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Tony Richards - how it all began
Tony Richards, [aka Tony Richardson] although born in Whitby, has spent the most of his life in the surrounding country side.
At the age of six his family moved to the hamlet of Littlebeck, and it was here that Tony sang for the first time to a live audience at the local Methodist Sunday School. He can still remember the two hymns clearly; ‘Mothers of Salem’ and ‘Remember all those People’. This would be in 1948.
In 1950 the family moved to Mountain Ash, a remote farm close to the moors at the head of the Glaisdale valley, with a non adopted gravel road and no electricity, for eleven years. It was six years before his father bought their first car. It was not surprising that Tony, being from a musical family, turned to music to help pass the time.
His first instrument was a Ukulele and, influenced by the music of late George Formby, learned a few chords, after which came his first Guitar, a second hand flat top, at the price of £1 - on today's money about £50.
Saturday night dances were held at the local village hall in Glaisdale and one particular night when the Columbian Dance Band went for their supper, some of Tony's friends encouraged him to sing. So with no microphone and just the acoustic guitar he sang two or three numbers. The first one he still remembers well, was a song from a Lonnie Donegan record called ‘Dead or Alive’.
One particular night Jack Curtis and his Band came to the village, and with them Jack brought a brand new guitar. Seeing Tony was interested he let him sit in with the Band, and, needless to say on request from Tony, the next time he came he brought a new one for him. The £19 Tony had to find meant the selling of his BSA Rifle, his precious Long Bow and a number of other bits and pieces.
Around that time Lonnie Donegan was hitting the air waves with skiffle music and like many other budding musicians, Tony, along with his brother and some friends, started there own skiffle group and called themselves ‘The Ranchers’.
The highlight of their success was playing at the Coliseum Cinema, standing on the narrow stage in front of the silver screen and singing five or six numbers in the interval between the two feature films. The Manager would then pay them in cinema tickets - usually two each.