1964: BULLFIGHTING in ROCHDALE with BIKES | Tonight | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive

Fyfe Robertson travelled to Rochdale to meet the Lancashire matadors who had come up with an innovative way of engaging in their passion…without the need for any live animals.

Clip taken from Tonight, originally broadcast on BBC One, Monday 9th November 1964.

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They say that only a Spaniard or at least a Latin can understand and appreciate the Mystique of bull fighting and England’s The Last Place on Earth where you’d expect to find active followers of this controversial sport but Manchester has a bull fighting club with 60 enthusiastic members who hold

Regular meetings like this one at rdale where experts can show beginners how to face a bll how to make the traditional and intricate mes with the keep how to fix the banderos in a bull’s shoulder how to handle a Sword but there’s no killing so you don’t have to feel sorry for the bull in fact I think the bull enjoys the whole business as much as the matter does but you’ll see for yourself now because here comes the Bullo [Applause] that’s a very graceful pass which one is it that’s the faral now does the metod or decide which pass to use when according to the where the bull comes at it um with the cap no that’s the cap it’s known to use the cape no before the

Um bull soon as the bull comes into the ring before he starts his passes he knows what he’s going to do and then it’s all worked out in his mind and then he does the passes one after the other how many would have matter to use Ser

Passes oh there’s lots there’s six basic passes oh now could you demonstrate perhaps the Veronica yes that’s right I’ll go through the Veronica louder louder assassin how did you learn about bull fighting well you learn about bull fighting from from reading about about bull fighting in books and from going to

Spain I got to Spain at least once a year I see quite a number of careers during the year at least 15 quite often up to 20 and you see a lot of the famous names and th this allied with the uh with the books helps one to appreciate

The art of bull fighting have you ever taking on a bull over there well if you’re taking on a bull over there have you done so oh yes yes I thought Bulls uh well not Bulls but little balls over there Pro providing one knows certain basic principles it’s not all that

Difficult but it’s still dangerous to a certain degree yes the mortality rate isn’t as great these days thanks to Penny in and various other drugs which have been introduced during the recent years uh pennying of course it people often say the bull Fighter’s best friend in fact the main street in Cordoba is

Called The aena Fleming after the inventure of pennying and the uh terreros all over Spain have unveiled statues to his memory but recently in the biggest Plaza in Madrid a com well a complete statue has been unveiled of a Terrero dedicating a bull to Fleming coming back to this business here where

There’s no danger can you still get a kick out of it oh should get a a tremendous kick from the from the art and the beauty and the knowledge of the terreros um actually practicing here in rdale one appreciates the art of the terreros far more would you like to see

Bull fighting in England no I would not like to see bull fighting in England why not there is neither the the atmosphere nor the crowd appreciation nor the Bulls there is nothing in England contusive to bull fighting and I just wouldn’t like to see it in England nor would any of the

Members of my club as a matter of fact I notice you bend the body this is not more graceful but to clear the body from the homes I suppose oh no I mean it’s all part of the movements of the it all depends on the pass say the fal for

Instance I mean you got to Arch the back I’ll just demonstrate you mhm so when it goes to your back must start so you can get your arms over and so yeah but if you’re doing the Veronica now you sort of you get your body out of the way no

This is the movement of the fonica you must you lean over the ball in fact it is more dangerous you’re not getting away as the ball comes the ball approaches here and you’re leaning over see it comes back and the idea is get the ball as near as possible though well

Yes to bring it in nice and close right past the body and um to show that you can dominate the ball what do you mean by dominate B well he can when he’s got it dominated he can go up to it throw this on the ground and he can go and

Touch its own and caros aruther one matter though was known he used to put his eye on a bull’s own and he knew the bull was dominated that a wouldn’t move he’s got it fixed and otherwise he all have to move and he’d lost his eye or

His life how long would a bull stay trying to fix like that oh it’s only for a matter of a minute or two minutes that’s all you got to judge them yes they they got to know you’ve got to dominated you got to be a good math

Though to know this B well now could you demonstrate the use of the mleta and the banders yes I’ll go with the banders first then come to [Applause] [Applause] The [Applause] [Applause] All right Hey