Earlier this year, Gary Cavanagh one of the co-authors of Noise of the Valleys books, gave a talk at Bradford Local Studies Library on the music scene in Bradford and surrounding areas. He focused upon musical acts from the 60’s to the 80’s and mainly upon the more mainstream and ear friendly artists which included a band called Three Good Reasons  from Keighley that reached no 1 in the Dutch charts with a cover version of the Beatles ‘Nowhere Man’!

He also charted the history of the hidden musical gems of the area whilst giving the backstory to better known artists like Kiki Dee and her history with Motown and even Bingley’s Rodney Bewes with the single for the theme tune from his first sitcom, on which he performed the vocals. Gary outlined his quest to seek out these and other rare tracks for his ‘Noise of the Valleys’ project which now comprise of 14 CDs worth of music from the local area and two volumes of books.

It was an informative and entertaining talk and Gary’s enthusiasm for and knowledge of the local music scene and its history and importance shone through and some  members of the audience remembered going to the old venues and clubs he mentioned in association with the artists and bands. The talk was interspersed with snippets from rare tracks including a song from Keighley’s own Linda Russell and former Shipley based American soul star Tommy Hunt!

The Noise of the Valleys books and CDs are a real labour of love for Gary Cavanagh and Matt Webster and an important preservation of the rich spectrum of local music heritage for the people of Bradford and surrounding areas.  Volume three of the books which will cover the era 1999-2009 is currently being compiled and written. You can support this project here:

https://www.bradfordnoise.com/