Fire at the Odeon, Headrow

[Clarabell]

Hello. My neighbour was recalling a fire she and a friend fled from in the Odeon in the 1960s. They had gone to see a singer, possibly Gene Pitney. She can't remember more than the horrible chaotic crush as people fled from the smoke. Does anyone have any recollections or information about what happened? She's curious because she never found out. Thank you.

[Newsman]

Could this be it? Found it in my big bag of archives. Dated November 4, 1964, from the Yorkshire Post.BOMB SCARE CAUSES BEATLE CONFUSION - NIGHT OF NOISE IN LEEDSA bomb hoax was the climax of two hours of Beatlemania in Leeds yesterday. The Merseyside beat group gave two performances on the stage of the Odeon Cinema.Five minutes before the second show ended, a telephone caller said a bomb was inside the cinema.The fire brigade was called and three fire engines came racing to the cinema just as more than 2,000 fans flowed out into the streets.Crush barriers held back the waiting crowds. Fire engines, police horses and people became a confused mass, but no bomb was found.As the girls in the audience screamed with what one listener could only compare with the noise of low-flying jet aircraft and swirled towards the stage, the Beatles escaped behind the safety curtain.They got away in a police van.Chanting for their return almost drowned the National Anthem. Several girls broke down on their way out of the theatre, and about ten people had to be treated for exhaustion or after being crushed in the crowd.But there were no serious injuries. A senior police officer praised the way the men under him, particularly the special constables, had worked.He also had a word of commendation for the Beatlemaniacs. In spite of their screaming they had been reasonably orderly for most of the day, he said. He estimated that about 8,000 people were around the cinema at one stage.Fans formed a queue outside the Odeon theatre by 10am - and they all had tickets. A fair-haired girl in a leather suit at the head of the queue said she arrived at 5am.A police patrol car waited at the Leeds boundary on the Selby Rd. for the big black limousine bringing the Beatles from Doncaster. They had appeared in Sheffield on Saturday night.Desmond Pratt writes: In almost 20 years of theatre criticism, last night at the Leeds Odeon was the first occasion on which I have been driven out of the theatre by sheer noise. It came from the Beatles' audience and battered on my eardrums until I could stand it no longer.Not one word or note of music could be heard from the stage. I would suggest to the 5,000 vociferous and boisterous fans of The Beatles that it is not sufficient to see the talent but also to hear that talent.

[Clarabell]

That's not it unfortunately as my neighbour saw fire and smoke and her friend had difficulty breathing because of the fire, but thank you for trying! She said they were so scared that when they finally got out they went straight to the The Original Oak for a post-trauma stiff drink or two!

[Chrism]

There's stuff on the t'interweb about Gene Pitney at the Odeon in 68. But NO mention of a fire.