Rising Star Agency (The Bands)

Cecil's Rising Star Agency aka E.M.S. was using local talent but also singers and groups from all over the UK. His office was housed above the record shop with band rehearsal room in the basement at; 151 Dudley Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, once a Black Culture shop and later Ideal Records and even a Flower Shop in the 90's. The outside photo, supplied by the stations jazz dj  Steve Williams, he tells us it shows members of Beshara leaving after rehearsals in the basement.

Ann & Sonia	The Drum Dancers (from Hudderfield)
7-The late Junior Delgado, 3-Dennis Brown ,1-George Nooks, front: Danny Birmingham	Freddie McGregor
Denzil, Ras Lynvest & Banner (a driver)	Odessus - Steel Fingers
Ricky Tamlin	Bands gigged at Rialto Club on Soho Road, Handsworth
Third World	Far Image
Eruption (Precious Wilson lead singer in white)	The Mighty Diamonds
Eclipse (Handsworth band)  Jacko Melody (The advert 'voice-over man' in white cap)	Reality (1-Robert Green, 4-Cliff Morris (Cecil's brother).

Sandra Cross

Carroll Thompson

Earth Herms	Amlak - Princes Trust Winners
Skibu	Sweet Harmony (Laura Parks)
Thelma Mae 'Wonderman Lover' 81	Steel Pulse
Stringbeats later The J.A.L.N. Band (Just Another Lonely Night)	Beshara, 1980
Many more photo's and video footage can be found on the PCRL site by clicking on the Index for the pages on the right hand side of the Blog. This web site has been an on-going concern for Birmingham's musical history and unlike places like Facebook the pages are permanent and stored not just on-line by Google. Although the site has had 63,000 (2015) visitors, people rarely leave comments, rather sharing on FB - remember here is history, not elsewhere!

Rising Star Agency (The Models)

One of Cecil's ladies made Amateur

Photography Magazine 1982

Rising Star Agency was set up by PCRL's founder Cecil Morris at 151 Dudley Road, Edgbaston, above the Rising Star Record Shop in the late 1970's. It was an agency to promote local talent of all styles; fashion, dancers, models, singers, reggae groups. One young lady Cecil recalls her name was Jacqui Bailey, she hit the big time when she made front page of Amateur Photographer Magazine in 1982, she since contacted me and thinks the photographer's name was David Ramsey. I tried to find a copy of the magazine on-line with no luck, hoping to find more details, perhaps one will turn up with time. The magazine was founded in 1884 and was in it's 98th year this issue.

Another stunner from this period was Sarah Colexis

Veronique