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70th Anniversary of the Austin-Morris 152/J2

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 Released by BMC in 1956, and seen as the British alternative to the VW Transporter,  the Austin-Morris 152/J2 was available in both Austin and Morris versions, with revised front styling for each. The Austin example can be seen here, in minibus form, with the slatted design of the front grille. The Austin-Morris Omni model was released in June of 1956. Bodywork was of a unitary construction, with the pressings manufacturing taking place at Nuffield Metal Products, Ward End, Birmingham,  and assembly moved to Adderley Park. The Austin example featured a slatted front grille style, with the Morris version featuring an inverted lozenge shape grille. Slightly larger in body shape to the VW,  with more bulbous styling to the body sides, many in the UK referred to this model as 'the Hovis van', in reference to the famous British loaf of bread, which did share an uncanny resemblance in shape! Initially available in four formats, these were the Omnivan, Omnicoach, Omnitruck...
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Album Covers Featuring Vans & Campervans

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  Music Album covers-featuring vans & campervans... I thought it was about time that I combined my love of  music, with my passion for campervans, and light commercial vans in general. What better way to accomplish that, than taking a look at the various campervans and basic vans which have appeared on album covers over the years. As you might expect, it is the iconic VW marque which leads the way, appearing not only on 60s and 70s album covers, but is still very much in vogue with young musicians of the present. What follows are a sample of album covers which feature either a campervan or basic light commercial van....I'll add more as I discover them. Bob Dylan---Freewheelin So, what ranks as one of the most well known album covers featuring a van? For many it will be the 1963 album by Bob Dylan, 'Freewheelin', which has that famous picture of Bob and his then girlfriend, Suze Rotolo walking down the centre of the street (West 4th Street, New York), with the iconic spl...
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Worcester Gaumont, where music legends played...

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 It wasn't the Whiskey a Go Go in LA, but deserves better than this... The story of the Worcester Gaumont cinema and the music legends that appeared there...  It was a sad looking building when I took this picture (above), one cold, damp morning in 2024. I had not ventured around the rear of this imposing structure for the best part of forty years. There was a somewhat strange feeling to be back in the spot which I had visited many times in my youth, as I was trying to catch a glimpse of  various singers and musicians. I had been more used to seeing the area in darkness, filled with excited teenagers, armed with autograph books, and roadies busy ferrying equipment between the stage door and their tour van. The venue had been unused for several years when I visited, with a plethora of weeds and shrubs growing beneath its exterior, the entrance strewn with litter, ivy growing rampant up waste pipes, but with the stage door still visible. The rear entrance to this once famou...
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