia in Blackpool, but oh no, Cats has already become the fastest selling musical in the Opera House's history. After an amazing season at the London Palladium, Blackpool is the only UK venue where you can see Cats outside of London for the whole of 2015. That's the publicity, now to the real stuff.…

02 Feb

Exclusive Interview: My Dog Sighs

Robin Ross0 CommentsVisual Arts & Exhibitions

I first came across My Dog Sighs (MDS) at Upfest 2009 and in 2010 I stumbled across MDS in the street outside Bristol’s creative hub, the Tobacco Factory, where he was painting bubbles. I asked him how long he had been painting on walls and where. MDS: I first started working on the street in around 2004. My first son had been born and I needed to do something that wasn't grown up, that rebelled against the mortgages and pension plans I was heading into. I was too old to be territorial pissing but loved the urban decay and…

12 Jan

Where are Baseline?

Robin Ross0 CommentsColumns & Opinion, Visual Arts & Exhibitions

The Baseline studio is set in a bijou shop at the rear of M&S on the edge of the Houndshill Shopping Experience. Oops! Rewind... Where have they gone? Baseline established themselves as a place where the great washed and unwashed could experience contemporary Urban Art first hand. Initially set up as a creative place to develop workshops in graphic design and general creativity a few years ago, Baseline started to become the home of developing Blackpool talents; Lowdown, Catch22 and Infected by Design, three artists battling hypothermia and the constant questions from a steady stream of visiting inquisitive public. Questions such as:…

25 Sep

Interview: Go West

Robin Ross0 CommentsMusic & Gigs

Pop duo, Go West first hit the top ten in 1984 with their track We Close Our Eyes, still a favourite on radio stations across the world. Fans of the film Pretty Woman will instantly recognise their smash hit from the soundtrack, King of Wishful Thinking, which served to cement the UK band's place in pop history in 1990. Nearly thirty years after that first hit single, the boys are back and they're hitting Blackpool's Grand Theatre in an eighties spectacular which also features the unforgettable sounds of The Christians (Ideal World, Harvest for the World) and Hue and Cry…

25 Apr

The Blue Room

Robin Ross0 CommentsColumns & Opinion, Music & Gigs

Any night out of season can be bleak in a seaside town like Blackpool. There are piers, a tower, boarded-up cafes and then, from out of the gloom, emerges blue. The ales look in good condition, which is more than can be said of some of the furniture. Am I rambling? Maybe, but the Blue Room is about rambling: conversation, music, creatives, artists and photographers. The Blue Room is the oasis in our seaside town. Summer or winter, it's a venue for all seasons. The music policy is varied. There are old rockers, tribute bands, new bands, just about everything…

14 Mar

Jack’s Bistro in St Annes

Robin Ross0 CommentsLocal News

What's so wonderful about living in t'north is that you often discover gems, in fact quite often. Who in their right mind would organize regular Sunday morning cycle rides with free brews and bacon butties (that's a sandwich) after a one and a half hour cycle ride? Who would create a dish that is as yummy as pan seared pork chop on a black pudding and apple puree mash with sauteed leeks and a cider jus? And who would follow this with the lightest, smoothest bread and butter pudding in the whole universe? Oh go on then, I was very…

06 Nov

Opinion: Cafe Society in Blackpool

Robin Ross0 CommentsColumns & Opinion, Local News

So the question is does it or doesn't it? Does 'Cafe Society' have a place in Blackpool? Is it already here? Cafe Dolce has an outside and an inside area. Which do you prefer? Is it about weather or is it about the company, the conversation or the blend. Ah the blend! Maybe you haven't even noticed the blend or should I say blandness of the voices around you as you sit and wait for your number to get that hot accessory or bowl of soup or cheesecake depending on which diet you are on at that particular time. Or…

03 Aug

Interview: Robin Ross

Robin Ross2 CommentsMusic & Gigs, Visual Arts & Exhibitions

Joy Parkinson chats to Robin Ross about pirate radio, The Old Rock Factory and Sand, Sea & Spray. As a student journalist there's nothing more nerve wracking than having to interview someone who has worked in the field. With every question, former radio presenter Robin Ross knew what was coming next. "You need to vary your questions, you need to avoid them from becoming predictable" he says. "Oh and nod instead of saying yes, it makes editing audio a whole lot easier." Moving on I try and guide my questions away from the foreseeable ones that he is evidently expecting…