Frank Freeman's Dance Studio

Renowned live music venue of the 1960s in Kidderminster, UK. Created by dance instructors Frank Freeman and his wife Wynn, the Dance Club opened in January 1956 - converted from Kidderminster's first cinema, The Bijou. Freeman also successfully booked well-known dance bands into the local Town Hall, such as Edmundo Ros & Victor Silvester. By the advent of Rock n Roll, Freeman was running 'jive classes' and featuring popular live groups on weekend nights. The Flamingo Cafe next-door also helped cater to the growing number of fans as the Mod-era began and Freeman moved into booking Blue-Beat & Soul acts from Birmingham. By mid 1960 the Dance School was a key venue, with resident DJs Rod Gilchrist and Paul Jennings. Band Of Joy and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac appeared there, DJ John Peel introduced the audience to Tyrannosaurus Rex and gave the Freeman followers their first flavour of American bands with [a256164] (a group he had connected with as a DJ in California). By this time, the Freeman's were a rather quaint couple, well into their sixties, who dispensed tea and sandwiches to the band. Apparently, the band were pleased the venue didn't sell alcohol, as this meant there were no beer bottles that could be thrown at them. Rick Wakeman, Strawbs and Yes also appeared at the Dance Studio. However, the growing popularity of such groups meant higher fees than Freeman could meet and the shows at the venue began to return to their dance roots with acts like Joe Loss. Whilst preparing the Dance Studio for a children's party in October 1991 Frank Freeman collapsed and died. His wife continued to run the venue as a dance school until it closed in 2003.