Back Row Brighton

The title of 'Back Row Brighton' was inspired by the titles of QueenSpark's most popular books.

Just as 'Backyard' and 'Back Street Brighton' took Thatcher's children back to the thirties and fifties, so 'Back Row Brighton' transports us back to the heyday of cinema-going in the company of those who were there.

It is an affectionate look at some of the city's 'lost cinemas' such as the Astoria, the Granada, the Continentale and the Regency. Alongside evocative archive photographs, the cinemas are recalled in touching and humorous stories of romance, excitement, grandeur and, occasionally, fleas.

Some of these recollections are drawn from QueenSpark's rich archive, others are the recorded reminiscenses of City elders asked to recall cinema-going in Brighton & Hove from the 1930s to 1960s.

'I remember sitting in the Curzon cinema, Brighton, for seven hours, watching Erol Flynn lead the Light Brigade to glory. In those days, films were shown continuously and you could stay as long as you liked, or dared. One day a worried usherette flashed her touch on me and said, "Look, son we have to either feed you or send you home and as we haven't the facilities for the former, you had better bugger off home. Your mum is probably getting worried."'

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