When Chubby had Ballymena twisting and little Millie brought 'My Boy Lollipop' to Flamingo

IT’S still hard to believe that a dance floor in an alcohol free ballroom sited in the middle of sedate, early 60s Ballymena played host to so many world superstars.

The visit of The Rolling Stones is, of course, legendary but did you know that the man who changed the dancing habits of the entire world once played before a heaving Ballymena audience?

And were you aware that the teenager from Jamaica whose ‘one hit wonder’ song introduced the world to ‘Ska’ also played the local venue?

Now pictures of these performances have emerged in the ongoing series of pictures which are appearing on the facebook site ‘Ballymena past and present’.

There’s a wonderful shot of Chubby Checker, the man who set the whole world twisting from Harlem clubs to the White House, Buckingham Palace and beyond smiling at an appreciative crowd as he looks down from the Flamingo stage.

The Twist’s movements were so rudimentary that almosteveryone, regardless of their level of coordination, could do it, usually without injuring or embarrassing themselves!

‘The Twist’, a song originally written and performed by Hank Ballard, was already having modest success on the charts when Checker's version and his accompanying dance routine gave the song new life.

As a dance movement, ‘The Twist’ revolutionized popular culture by giving couples the freedom to break apart on the dance floor.

An appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand launched Checker's version of the song to the No. 1 Billboard spot in September 1960.

In January 1962, it topped the chart again.

Although Checker recorded many more songs in the following years, none ever matched the success of ‘The Twist.’ He continued to capitalize on the theme with similarly titled songs, such as ‘"Let's Twist Again’, ‘Twistin' U.S.A.’ and ‘Twist It Up’ in the early 1960s.

SKA

The teenage one hit wonder, Millie Small was already globally famous when she performed at The Flamingo.

Her version of ‘My Boy Lollipop’ influenced many of the bands who later took part in the Two Tone revolution which swept the UK charts in the late 70s and early 80s.

The sound of Ska as played by the likes of The Specials and Madness had not been heard by British audiences until the little teenager with the infectious smile hit the top of the charts.

Originally ‘My Girl Lollypop’, the song was written in the mid-1950s and first recorded in 1956 by American singer Barbie Gaye under the title ‘My Boy Lollypop.’

The success of the later version recorded by Millie in 1964 was largely down to the efforts of Island Records' founder, Chris Blackwell.

Blackwell had purchased the original record in 1959 and found the copy in his archives in 1963. He went on to produce Small’s remake, changing the spelling of the song's title to read ‘Lollipop’ instead of ‘Lollypop.’

It was recorded in a rhythmically similar shuffle/ska/bluebeat-style, and in 1964, it became her breakthrough blockbuster hit in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 2.

The song also went to No. 1 in Republic of Ireland and No. 2 in the United States (on the Smash Record label, behind "I Get Around" by the Beach Boys).

Considered the first commercially successful international ska song, Small's version of "My Boy Lollipop" sold over 7 million copies worldwide and helped to launch Island Records into mainstream popular music. It remains one of the best-selling reggae/ska hits of all time and gave Small an international hit at the age of 17.