Black USAF Cultural Impact in Norfolk

Newspaper cutting from British Newspaper Archive. Credit: Iliffe News & Media Ltd

Content warning: This article quotes outdated language from newspaper articles. To read our glossary, which includes an explanation of these terms, click here.

One of the clearest documented examples of Black USAF service people’s involvement in Norfolk’s music scene comes from the Norwich-based band The Continentals (active in Norwich between 1959 and 1966). According to The Anglian Beat by Kingsley Harris, the group “acquired Black GI* sergeant Milton Ingram around September 1960” after he had previously guested with them while performing at RAF Sculthorpe. Bassist Barry Butcher recalled that Ingram “had a great voice and stage presence”, and that his arrival expanded the band’s repertoire to include material from Black vocal groups such as The Drifters (Kingsley, H. 2023, p70).

Further evidence from newspaper advertisements from The Lynn Advertiser and Diss Express confirms Milton Ingram performed at venues within Norfolk, including the Corn Hall in King’s Lynn and The Pavilion in Barnham. Providing a clear example of a Black American serviceman embedded within a Norfolk-based band and performing across the county.

Additional insight into the role of USAF personnel in Norfolk’s music scene comes from oral history testimony by local musician Eddie Huggins, and we encourage you to listen to Eddie’s interview. Huggins, who performed across Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire in the early 1960s, describes how connections with American airmen developed informally: “word got out about me and somehow landed in the US bases… they sought me out, and that's how it got started.” His account suggests that local musicians were actively recruited by USAF personnel for performances both on and off base.

Huggins identifies RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Alconbury as key sites of musical activity, noting that he performed at all three. He also confirms the importance of Norfolk venues, recalling: “I played King’s Lynn – all around those areas… as far south as Ipswich.” In Norwich, he describes the Orford Cellar as “a hotbed of airmen coming over and playing in the evenings,” indicating regular interaction between local musicians and American servicemen.

Huggins’ testimony highlights the specifically Black musical influence brought by USAF personnel. He describes a preference for “the music of the Black singers… James Brown and Bobby Bland,” reflecting a wider pattern in which African American rhythm and blues and soul were seen by musicians as more authentic and musically compelling than mainstream British pop.

This aligns with the conclusions of Christopher Spinks’ research into Norfolk’s 1960s music scene, which argues that Norwich was not culturally isolated but actively engaged in the wider “soul explosion” taking place across Britain. 

Huggins’ testimony also highlights the broader cultural context of performances on USAF bases, noting that “some of the gigs were mixed audiences. Some of them were just Black,” and describing shared experiences of food and music, including “red beans and rice, fried chicken.” These details speak to a wider cultural exchange extending beyond performance into everyday social life.

Newspaper evidence also points to the continued presence and influence of USAF personnel in Norfolk beyond the 1960s. An article in the Lynn Advertiser (19 October 1984) describes American coaches from RAF Lakenheath travelling regularly to King’s Lynn to support a local American football team, demonstrating ongoing connections between the base and the town.

There is also evidence of bands with Black members performing in Norfolk during the 1970s. Spencer’s People played at venues including the Kit Kat Club in Hunstanton (advertised in the Lynn Advertiser, 6 June 1972) and at Swaffham Assembly Rooms (reported in the Lynn Advertiser, 6 December 1974). The band’s frontman, Tony Spencer, is identified as a Black American performer; however, it has not been possible to confirm whether he was USAF personnel, and this connection should therefore be treated with caution.

It should also be noted that not all regional newspaper archives are currently accessible. In particular, Norwich-based newspapers are not available through the British Newspaper Archive within the scope of this research. This limits the ability to comprehensively trace performances and may mean that additional evidence of Black USAF cultural activity in Norfolk remains undocumented in this study.

We would like to acknowledge the extensive research by Kingsley Harris on Music Zone East, and the singing career of ‘Leaping Lord Lucas’ (Bruce McPherson) who is also a former USAF airman based in Norwich.

If you grew up in Norfolk and were influenced by Black USAF personnel, we’d love to hear from you. Click here to get in touch and share your story with us.

*Milton Ingram was based at RAF Alconbury in Cambridgeshire, serving with the USAF.