Show Biz Bage People

(Ed; If you know of any Bage who should get a mention in this chapter please let me know.)

Dancers

The following story was published in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle - 'Remember When' page 6 on Saturday 17th May 2003.

Joseph James Bage was born on 24th July 1912 in North Shields, Northumberland to Walter George Harrett Bage and Catherine Teresa Castleton. His great grandfather Joseph Bage owned a notable coal merchants business in the town and his father George (known as Daddy Bage to all the family) had been left money in the will. Growing up in North Shields couldn't have been easy. Employment in the area would have been in the colliery, shipyard or docks, or maybe the fishing industry. Joseph's career took quite a different direction. He became a dancer. Perhaps not an easy profession for a man to pursue in those days but one he took up and became quite successful at. He teamed up with his wife-to-be Arlene Miles-Johnson under the stage names Jan and Arlene and they toured Europe with their stage act.

(Jan) Joseph & Arlene Bage

Photo supplied by Len Bage

(Jan) Joseph & Arlene Bage - Photo supplied by Len Bage

Three sisters of Jan namely Agnes (Pat), Lillian & Ethel formed a dance troupe called 'The Castleton Sisters' (Castleton being their mother's maiden name), and they toured Europe together with their mother Catherine (Kitty) who acted as their 'dresser'.

Agnes met, probably while on tour in Europe, and married Spencer Williams who was a prolific black songwriter, and who was credited with writing 'She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes' and was a lifelong friend of Fats Waller.

Spencer Williams wrote dozens of songs and there is a web-site giving all the details of his work at ;-

www.riverwalk.org/proglist/showpromo/spencerwilliams.htm

There are a few song titles composed by S.Williams - Agnes Castleton, namely;-

'Have You Ever Felt That Way' by the Clarence William Jazz Kings (Recording date 2/5/1929)

'Can I TellYou?' by King Oliver and His Orchestra

There is one song title composed by C.Williams - A.Castleton ;-

'Walk That Broad' by the Clarence Williams Washboard 5

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Ed: Maureen Bage emailed me to tell me that her son Neil found the following information;-

This is the song that Agnes Castleton (Bage) wrote with Spencer Williams.

'Have You Ever Felt That Way' (8th September 1929).

The Bage Family

Back Row; Nell, Bill, Jan (Joseph), Syl, Walter, Ethel.

Front Row; Pat, Daddy Bage (Walter), Nana (Catharine), Lil.

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Boy Bands

Tom Bage is Bass & lyrics with the band Kinesis;-

From the Web;-

With an average age of 17, adrenaline-rockers Kinesis, from Bolton, Lancashire, are one of the youngest and loudest bands currently climbing the UK rock ladder.

They are favourites of the BBC Radio 1 Evening Session and have a new single, ...And They Obey, out on 25 February.

 From the Web;- 

Teenage indie punk-rockers, Kinesis are one of the finest and probably loudest bands to come out of Bolton - BBC Southampton's Indy Almroth-Wright caught up with the young upstarts when their tour stopped off in Southampton.

 From the Web;- 

Bolton is not the first place people look for the new stars of rock and roll, but if you missed the city out at the moment, you'd also miss the brilliant Kinesis.

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From the Web;-

Daniel Bage is guitarist with the Exmouth band Pacify.

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Actors

Kirk Christopher Bage is a Professional Actor with the Glasgow Repertory Company, who stage the Bard In The Botanics season every Summer in Glasgow's Botanic gardens.  Spotlight picture (below left) and one of him playing Octavius Caesar in last years production of Antony and Cleopatra (that's him on the right).
 

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