Blue plaque unveiled in honour of man that brought the stars to Yorkshire mill town

  • Report by Adam Fowler

For decades the Batley Variety Club was one of the top entertainment venues in the North of England.

Stars such as Shirley Bassey, Morecambe and Wise, Eartha Kitt and Louis Armstrong performed there, along with the Bee Gees to Tom Jones.

It opened in the 1967 and was the idea of businessman James Corrigan.

On Thursday (16 May), a blue plaque in Corrigan's honour was unveiled on the building to pay tribute to its founder, who died in 2000.

Hundreds gathered outside the former Batley Variety Club to pay tribute to its founder James Corrigan.

Hundreds gathered outside the former Batley Variety Club to celebrate the man who brought "a little Las Vegas" to Yorkshire.

Before opening the club in 1967, Corrigan and his wife Betty went to Las Vegas to develop their design for a new venue.

The club was known as the "Vegas of the North" and attracted the best acts in show business, both from the UK and USA.

At its height, the club was drawing capacity audiences of 2,500 and had a membership of 300,000 eager to see international stars.

Singer Louis Armstrong even shared his memories of the club. Describing it "living aspirin".

"This place, evidently everyone here knows where it is. But all I got to say about Batley is, it's a living aspirin."

Stars such as Shirley Bassey, Morecambe and Wise, Eartha Kitt and Louis Armstrong performed there, along with the Bee Gees to Tom Jones.

The accolades continued at event held to unveil the plaque, with messages from Neil Sedaka, Cliff Richard and one from Shirley Bassey.

Bassey said: "James, always the joker asked me if I'd like to go for dinner one evening. I accepted and we arranged for the Friday after the show.

"I got all dressed up in a mink jacket and a cocktail gown. You took me to a fish and chip takeaway. When the opposition approached me to play other venues, I refused."

Batley Variety Club closed in 1978 before reopening as the Frontier a few years later. It then closed again in 2016 and reopened as a gym.

Among the stars who turned out in person for the plaque unveiling was British comedian and entertainer, Bernie Clifton, who said he was "thrilled" to be back at the venue.

"I'm thrilled and delighted to be back at Batley Variety Club, where it changed my life.

"My life was changed here 53 years ago. I went on, I did my opening gag."

The blue plaque is now on display to the public and will remain on the side of the building as a lasting reminder of James Corrigan's legacy.

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