The first 'moving pictures' were shown just over 100 years ago and this new entertainment medium soon became very popular. The first film programmes were presented in the travelling 'Bioscope' shows which toured the country with the elaborate fairground frontages. The Bioscope itself was a little more than a large tent with wooden floor and seating. However, the frontage was extremely eye-catching and often contained a suitable impressive fairground organ. The forthcoming music would not only attract patrons, but would also help to drown the noise of the projector within!
Once purpose-built 'Kinemas' began to appear about 1910, it was soon discovered that a pianist tucked away in a corner below the screen, could follow the actions and moods of the storyline and provide suitable music to accompany the silent, flickering images. In this way, a lot more life and feeling was added to the show.
Of course, it was not always possible to find a capable pianist, and as the buildings became large and more extravagant, the sound of a lone piano would not fill the building in the days before electric amplification. To overcome these problems, the Photoplayer was developed in the U.S.A.
Further evolution as the size of Cinemas grew was the development of much grander instruments - and the world of the Theatre Organ was born.
