Brighton Beach Gallopers
Do the Brighton beach gallopers have an organ?
yes, a 52-key Dean. I was walking along the promenade last year while they were setting it up and met Nick Dean who was down to service the instrument and had a nice chat with him and the owner. Apparently it's a very large 52-key organ - stuffed full of violins and other things giving a very robust sound more like a large 89-key instrument than a small 52-keyer. It's reckoned that is almost certainly the hardest working organ in the UK. Unless the weather is appalling and the ride is closed (like today!) it plays every day from around Easter weekend through to the late autumn from the morning to the evening. Nick said that certain parts have to be replaced annually as they get so much wear through heavy play they simply have to be replaced annually! Last year it was converted back to its original book operation.
