The Rex Cinema

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Re: rex

Postby bubbly jock » Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:25 pm

general jack o'niell wrote:all the old framed pic of movie stars in the lobby, anyone name them?

The ones I remember were Ida Lupino, Susan Hayward, and Doris Day.


The money I was given got me a bottle of coke a packet of crisps and a milkmaid bar. The 9d left got you in past Jeannie Broon the usherette.

Mattie took the money and cissie served at the kiosk. Mr Duff asked me every Saturday if I had found a wife yet?

The empty coke bottle got you a penny caramel and it was a bonus if you found some empties below the seat if you could get to them before the Park Square crowd.

Mind you I remember a lot more about the place but the site polis would jeest remove it.

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Postby petewick » Sat Jan 14, 2006 5:01 pm

Used to think it was really funny managing to roll these empty glass Coke bottles down the auditorium, they made a distinctive rattling noise until they hit the base of the stage.
Additionally, various musical notes could be played on them, the note depending on the amount of Coke in the bottle.
It was a hoot when you had about 20 of these musicians all playing in response to each other.

Petewick :P
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Ah the memories!

Postby Annie » Sat Jan 21, 2006 12:09 pm

I am with Frosty on the Rex. It was the hot thing to do on a Saturday night, if you had a steady boyfriend. You got him to take you to the pictures and .... well .... we all know what went on in the GOLDEN DIVE INS don't we.

I had to pick my arse off the floor after reading some of the posts!

Good one guys!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! :oops:
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Rex cinema

Postby bill » Sun Oct 01, 2006 4:03 pm

Hi,just adding my tuppence worth to the reminiscences about the Rex.

I was trainee projectionist 1964/65,Ronnie Hamilton was chief projectionist and Catherine Stanners was 2nd projectionist. Catherine and I married in 1969 and have been in Corby(aka little Scotland)since.
When Catherine started it was Tommy Galbraith and Ronnie who worked there,and it was Ian McAuley who had left that created the vacancy that she filled.
A name that has'nt been mentioned is Neily McGeachy.Neily was the long time handyman and previously in the Rex heyday he was the doorman,complete with uniform.This was when the tearoom on the 1st floor was still in operation,and Mr Duff would come to work in dinner jacket and dickie bow.A far cry from the final days when the Rex was a "flea pit".
The last person to operate the projectors was my brother Raymond.Where as when I worked there there was three of us,Raymond infact did it on his own.
I too years before used to roll my empty coke bottle down the incline,though when younger I would take it back to the kiosk in exchange for a penny caramel.Sometimes if there was a crowd of us we would put all our empties on a seat then tip the seat for all the bottles to crash to the floor and roll.It was on one of these occassions that i was chucked oot by usherette Jeannie Brown.Jeannie was Catherines mum,so years later she was to become my mother in law.Her greatest claim to fame though lies in the fact that she chucked oot Brian Poole and the Tremeloes for making too much noise as they waited to play the Vic later that night.
The Rex holds many happy memories for Catherine and myself,though as you can see by the photo it really was in a sad state,outside and in, by the time it was demolished.........................Bill.
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Postby EMDEE » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:30 pm

Maybe somebody can confirm this, but if my memory serves me correctly I think Andy Stewart came to Campbeltown in the mid 1960s and did a show in the Rex. (Possibly 1965?) This was at the height of his career, and followed the success of his recording of "Campbeltown Loch". I think this connection may have had something to do with his visit.

I was in Dalintober School then, and as Andy Stewart was a household name at that time, some of us went down town after school to see if we could spot him, and discovered he was out on a fishing boat getting a trip round the loch. When he came off the boat he was clutching a lemonade bottle full of water out of the loch. (The mind boggles as to what else might have been in the bottle if it came out of Campbeltown Loch in the mid 1960s.)

I was at the show that night, and again if I remember correctly, the full Ceannloch Pipe Band, as it was then known, appeared on the stage.

Anybody else remember this, or went to the show?
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Postby bill » Wed Oct 04, 2006 3:23 pm

I think it would have been 1966.I finished working in the Rex June 1966, and it was after that that he appeared there.

The reason he received the freedom of the town goes back to when he appeared on the most popular tv show at the time "SUNDAY NIGHT at the LONDON PALLADIUM".This show was watched every Sunday night by upwards of twenty million viewers,so you can imagine the publicity for the town when for the whole of his spot,(and I think he was top of the bill) all Andy sung was Campbeltown Loch.Though best known as a singer he was also a comic and impressionist,(or so he thought)so he sung Campbeltown Loch that night at the Palladium as "Elvis","Louis Armstrong" and a few others I can't remember.
At that time he was very popular,having his own tv. show,The White Heather Club".And of course no Hogmany tv. celebration was complete without Andy.

Elsewhere in The Forum someone thought that he had a no.1 with Campbeltown Loch,but a quick look in The Guinness book of hit singles shows that he had four chart entries.

1960 no.37 Donald where's your troosers (1wk)

1961 no.19 A Scottish soldier(40wks)

1961 no.28 The Battle's Oe'r(13wks)

1965 no.43 Dr.Finlay(5wks)

So a total of 59 weeks.........I am more than glad to say that I did'nt buy any.(though I must admit I quite liked "A Scottish soldier")
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Postby EMDEE » Thu Oct 05, 2006 12:51 am

Thanks for the info. Quite a bit there I didn't know about.Didn't know he had been given the freedom of the town.

Different times. I don't think that sort of stuff would reach the charts nowadays.

Jimmy Shand was also in the charts in the late 1950s with "The Bluebell Polka", which virtually became his theme tune, and people now wrongly think that he wrote it.
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The Rex Cinema

Postby alan k » Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:37 pm

Anyone remember when it was eventually demolished around 1984/85 ?
COME ON YE SAINTS ( ST JOHNSTONE)
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Postby EMDEE » Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:27 am

1979?
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Postby petewick » Wed Oct 18, 2006 10:15 am

1982
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BALD AND EXPLOSIVE AN' JEEST GET THE BEER UP
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Postby EMDEE » Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:01 am

I didn't think it was as late as that. Are you sure of that?
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Postby j wareham » Mon Feb 19, 2007 6:08 pm

MY MOTHER WORKED AT THE REX THAT ALLOWED ME & MY BROTHER TO GET IN FREE AND WE GOT INTO THE WEE PICTURE.S AS WELL. IN THE WINTER WE WOULD GO TO REX ON MONDAY AND THE WEE PICTURE ON TUESDAY BACK TO THE REX ON WEDNSDAY & SO ON. IN THEM DAYS THEY CHANGED THE PICTURES EVERY TWO DAYS WE SAW LOTS OF THEM.
LONG TIME AGO JACKIE WAREHAM
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Postby The Elusive Mr D. » Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:42 pm

I tried to get in to see Woodstock when I was a mere lad of 17 but was turned away at the door. I still haven't seen it all the way through :cry:
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Postby 4th gen Suthen' » Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:47 pm

Another thread tells us The Rex was demolished in May 1981.
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Postby petewick » Tue Apr 24, 2007 10:19 am

kNEW IT WAS INTO THE 80'S


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