The Yorkshire Film Archive collects, preserves, and shows film made in, or about Yorkshire. Our collections are non-fiction, dating from the 1890s to the present day, and providing a rich and visually compelling record of all aspects of lives, cultures, landscape, industries, major events and everyday activities, many of which are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
This film is part of Free
Lord Mayor at Asian "Do" at St. George's Hall
Quite possibly the first Indian concert to be put on in a theatre in Bradford, with striking classical Indian dancing and musical instruments.
From the collection of:
Overview
After some rather rough home movie footage of an Indian family on a continental holiday, the film settles down to show an Indian concert being put on in the presence of the Lord Mayor at St. George's Hall Bradford in 1972. The concert, to a predominantly Indian audience, consists of Indian dancing and music – unfortunately silent – and a comic magic act.
Although this film arrived in the collection from the Bradford filmmakers C H Wood, it isn’t known who took this film as it is not of their usual professional standards. The Indian population in Bradford was, and remains, significantly smaller than the Pakistani community – in 1991 it was 1.8% of the Bradford population, less than the national average. By 1972 both communities were fairly settled, having between them 260 businesses in Bradford. It was a time of rising racial tension, fuelled by Powell’s famous speech of 1968, the 1971 Immigration Act, the arrival of expelled Ugandan Asians and the activities of the National Front. St George's Hall is the oldest concert hall still in use in the United Kingdom.