Blackpool 1984–1989

“We stayed in boarding houses with similar families, made intense friendships and lived on the memories through the following winter!”

– Barry Lewis on magic holidays in Blackpool, Lancashire

 

 

Since Victorian times Blackpool on Britain’s north west coast has been the country’s most popular seaside resort, Synonymous with wide sandy beaches, donkey rides, ballroom dancing, the Blackpool Tower, 3 piers, ‘kiss me quick’ hats and fun, Barry Lewis says he’d been “photographing the insanity of this party town, in both summer and winter, for over 35 years”.

These images are from ‘Blackpool 1984-1989’, from Cafe Royal Books.

 

 

“I still love the seaside – those earliest memories are still released by the smells of sand, sea, and candyfloss when I first get to a seafront now – and I have never lost that magical moment of the first glimpse of the sea. Blackpool seemed so far away in the north that it became an exotic chimera, when I saw it on TV – miles of sandy beaches with donkey rides, not one but three piers, a huge fun-fair, a mile-long promenade full of fortune-tellers, pubs, fish-and-chip shops, plus of course the famous illuminations along the promenade.

“I was brought up in London and our family holiday trips to the south coast are some of my earliest memories. My mum, sister and I would squeeze into the sidecar of my dad’s old motorbike and head for exotic towns such of Margate, Broadstairs or Folkstone where a week’s holiday would seem like a lifetime. We stayed in boarding houses with similar families, made intense friendships and lived on the memories through the following winter!

“These images stayed with me and when I became a photographer, like so many before me, I headed north and have been photographing the insanity of this party town, both in summer and winter, for over 35 years.”

– Barry Lewis

 

 

 

“Back then my Blackpool days would start well before breakfast, at low tide, when the miles of sandy beach bathed in a soft early morning light are a world apart. The early risers would gradually appear like marks on an empty canvas. It was a time of silence – for some it was a chance for a quiet read or stroll while for others it was a chance to watch the circus horses being exercised.

“Then came the bait diggers and detectorists, hunting for worms, lost change and pirate treasure and as the day unfolded a squadron of ice cream caravans would arrive to service the approaching families… dipping their toes in the sea, setting up their camps before digging sandcastles and burying Granny!

“The day seemed to stretch on forever, as did the warmth and light. Individual memories are eclipsed by a kaleidoscope of action and colour – instant friends and sunburned bodies, cold beer and sandy sandwiches. I now use the images I took as the key to releasing fragments from a dream. “

 

 

“My memories of this time were often the smells, lingering in the sea salt air: a mix of suntan lotion, mint rock, stale beer, and vinegar from the endless fish and chip shops. Everyone was friendly and out to have a good time — all you needed to do was have lots of film, energy and a sense of humour!”

– Barry lewis

 

 

Via: Blackpool Social Club. Buy the book at Cafe Royal Books.