A tribute to fantastic local entertainer Leon Riley

On 4 November 2017, the Hull Daily Mail published a tribute to local Black entertainer Leon Riley, who had sadly recently, passed away at the age of 90.
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Riley was born in Hessle Road on 11 June 1927.[1] Although, he sang in church as a boy and clearly loved music, he began his working life as a docker.[2] However, he eventually pursued a successful career in the entertainment industry performing and DJing around the country.  An advertisement in the Hull Daily Mail published on 29 November 1949 demonstrates that by the age of 22, Riley was the lead vocalist of a local quartet directed by Billy Bristow. It is likely that the foursome regularly performed at local events throughout the region.[3] Although, it has yet to be confirmed, it is also possible that he was the same Leon Riley listed as a personality vocalist in Joe Daniels’ all-star band which performed at different venues in Scotland in 1954 and received rave reviews.[4]

Leon Riley

Although, Riley met a diverse range of talented performers, one of the highlights of his career was when he compéred for the Beatles at Witham’s Majestic Ballroom on 20 October 1962.[5] He also assumed the same role when the band returned to Hull the following year on 13 February 1963. On this occasion, Riley took a fan of the group backstage to meet Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Star and George Harrison who signed a copy of their vinyl single ‘Love Me Do’ and a Parlophone Records publicity card which sold at Christie’s in 2010 for an estimated £7,000.[6] Riley also went for coffee with the Beatles spending time with them on a personal level. After one of their performances, he also found John Lennon’s cufflinks and held onto them for a year until he could return them to the singer’s security guard.[7]

Riley was a pivotal part of Hull’s entertainment history. It is clear from the article in the Hull Daily Mail and the messages published on behalf of the family that Leon Riley was a fantastic entertainer and a much-loved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
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They Hull Daily Mail have produced a compilation of amazing photographs of Riley performing. Click on the link to go to the collection of images on their website - http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/tributes-good-guy-leon-riley-722034

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​[1] Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2005 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
[2] Hull Daily Mail, 4 November 2017, p. 15
[3] Hull Daily Mail, 29 November 1949, p. 2
[4] Aberdeen Evening Express, 4, 6 and 7 December 1954, p. 2 and Fife Free Press & Kirkcaldy Guardian, 4 December 1954, p. 1/
[5] Hull Daily Mail, 4 November 2017, p. 15
[6] Hull Daily Mail, 5 June 2010, p. 3
[7] Hull Daily Mail, 4 November 2017, p. 15