Delph

Coordinates: 53°34′05″N 2°01′23″W / 53.568°N 2.023°W / 53.568; -2.023

Delph (Old English (ge)delf a quarry) is a village in the Saddleworth civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies amongst the Pennines on the River Tame below the village of Denshaw, 4.0 miles (6.4 km) east-northeast of Oldham, and 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north-northwest of Uppermill.

On Friday 7 April 1780 John Wesley visited the town and preached in a house owned by one of the trustees of the Independent Church.

The centre of the village has barely changed from the 19th century, when a number of small textile mills provided employment for the local community.

The etymology of Delph is derived from the Old English word 'Delf', meaning a quarry and refers to the bakestone quarries which lay at the lower end of the Castleshaw Valley just north of the village. There is a significant first century AD Roman fort at Castleshaw.

Paul Delph

Paul Delph (February 28, 1957 – May 21, 1996) was a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, producer, engineer, and studio musician whose catalog includes work with many well-known recording artists from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s. Delph died from complications of HIV/AIDS at his parents home in Cincinnati, Ohio. His ashes are interred at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati. A panel in Delph's name is part of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Zoo Drive

From 1980 to 1987 Paul was the keyboardist/vocalist for the band Zoo Drive which also featured John Goodsall (guitar), Doug Lunn (bass) and Ric Parnell (drums). They made their primary living touring and recording as rhythm section for many artists. The best known of these projects was the Word of Mouth album by Toni Basil. The song "Mickey" which featured Paul on Farfisa organ went to #1 on the Billboard Magazine singles chart in December 1982.

Delph co-wrote & sang lead vocals on the de facto theme song for the 1987 film North Shore titled "North Shore Roar" which was co-written & performed with his Zoo Drive bandmates.