Robbie Williams considers buying Blackpool Pleasure Beach theme park in bid to turn seaside resort into ‘Monaco of the North’
- Robbie Williams says owners offered to sell him Blackpool Pleasure Beach site
- The 47-year-old singer said he was ‘tempted’ to take over the amusement park
- He offered Alan Carr a spot among ‘conglomerate of showbiz types’ to revamp it
Robbie Williams is considering buying Blackpool Pleasure Beach theme park in a bid to turn the seaside resort into the ‘Monaco of the North’.
The former Take That singer revealed yesterday how he had been approached by the owners of the North East attraction to see if he would like to buy it.
Speaking on Alan Carr’s Life’s A Beach podcast, the Angels singer, 47, said he was ‘tempted,’ to buy it and wanted to put together a ‘conglomerate of showbiz types,’ to revamp the famed attraction.
He added that thinks ‘end-of-the-pier types’ like Carr and himself could ‘reinvigorate Blackpool’.
Mr Williams is understood to be friends with the park’s managing director, Amanda Thompson whose family have owned the park since it opened in 1896.
His announcement comes just two months after Blackpool councillors agreed to ban new lap dance clubs opening in the town.
Robbie Williams said he was ‘tempted,’ to buy Blackpool Pleasure Beach after its owners approached him to try and sell the site
The former Take That singer claims he was offered the chance to buy the amusement park, telling Alan Carr he could put together a ‘conglomerate of showbiz types,’ to ‘revamp,’ the site
Recalling childhood trips from his home city of Stoke, Williams said: ‘I always remember, you got 50 pence for [being] the first person to spot Blackpool Tower.
‘This is how my fortunes reversed: We’d get on a bus at a working men’s club and they’d put on a day to Blackpool.
‘We’d go and rummage around, do whatever we did, and then come back to Stoke-on-Trent and get on with our lives.
‘A mere 20 years later, the people that own Blackpool Pleasure Beach want to sell me Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
‘I am tempted. It’s not ongoing, but I do fancy putting together a consortium of faces – and you [Alan Carr] are one of those…
Blackpool Pleasure Beach is currently run by managing director Amanda Thompson – whose family have owned the park since it opened in 1896
‘I think if a conglomerate of showbiz types got together and sort of revamped Blackpool… do you ever remember when Blackpool was going to be the Monaco of the North?
‘There were huge plans to turn it into casino-ville. I think us end-of-the-pier types should get together, storm the place and reinvigorate Blackpool.’
Having piqued 44-year-old Carr’s interest, the comedian joked: ‘I can see people riding Alan Carr’s Big One; I really can.’
The amusement park boasts 125 rides and attractions including The Big One, which stands at 213ft and was the tallest rollercoaster in the world when it was finished in 1994.
Pleasure Beach has not said whether it has ever offered to sell the park to Williams.
A spokesman from the park told MailOnline: ‘Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which is wholly owned by the Thompson family has “No Regrets” that Robbie Williams may have “Misunderstood” that “Something Beautiful” like Pleasure Beach is available to buy.
‘With a view “Beyond the Sea” from the top of The Big One it’s no surprise he is interested, but for now let us entertain you when we reopen for our 125th season on the 12th April.’
The amusement park boasts 125 rides and attractions including The Big One, which stands at 213ft and was the tallest rollercoaster in the world when it was finished in 1994.
In January Blackpool Council agreed to ban all new lap dance clubs in the seaside resort, with the four remaining clubs only allowed to stay open until their licences lapse.
The new policy will allowing only one sex shop to trade in the Lancashire town, as it bids to become more family friendly.
The council’s licensing chairman Cllr Adrian Hutton said: ‘We’re not against people coming to Blackpool and having a good time, but there is an element that causes problems and this is a way to reduce that.’
Williams initially achieved fame in pop group Take That, before beginning a successful solo career in 1996 which saw him gain seven UK No. 1s and 18 Brit Awards.
He now lives in Los Angeles, California, with model wife Ayda Field, 41, and their four children.
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