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Monday Club History Page
This page is dedicated to the history of your club. Please send in a couple of paragraphs and pictures of your residents and regulars and I'll put the information on this page.
Red Bull Folk Club
Peter Hood from The Red Bull Folk Club at Stockport has sent an email in with their club's history:
Photo courtesy of Red Bull Folk Club Peter Hood First, the Bridge inn folk club on
Mondays is no more (ahhhh!) and is now the Red Bull Folk Club. Same Club, same residents new
venue. In about 1975 I had a band with a few friends and we played at The Fir Tree folk club in Reddish. We played lots of places but that one in particular fits the story. It was run by Vic Hassle and Geoff Monks amongst others, we only knew about five songs and one of those was a Les Barker poem based on 'Long distance information '. Les Barker turned up at the club to do a spot ....We were too mortified to sing the song but Pete Fidler, the crooner with the band grabbed Les in the bog and asked him if he'd mind if we did the song. Of course he said yes, the rest is history and a very blurry history. We sang the song did a few more gigs and 'Breakfast of Champions', the band, disappeared forever. Many years later, my baby Sister, Sarah Hood, asked if I would drop down to the Egerton Arms in Stockport to sing at a singers night run by Kieron Hartley and Clive. We went and my interest in playing folk music was re-kindled. Sarah and I got paid a couple of times and she went to sing more and eventually got on folk on two and sang with 'The Timekeepers' appearing on the Poynton Folk Club CD. My Brother-in-Law, Pete Goode, became the resident for the Monday singaround at Poynton Folk Club and I went down there and Pete encouraged me to play more. Kieron and Clive, and Vic Hassle became residents at around this point as well. A further club 'Grannies' was being run by Pete Roberts and Phil and Clare Allen, I also sang in there and met loads of great people, Dave Clarke, Dave and Angie , Jon Brinsdale, Lynn and Barrie Hardman and many others. At this point Poynton was run by Lynda Boyle on Saturdays with Dougie and Sue Price running the Monday singaround - Dougie and Sue left Poynton and asked Phil and Clare Allen and me, Peter Hood to run the Monday night. We had a fantastic run on the Monday nights, most of the South Manchester folk music people came to the club, Mark A'Hearne, Rick Carlton, Anne Yates, Angie , Pete Roberts , Vic Hassle, Geoff Monks, Dave and Lynda Wildblood, Ken , Lynda and Katherine Edwardes, Jim Embleton , Whiskery Bill, John Ashurst, Mary Asquith, Fran Early, Sarah Hood, Gail Hood, Pete Goode, Doug Price, Dave, John Greenhat, Amanda and Dave, Pete Farrow, Geoff, Dave McGowan and many others. Poynton, sadly closed for performance, still retains an excellent dance evening, but the folk singing moved through many phases until it came to the Red Bull Stockport. I was also involved as a resident with The White Swan Folk Club run by the legendary Annie Morris, along with Kieron and Mary Hartley and .....Vic Hassle. Annie fired my enthusiasm for folk music and when the White Swan folded, it left a void very hard to fill. By this point I had teamed up with Lynda Edwardes as a duo and the support Annie gave to all her residents leaves a stamp that's visible to anyone who played there. The Red Bull is the product of all those great clubs, people who love folk music and welcome it wherever it occurs. It's not my club but belongs to everyone in the Stockport area who enjoy being with people who play or listen to live folk music of any sort. The residents are all the people of the Stockport area who enjoy performing and listening to folk music and dance. You Know Who You Are.... thank you to you all Red Bull Folk Club Peter Hood, Lynda Edwardes (Publicity); Anne Yates (Treasurer); Jim Embleton, Ged Derby, Pete Farrow, Pete Roberts, John Ashurst (E-list..send your email for inclusion), and many more on the list above who are an essential part of the great Stockport Folk Music scene http://freespace.virgin.net/p.hood/folky.htm ----------
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Room At The Top Meets at The Red Lion, Newburgh Mondays at 8-45 Trevor Banfield has sent in this potted history of a relatively new club to the fold: Seth Holden and I met whilst going to the Maghull Folk Club in 2000. We did one or two songs together and after some time we agreed to form a Folk Club of our own along with Theresa, my partner. We had permission to use the room upstairs at the Rigbye Arms at High Moor near Parbold and had our first night on Monday 12th February 2001. The room was cosy and friendly and we made a charge of £1 for entrance. Seth knew a lot more about the folk scene and music in general and in the earlier days was responsible for organising many of the performers who would come along and do their stuff. Because we were paying a fee for the use of the room, however, we were barely keeping our heads above water. The landlord was only interested in the fee for the room and the money over the bar. The last straw for me was when we asked if we could finish at 11-15pm instead of 11-00pm to allow everyone a second spot. He refused giving the excuse that "He'd had a bad day". I wanted to move sooner rather than later and so Seth, Steve, Theresa and I went looking for another venue and as a result, we are now resident at the Railway in Parbold. The name "Room At The Back" was thought of by one of the audience. We had a couple of ideas but this one won on a vote. Ann, the landlady of the Railway, meets us halfway, even laying on a few goodies for us at Christmas. The club, like most clubs, has its hard core of people who turn up most Mondays. It's a friendly atmosphere and great value for your £1! Although we are a Folk Club, it's a loose term. We are roots based - anything goes. We have people singing different types of songs or instrumentals - middle of the road, folk, pop; people who recite poetry and monologues; or give us readings from books - even a bit of Shakespeare! Basically anything. Room At The Back is a facility for people to come and do what they want to do. They will all be made welcome. So if you think you'd like to come along and do your stuff (so long as it's not too rude!) or if you'd just like to watch other people perform then you will be made very welcome.
Since this article was sent in to the website, the venue for the club has changed due to refurbishment of the Railway making it unsuitable for use as a club. (where have I heard that before?!) The club now meets about a mile up the road at the Red Lion in Newburgh where we call ourselves Room at the Top because we meet in the upstairs function room. The landlord is very welcoming and the pub serves a variety of real ale which is a bonus. Further information about the Room At The Top can be obtained from Mark Dowding on 01257 464215 ----------------------- |
