KEIGHLEY’S Linda Russell, seen here with her husband Bruce, made her first TV appearance in 1967, singing Sunny on a Granada programme called First Timers. Her husband accompanied her on the guitar.
Born Linda Nixon in 1942, she had attended Highfield School and worked in the slipper department at Peter Black’s, meeting her husband in a local group, the Beat Squad, with whom, immediately after their wedding in 1964, they had embarked on a six-week tour of France.
The pair formed a double act the following year and played the Northern club circuit. In 1968 they became long-running resident artistes at the famous Batley Variety Club, appearing with stars like Shirley Bassey, Des O’Connor and Bruce Forsyth. Unusually in 1969 Linda won a prize for the “best interpretation of a Bulgarian song by a foreign artiste”!
This and The Nomads photograph have been supplied by Keighley Local Studies Library, which will be celebrating Keighley’s popular musical heritage with a whole Saturday of events on September 9.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here