Event Details

For Mental Health Awareness Week, the Special Collections and Archives are holding a comedy related event to mark Eric Morecambe's 100th birthday...

For Mental Health Awareness Week, the Special Collections and Archives are holding a comedy related event to mark Eric Morecambe's 100th birthday. The event will take place in the Events Space at Lancaster University Library. The event is associated with the Jack Hylton Archive held by the Special Collections and Archives in the Library.

The afternoon will include:

• 2.30-3.30pm: Audience with Peter Jetson: Peter is the resident organist at Morecambe Winter Gardens who has worked with many of the great names in British Comedy. He will talk about how he first started in the entertainment business and about the banjolele, and George Formby. This will be followed by a few songs on the banjolele, followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
• 3.30-3.45pm: Break
• 3.45-4.15pm: Talk from Gary Brannan, Keeper of Archives and Special Collections at Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York, about the Eric Morecambe materials they have recently acquired for their collections and the comedy related collection held at the Borthwick.
• 4.15-4.45pm: Talk from Katie Waring, Special Collections and Archives Manager at Lancaster University about the Jack Hylton archive held at Lancaster and an overview of our future plans for the collection.

There will also be a small display of materials from the Jack Hylton collection on Morecambe & Wise. Jack Hylton was band leader turned a impresario who discovered the 12 year-old Eric Bartholomew (later renamed Morecambe after his home town) during auditions for his touring youth revue "Youth Takes a Bow". The show also featured Ernie Wise who at the age of 13 had already worked on shows produced by Hylton. During the tour, Hylton was persuaded to put the two young stars together and the 'Morecambe & Wise' double act was born.

This is an hybrid event. Registration is required. The in-person event will be held in the Events Space at the Library.