Mark Speight

About Mark

As a young lad in the 1980's, I experienced the magical splendour of Phil Kelsall, Robert Wolfe and Nick Martin playing the Wurlitzer organ in The Tower Ballroom, Blackpool and I began learning to play the organ. Many years of hard practise followed as I pursued my dream of being a professional organist. During those years I also listened a lot to Hector Olivera, Martin Harris, Max Takano, Klaus Wunderlich, Brian Sharp, Bryan Rodwell, Kevin Speight, Dave Peterson, George Fleury, Glyn Madden and Howard Beaumont.  

Two days after my 16th birthday in 1986, I played my first sessions for dancing on the Wurlitzer at The Tower Ballroom, Blackpool and I was lucky enough to continue doing so for some time after that. That fortunate start to my working life enabled me to set out as a professional organist. That comprised of electronic organ concerts all over the UK in the winter months and various summer season organ playing jobs in Blackpool in the summer months, the latter being with a drummer providing musical backing in cabaret venues. That continued until 2002. I must add, those were great years, busy locally in the summer and busy in the winter with the concerts and becoming quite well known and also being featured on Nigel Ogden's 'The Organist Entertains' on Radio 2 regularly. 

By 2002, I was in my early 30's and the aforementioned Blackpool summer season work was starting to look uncertain going forward as cabaret venues started replacing organists and drummers with digitally recorded backing music. With marriage and children planned for the near future, I opted to discontinue as a professional organist and instead train to be an chartered certified accountant. So, that was the end of my concert playing but, I still played now and again locally as and when required. 

I worked in a Blackpool accountancy practice from 2002 until 2013. In 2004 I achieved the AAT accountancy qualification. In 2008 I qualified as a chartered certified accountant (ACCA). In 2013 I became a fellow (FCCA) of The Association Of Chartered Certified Accountants. In 2013, I wanted to strike out on my own with my own home based accountancy practice. Fate intervened though, I was appointed organist at a great cabaret venue near Blackpool. That enabled me to leave the local accountancy practice I'd worked in since 2002.

At first I planned to seek my own accountancy clients but it didn't quite work out that way because, in 2014, I was invited to re-join the team of organists at The Tower Ballroom Blackpool and in 2016 I was appointed bookkeeper and payroll manager at the local cabaret venue I was organist at. Not only that, I was also running a business selling BMX bicycle parts on Ebay. I ended up just providing accountancy services to family and friends. 

I'm still playing at Blackpool Tower Ballroom and playing at the aforementioned local cabaret venue once a week. I continue selling on Ebay and doing accountancy work for family and friends. I also do some church organ work. I returned to the organ concert scene in late 2024. Since then, many other concert bookings have come in and I'm very much enjoying fulfilling these. I am very grateful to my father (Kevin Speight) for his never ending support and guidance of my organ playing career. Dad was a member of the Blackpool Tower Ballroom organist team from 1980 to 1990 and he was organist / musical director for the late Ken Dodd from 1990 to 2008.

I have a Yamaha ELC-02 Stagea to play at my concerts. I'm also have a pair of Bose L1 speakers to provide great sound quality at concerts. Not only that, I've developed a new theatre organ concert programme. I'm looking forward to performing concerts and dances anywhere in the UK on my Yamaha ELC-02 Stagea or theatre organs.

Mark's Photo Gallery

Mark's Concert Diary