What is "blacko"

Blacko is a village and civil parish in the Pendle district of Lancashire, England. Before local government reorganisation in 1974 the village lay on the border with the West Riding of Yorkshire. The parish has a population of 672. The village is on the old turnpike road from Nelson to Gisburn ( A682). The village enjoys views towards Boulsworth Hill to its southeast, the former cotton town of Nelson, about two miles to its south and Pendle Hill to its west across the valley of Pendle Water.

The parish adjoins the Pendle parishes of Middop, Bracewell and Brogden, Salterforth, Foulridge, Colne, Barrowford, Roughlee Booth and Barley-with-Wheatley Booth. Parts of the parish, west of the village are included in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Overlooking the village is Stansfield Tower (also known as Blacko Tower), which was built around 1890. A local grocer, Jonathan Stansfield, built this circular rough stone tower to provide himself with a view over Ribblesdale from the top, but the height fell somewhat short. A Bronze Age axe, believed to be 3,500 years old, was found near the tower in 1952.

The village has won the small village category of the Lancashire Best Kept Village competition in 2002 and 07, and the champion village category in 2011, 13, and 14.

The part of Blacko parish historically in Lancashire was once part of Barrowford township in the ancient parish of Whalley. This became a civil parish in 1866, however in 1894 the urban areas became and urban district and Blacko was created from the remainder, forming part of the Burnley Rural District until 1974. Along with part of Barrowford, the parish forms the Blacko and Higherford ward of Pendle Borough Council.

According to the United Kingdom Census 2011, the parish has a population of 672, an increase from 595 in the 2001 census.

Blacko was the childhood home of Lancashire comedian Jimmy Clitheroe (1921–73), famous for his BBC radio series The Clitheroe Kid, who lived there from 1922 to 1935. Jimmy went to school in Blacko and appeared in many amateur concert party entertainments in the village's Methodist chapel, before turning professional in 1936.

Also during the 1930s it was the home of the comedian Tommy Trafford, who played many summer seasons in the Lancashire seaside resort of Southport between the 1960s and '80s, resulting in his nickname of Mr Southport.

Blacko can refer to:

• Blacko, a village in Lancashire, England
• Blacko and Higherford, one of the electoral wards that form the Parliamentary constituency of Pendle, Lancashire, England
• Blacko, Croatia, a village in Požega-Slavonia County, Croatia
• Blacko (singer), French singer and hip hop artist in French band Sniper and later solo

Karl Appela better known as Blacko, also known as Afrikaf, Tikaf Lakour, Solitary Lion and Black Renega (born in Montfermeil, ( Seine-Saint-Denis, France on 5 February 1979) is a French singer and hip hop artist of Réunion origin. He was member of the hip hop group Sniper from 1997 until his departure in July 2007. After his split, he has moved to solo performances.