To organ enthusiasts of the late 1930s, the strains of On the Promenade heralded eagerly awaited sessions of music by Horace Finch at the Wurlitzer organ of the Empress

Ballroom, Blackpool.

Horace Finch was born in St. Helens in 1906 and began piano

studies at the age of four. By nine he was a Church organist. At 13,

he moved to Blackpool.

He continued to study piano under Robert Gregory (formerly of the Vienna Conservatoire) and had every intention of

becoming a concert pianist. During this time, he practiced up to eight hours each day.

In 1926, Mr. Finch was approached by Arthur Davies of the Tower Ballroom and was auditioned to become solo and

orchestral pianist with the Tower Ballroom Orchestra. He commenced work for the Tower Company in April and

continued under Dan Godfrey Jnr. and the famous Bertini. Whilst with Dan Godfrey, he became the first English pianist

to perform Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue from memory and in public. 1928 saw the installation of a Wurlitzer organ in the Tower Ballroom and two organists failed to make it a success. During Easter 1930, Reginald Dixon was appointed

organist and so the success of the Blackpool Wurlitzers began.

1935 saw the installation of a new Wonder Wurlitzer in the Tower Ballroom to the design of Reginald Dixon. The original Tower Wurlitzer was enlarged and installed in the huge Empress Ballroom, part of the Wintergardens complex.

Horace was chosen as organist from many applicants, the job being to play mostly for dancing. Apart from dance

sessions, Sunday afternoon and evening recitals of light and popular music were introduced by Horace. These had already

been a popular feature at the Tower since 1930.

Horace was soon a great hit on the radio and through his broadcasts of both strict-tempo dance music and light music

selections, a whole page article about him appeared in the Radio Times in 1936. By mid-1939, he was recording for Rex

Records, using the London Granada Wurlitzers, mostly at Clapham Junsction.

1939 saw the installation of a Wurlitzer in the New Opera House, next to the Empress Ballroom. The specification was

drawn up by Horace himself and included one or two unique ideas for a UK organ, including a Tibia Plena which was also

available as a Quint (5 1/3) on the Solo manual. His Rex Records were recorded here for some years.

At the outbreak of WWII, Horace Finch continued to play and broadcast both the Empress and Opera House Wurlitzers

until joining the RAF in 1941. There were two Hammond organs on the camp and he was to be found playing for the

officers and air-mens dances as well as making guest appearances at other camps. During this time, he performed hundreds of charity concerts all over the Midlands and received a personally hand written letter from Mrs. Winston

Churchill. After reaching the rank of Flight-Lieutenant, Station Adjutant, and having being mentioned twice in dispatches,

Horace was released from the RAF in 1945.

On his return, a new feature was introduced at the Opera House during the winter film season, in the nature of interludes

with organ and orchestra. This was a tremendous success. As well as this, the evening dance sessions in the Empress

continued during the winter. In the summer, Horace was back full-time in the Empress for dancing and Sunday concerts.

The fire in the Tower Ballroom of December 1956 rendered its Wurlitzer un-playable, so Reginald Dixon took up

residency in the Empress Ballroom, broadcasting from the Empress and recording at the Opera House. By 1958, all was

back to normal.

There soon followed a world first broadcast featuring five Blackpool theatre organs playing over the air at the same time with Reginald Dixon at the Tower, Horace Finch at the Empress, Watson Holmes at the Palace, Vincent Parker at the

Opera House and Bobby Pagan at the ODEON. Their combined audiences numbered over 7,000.

Work continued until Horace had an accident in 1962 which permanently damaged the third finger of his left hand.

Horace retired from the Empress and Opera House, his position being filled by Watson Holmes and later, Ernest

Broadbent. Horace Finch died on September 30th 1980, aged 74.