Radford - Feeling the Winds of Change
[Dream target date - September 2001]

Images of Nottingham long since vanished have gone on display in the Brewhouse Yard Museum. Chris Richards, 39, has been capturing the terraced streets and factory landscapes of Radford since he was a teenager. Remember the giant Raleigh factory clock on the Faraday Road bridge? The ornate John Player factory entrance on Beckenham Road? or Barnips sweet factory?

Chris's grainy black and white photographs document several decades of change in an area where his family have lived since 1837. 'I knew that I had to capture it all on film before it was too late' said Chris.
'I would often get up at 3am to catch the summer morning light on the ancient brickwork.'

There are intimate shots of the five-acre Raleigh factory site, which was demolished in 1990. There are images of the Player's factory as parts of the building were torn down last year. And there are portraits of ragamufin children playing along the banks of the River Leen - giving a fascinating insight into the life of a bygone era.

[Abridged from 'Loving eye on Radford' by Vicky Anning - Nottingham Evening Post Sept 21st 2001]

Click here to buy the book online

'Feeling the Winds of Change' is on display at the Brewhouse Yard Museum, Nottingham until 18th November 2001. The book 'Images of England - Radford' by Chris Richards is published by Tempus Publishing Ltd and is available in local bookshops price £10.99

You can also order online at Amazon Books or request a signed copy from Riff's Radford Gallery

Brewhouse Yard Museum Private View

[by Paul Fillingham Oct 10th 2001]

Last night I attended a private view at the Brewhouse Yard Museum in Nottingham. The event, organised by the Radford Local History Society features photography by my friend Chris Richards. The invitees mainly consisted of retired school teachers and the like, so it wasn't really my cup of tea. But then who should turn up dressed in scruffy denim and carrying a heavy rucksack but ex-Gaffa frontman Wayne Evans. So, there we were, reunited with Radford's famous son in the depths of Castle Rock, surrounded by wartime posters like 'Walls have ears' and 'Dig for victory'.

Wayne has a shaven head and a jazzy goatie beard these days, but hasn't lost that endearing smile. He said that he's been in touch with drummer Mick Barratt and guitarist Clive Smith with a view to recording some new material. Harry Stevenson is involved too. I told Wayne I'd received emails from people who had fond memories of Gaffa and he said that people still recognise him in the street in the most unlikely locations. He was even recognised in New York when he travelled there a couple of years back.

We need your Nottingham photos from the Eighties
We are collecting material for a forthcoming book about Nottingham in the 1980's. If you have photographs of buildings, clubs, fashion victims or minor celebrities please email info@dreamtargets.com