Compton Organ- ABC Cinema Plymouth

[MrPacemaker1]

I am speechless to see this good old COMPTON organ pushed asside like a worn out war ship , suppose we have to be gratefull they havn,t put hammer through it .TREV UK.

[truthseekers666]

wow, amazing hidden treasures in Bingo halls everywhere, who knows? Such a shame these things arent used more.

[The2010SnowDay]

how do you play the other half of the console?

[jazzboyfin]

@The2010SnowDay Hi. There were two large heavy lids covering the console. We only had a short time to investigate and try the organ so only took one of them off. Hence why only half is revealed and it's difficult for me to play it.

[Thedoctorsbiggestfan]

did you uncover then and why is it not all out and up on the surface level

[jazzboyfin]

@Thedoctorsbiggestfan - the console was still on its original lift and when that worked it rose up to ground level. The lift had long-since stopped working - probably because the underside of the lift base where all the mechanism and electrics were was full of water! So we had to jump down to the console having taken one of the lids off.

[kejcolley]

You watch this and wonder why the morons who run a bingo hall (as this so obviously now is) cant see what a marvellous attraction, a nightly performance, from a competent organist, on this Compton would be! Honestly, it beats me!

[ChrisLawtonorganist]

@kejcolley same here Keith! Ive spoke to people and they say stuff like "we go to watch a film not an organ". I had someone say once "people havent got time to watch an organ interlude". Well if you havent got time you shouldnt be out full stop if your lifes that hectic!!! Yet the same people are appy to watch 50 minutes of adverts and trailers!!! Weird!

[donnaeglynn]

Saw this at the ABC cinema, Saturday morning matinee in Plymouth, would have been 6 or 7,is still came up from below the floor then, mid 60's

[sheep21]

truly astounding! what a survivor!

[Silentscreenstar]

Super, buried but still live and kicking!

[orbisonuk1]

back in the early seventies a guy called rosevere,who had a little shop just a few yards away from the abc,gave me the chance to play this instrument,he was the caretaker of it,I got somr lovely photos of it,but sadly now it is didmantled and is looking for a new home,Rick wakeman will look after it im sure.

[jazzboyfin]

Hi. It is not looking for a new home - it HAS a new home. It was bought by Trinity College of Music for their Blackheath Halls. A finer home for it would be hard to find. We just need money now to restore and install the organ.

[alijanlondon]

@jazzboyfin unfortunately the project is off. the new management of the trinity halls are not enthusiastic and won't commit money to it. the future of the halls is uncertain

[plaza2nd]

A cinema/organ enthusiasts dream! I'm not an emotinal person but watching this makes me fill up!

[wurly2008]

If you are anywhere near Lifton in Devon, visit Dingles Fairground heritage centre.

There is a Compton being restored there and is fully playable through the Opus ii system. Come along and play it. The owner encourages people like you to have a go.

[Gillyyorkie]

What a waste the cinema is now a bingo Hall for old biddies to dab their bingo cards .  how sad a lovely instrument

[Theyoungorganist01]

This is great. Is there any way that we can find out what has happened to compton organs? There were two installed in my local town of halifax and i dont know where either of them ended up.

[NardDogz]

Talk about finding buried treasure!

[drunksingsheep]

y should he cower in a hole?

Playing the organ is nothing to be ashamed of

[MANTLEBERG]

I think due respect is owed to the fitters that adapted the place for bingo, i have been to places where the console has been trashed, because its in the way, and ranks of pipes stolen for scrap, to see and hear this instrument working is a miracle.

[and3583]

Most definitely. Usually, if you don't get the organ out before the fitters go in, it gets chucked in a skip.

[MANTLEBERG]

Hey what is the tune he starts with?

[348paul]

No doubt Peter will be along to tell us - Some absolutely glorious voicings in there though :)

[jazzboyfin]

It's an old Duke Ellington number called Solitude. Thanks for the compliment 348paul, I was struggling though to A) reach the keys underneath that great wooden cover and B) to hear the organ from down there. I'm afraid my registration selection was rather poor too - basically i just stuffed a handful of stops down to get something out of it!

[MANTLEBERG]

The organ was a good feature for the venue but sometimes a nightmare for the operators, tines etc..i did some work at stanford hall for a while, and found this out..m.b.

[olivierlatry]

Fantastic to see this! I have always thought this to be compton's best small instrument and so glad that it is going to a new home. Well done!!

[bonzo874]

shame about Aberdeen ,hell, id be there tomorrow n rip it out if the finances would hold up lol

[bonzo874]

I hope the repairs and installation go in succesfully, I must try and get to see the finished work at a concert ,good luck !!

[bonzo874]

i see that the melotone unit is in need of repairs , I hope the plates arent warped , last i heard there wasnt anyway that sort of damage could be repaired

[jazzboyfin]

Hi. The Meltone does actually work, albeit with a few dead notes and a few crackles etc. We will restore it and hopefully get it working well. The disks are not particularly warped.

Cheers

Peter

[Xerox6085I]

Funny with 'disco' of the days of old as it is, you'd think it would be time for a skating rink, silent movie cinema re-birth!

[binkyboobosh]

The ABC is now a bingo hall. The organ was trapped under fixtures and fittings and couldn't be raised. It had not been used for years. They uncovered it ready for removal and restoration. This was a famous organ, played by Dudley Savage, left to rot away. What were they thinking??

[Brandotuomikoski]

that is an odd position for that organ. Why is it half under ground?

[jazzboyfin]

See the website: (3Ws)blackheath-compton(dot)or­g(dot)uk for full details

[contrabombardon]

Fantastic to see and hear this organ. Good luck with the restoration and re-instalation.

[manniemain]

This organ was rescued. Spare a thought for the Compton organ in the former Capitol Cinema in Aberdeen. Still with its console marooned under the floor of what is now a night club with the pipework trapped in walled in chambers. What is the use of listing buildings when they actually prevent things like this being taken to where they will be played and listened to again even though permission was given to destroy the interior of this beautiful theatre in the 1990s?

[rayemsgy]

How great to see another organ has been rescued from an old ABC cinema.I worked at the ABC Grimsby and the organ was sent to the ABC Kingston upon Thames on the cinemas modernisation,don't suppose it exists now.

We have a rescued Compton organ in Louth Town Hall, rescued and restored, fantastic to listen to.

[jazzboyfin]

Blimey! I didn't know this was up here on Youtube. That's me playing the ABC Compton during a survey we did of the instrument in 2005. We subsequently removed it to safe storage in 2006 and it awaits restoration and installation into Blackheath Halls in South-East London.

See the website mentioned in the video description for more details.

Peter Hammond

[prestonjake]

wow, did they have to do any work to get the organ to play anything and did they just find this amazing organ without knowing it was there

[jazzboyfin]

We knew it was there alright. It hadn't been touched for at least two years and had not been maintained for many more years than that. Typical of a Compton though we just switched it on and it was playable after a fashion.

Several notes were sticky as you can see but generally the pipe chamber contents were in good condition. The console was filthy though and below it in the old lift shaft was 3ft of water!

[crazyjonhere]

is there any chance of rescueing the one in the state cinema in essex herd that place is been left to rot and that has a semi restored comton organ in there with all the pipes and that one in aberdeen in the capitol cinema.And wot a good save from the abc in plymouth

[Scroppie]

Why is that Beast Burried. The owner of that bingo hall should be ashamed. But my god what a sound :):):):) how long has it been unused and is it going to be restored?

[qstedmud]

What a great pleasure to see and hear this wonderful Compton organ, let's hope we can hear and see more of this beautiful instrument. Plesae keep up the good work. Thank you.