The Plaza pays tribute to Mr Nigel Ogden

We have been saddened to hear of the passing of the Entertainer, Organ Maestro and great friend of The Plaza Mr Nigel Ogden.

Nigel who was born in Manchester found fame and acclaim through his musicianship of instruments such as our very own Mighty Compton Organ and was known to many of us for ‘The Organist Entertains’ on BBC Radio 2

Nigel was always a great supporter of The Plaza and had recorded what is believed to be the first commercial recording of our Mighty Compton Organ circa 1990 with a recording of the aptly named ‘At the Plaza’ which was released by the Cinema Organ Society.

Further support was provided during the sad and worrying days of The Plaza’s closure after her ‘Bingo’ era drew to an end, when in 1998 Mecca kindly opened the venue for what many may have thought at the time was a final concert and Nigel composed a piece called ‘Farewell to the Plaza’ for the occassion which thankfully was superceded by later events once the Plaza was saved and reopened.

After The Plaza re-opened Nigel went on to record ‘You Oughta be in Pictures’ and brought the BBC to The Plaza to record editions of ‘The Organist Entertains’ in front of a live audience on at least 2 occassions.

Following the stunning restoration of The Plaza in 2009, Nigel officially re-commissioned The Mighty Compton organ as with a glorious crescendo and the illumination of the etched encasement surrounds a celebration commenced to herald a new era of our much loved Art Deco Gem.

Nigel Ogden will be many things to many people and our sincerest condolences are extended to his family, friends and legions of fans throughout the world at this very sad time so to commemorate this great man we shall will not only raise a glass, but we will continue to raise the Mighty Compton Organ and remember this magnificent musician and friend of the Plaza and say…

…Thank You Nigel for keeping us in your heart and for keeping us entertained…