Exhibition will pay tribute to Mansfield rocker Alvin Stardust

Mansfield Museum is hosting the nine week exhibition, ‘Stardust Memories’, featuring memorabilia from all stages of the pop star’s 50-year career.

It opens on Saturday, September 22, with a tribute concert at Mansfield Palace Theatre on the same night which will feature the Alvin Stardust band.

Performing alongside will also be one of Stardust’s old friends, Nottinghamshire-based musician, Vince Eager.

Vince said: “I know it sounds corny but Alvin really was one of the nicest people in show business.

“He was a great pro and well respected. And a very domesticated guy. He was one of those people who no one had a bad word to say about.”

Vince remembers the days when Stardust, who was born Bernard William Jewry, was better known as his first rock and roll personna, Shane Fenton, and recalled the time when the opportunity came up to take on the Stardust mantle.

The character was originated by the co-founder of Magnet Records, Peter Shelley, who asked several other artists, including Vince, if they would be interested. Shane was the first to accept to and the rest is history.

Vince said: “I couldn’t do it because of other commitments.

“But Shane made it his own and I don’t think any of us could have done as well as he did.”

Liz Weston MBE, the museum’s curator and manager, said: “Whether people knew Alvin personally, are fans or simply like pop, we hope they’ll find plenty of interest in this intriguing exhibition.

“We were privileged to meet Alvin a few years back when he performed at the opening of Pop Goes Mansfield, our exhibition about the local music scene.

“The audience loved him. He played free of charge and was one of the most open, friendly and downright grounded pop musicians you could meet.

“This sentiment and respect was reflected in the hundreds of affectionate comments in a Book of Condolences we placed in the museum after his death in 2014.”

Stardust Memories runs at the museum from September 22, to November 17, and is expected to draw aficionados from all over the UK.

Tickets for the concert can be booked at www.mansfieldpalace.co.uk or by calling 01623 633133.