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Bedworth is a market town in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district of Warwickshire, England. It is situated between Coventry, 9 km (5.5 miles) to the south and Nuneaton, 5 km (3 miles) to the north. London is 163 km (101 miles) to the southeast. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 32,268.Residents are known as "Bedworthians", or occasionally "Bedites"
Bedworth is often pronounced "Bed-uth" by many (but not all) residents of the town and inhabitants of nearby Coventry and Nuneaton, though the standard "Bed-worth" pronunciation is used virtually everywhere else.
Nicholas Chamberlaine AlmshousesThe most notable buildings in Bedworth are the Nicholas Chamberlaine Almshouses on All Saint’s Square in the town centre, which are built in Tudor style and date from 1840, having been funded by the local benefactor Nicholas Chamberlaine (1632-1715). The main venue in Bedworth is the Bedworth Civic Hall which has an attached Arts Centre. The St Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church is also a prominent building in the town centre. The Bedworth Water Tower is probably the most noticed building in Bedworth, visible from miles around and built in the 19th century. It used to provide water for the houses and the mining facilities.".
A new and interesting building in George Street is the martial arts academy with a Chinese Canopy at the front. Along Mill Street can be seen rows of former weavers' cottages which were once inhabited by Huguenot weavers.Some of these are still used as shops, although most have fallen into a derelict state. The majority of the town centre was built in the postwar period, and has all the hallmarks of such a development. The town centre itself contains some of the usual high street names such as Tesco, Woolworth's, New Look, Boots, Aldi, and Iceland, as well as many charity and card shops.
Bedworth town centre mid 1970's before the re-developement
Brian Locking
Born December 22, 1940 (1940-12-22)
Bedworth, Warwickshire, England
Genre Rock & Roll, rockabilly
Musician
Bass guitar. clarinet, harmonica
Years active 1956–present
Associated acts Marty Wilde's Wildcats,
The Shadows,
Cliff Richard
Brian Locking (born 22 December 1940, in Bedworth, Warwickshire, England) was the bass guitarist with The Shadows between 1962-1963.
Career
He began playing double bass in several bands, notably with the Lincolnshire based rocker Vince Eager (born Roy Taylor, 4 June 1940, in Lincoln). He switched to bass guitar, later joining The Wildcats, a backing group for the rock and roll singer Marty Wilde. A fellow Wildcat was the drummer and future Shadow, Brian Bennett.
Locking also played several other instruments, including clarinet (nicknamed the "licorice stick"), which earned Locking the nickname "Licorice". When Marty Wilde parted company from The Wildcats, they changed their name to the Krew Kats and recorded instrumentals with modest success. Bennett then left to join the Shadows.
In April 1962, at Bennett's suggestion, Licorice Locking was himself invited to join the Shadows to replace the departing Jet Harris. Stylistically, Locking had a solid "less is more" approach, which was the obverse of Harris's adventurous hard-driving style.[citation needed] The Shadows' sound changed as a result. Locking played on some of their best known tracks, including "Dance On", "Foot Tapper" and "Atlantis". He also played the harmonica in live shows and on his signature album track, "Dakota". He appeared in the Cliff Richard film, Summer Holiday.
After being in the Shadows for only eighteen months, Locking left to pursue his Jehovah's Witnesses activities. He briefly played with the Shadows again five years later while his successor John Rostill was in hospital. In more recent times Locking has been a regular guest playing at Shadows fan clubs across the UK and abroad. He also does occasional public gigs with Shadows style bands.
Some biographers credit Locking with having introduced Cliff Richard to Christianity by warning him of the dangers of spiritualism (Richard had reportedly expressed an interest in trying to contact his recently deceased father).
