E gerald corrigan biography books
Local History
An unlikely place for stars?
In December 1998 the town of Batley held a civic tribute for the man who, thirty years earlier, had really put the town on the world map. James Corrigan, who came from a Yorkshire fairground family, built what came to be seen as the biggest variety club in Europe.
James had married a Batley girl, Betty, and together they opened a bingo hall in the town but James's dream was for something much bigger. James and Betty found a derelict site on Bradford Road and on Easter Sunday 1967 the Batley Variety Club opened its doors. It had taken just 14 weeks to build.
A man with a dream: James Corrigan
Speaking to the BBC in 1968 James said: "The Variety Club was a joke. Everybody said it couldn't be built and it couldn't be done, and it should be a failure, but it's been proven that they were wrong." James's dream was to bring big names to the club at affordable entrance prices and Batley might have seemed an unlikely place for this. But Gerald corrigan goldman sachs!