1963-2012In compiling "The Stories from 1963 to 2012" I am indebted to many people for trawling their memories and providing me with answers to questions they thought they had long since forgotten! I’m sure I have taxed many peoples' memories by persuading them to think about incidents, dates, who they remember from the early days, who was on the committee - the what, when, where, who and how of the folk club!. To all those people I am very grateful.
In particular I would like to say thank you to Patricia Maillard and her brother Derek Ryan who were the founding members back in the early 1960s. Whilst it has not, as yet, been possible to find the exact date for the first meeting it has been narrowed down to either 1962 or 1963. Although the Club has not been operating continuously since 1962, it has been meeting every fortnight from 1995, and is now over 50 years old and in 2013 the Club celebrated this anniversary. |
|
On an unknown date early in the 1970s the Club re-opened at The Penthouse Two under the Winter Gardens (Penthouse One being in Scarborough.) The smell of stale beer and sticky carpets is well-remembered! The Club was run as a commercial venture by the owner Mr Adams on a Thursday evening, and was opened so that he could keep his bar staff employed. For a while Ian O’Conner was not only the doorman but also the compere.
On an unknown date in the early 1970s the Club moved back to The Queens Hotel, the landlord at the time being Roy Whiting. The Club started in one of the downstairs rooms, but soon moved into the upstairs room. For about a year or two the Club was run by Phil and Jill Jay on a Tuesday evening, and the regular compere was Richard Harrop. |
Stuart Davidson, a long standing member of Bridlington Folk Club, and composer of "The Gansey Girl" (2016) - photo from the archives.
|
The leading member of the folk club, at the time, was Nigel Chippindale (Deceased), who was usually accompanied by Peter Elliott. It is said that if you showed Nigel an instrument he would be able to play it! Like many artistic people he was extremely disorganised, and it was said by one of his school-form masters that, "He would be late for his own funeral, but will be so nice about it that no-one will mind". Nigel had his own variations to the Paul Simon song, "The Boxer"! One variation cannot be reprinted here for fear of causing offence, but the other variation involved dropping a tin tray from about six feet high just at the right moment after the chorus words, "Lie la lie". Peter Elliot had been known to sing the song, "Window the in doggy that is much how"! And not many people can do that!
One of the younger members was Peter Halkon. Peter was a boarder at Bridlington School and was known to "escape" from the school to rehearse at Nigel Chippindale’s house on regular occasions. On one Club evening Peter had to scale the school fire escape to get back in to his dormitory.
A Club member called Beryl Henshaw ran the bar and would accompany anyone very ably on the "Knackers" (bones that are played between the fingers to produce a percussive rhythm). Dave Burnett was compere for a period of time, and did a very good job.
A regular guest booking from 1974 was The Pair (Stuart and Bill Davidson). Stuart is still a regular at the Club meetings today. Nick Burdall was around at this time and would, in time, become a leading figure in the Club, and Dave Richardson was the treasurer.
It is thought that Radio Humberside recorded a session at one of the Club evenings, but more details of this are unavailable.
The Club organised many guests over the years, some that were to go onto become famous in the folk music world. They met weekly and for a while the guest nights out numbered the Singer and Musicians nights. They also organised many other activities such as the ‘Folk Afloat’ sessions on the Yorkshire Belle, and a Pace Egg play was performed one evening.
Several Mummers Plays were performed on a number of New Years evenings. These were organised by Richard Fenner, and were held at The George, The Cock and Lion, or The Ship Ahoy. One year the Mummers Play was based on the song "The Hartlepool Monkey", and another year it was based on the rather more conventional "George and the Dragon" (and included Father Christmas!)Richard was around mainly at Christmas and in the summer, due to being at college.
There must have been copious amounts of alcohol being consumed at some these events as one year a Club member did his trick of taking a piano to pieces, much to the consternation of the landlord!
Some of the members were known to sing one particular song regularly. Sean Canon was one of them, and his song was. "The Sick Note". Derek Ryan sang, "The Chastity Belt," and George Sheldon (Deceased) regularly sang, "The Laxey Wheel". Peter Elliott also contributed to the Club with his self penned monologues.
It was around this era that the Filey Folk Club was running and a number of members would regularly travel between the two Clubs. A visit to the Pately Bridge folk club was also organised one evening. Club member, Laurina Wardill, was introduced to Pete Turner on a Club evening by her brother Pete Wardill, and in due course they became married, and they even held their wedding reception in the Club’s room.
Peter Elliott had been singing a few of Jake Thackray’s songs, Nick Burdall saw Jake at the end of one of his gigs and invited him do a gig at the Club. He even persuaded him to come for "a few quid". Peter was a slightly worried man for a while thinking about copyright fees, but all was well in the end.
One of the resident bands to perform at the Club was Plough Share; the group was made up of Sue Turner, Nick Burdall, Ken Giles and Ed Maddrell.
Around the mid 1970s Nick Burdall was running the Club, he was very good at creating the right balance of guest and singer nights. He was also very strict about the running of the Club. I.e., if you were late to the start of the meeting you wouldn’t get a spot in the second half.
On the 8 August 1975 Nick Burdall organised the Club’s first concert at The Spa. Tickets were £1 in advance or £1.20 on the door. The guest list was impressive with Dave Swarbrick, Dave Pegg, Simon Nichol, Bully Wee, Archie Fisher, Martin Carthy and Bernard Wrigley.
A number of other concerts were held at The Spa: Derek and Dorothy Elliott being the comperes, but other details of these concerts is rather sketchy.
In September 1975 Nigel Chippindale and Peter Elliott left to go to College, but returned to the Club whenever they could. They were given the second half of their last evening and performed gems such as "Tell me pretty maiden," complete with Nigel in drag. Nigel’s poem, ‘"he History of Bridlington Folk Club," and his arrangement of Captain Pugwash, for a motley band of people playing various instruments, including a trombone, trumpet, piano and cymbals (he dragged in a few of the regulars to play) was something to remember!
For an unknown reason the Club meeting on the 8 November 1975 was held at The Monarch Hotel, and the evening’s guests were The Pair.
Ralph Tomlins joined the Club in 1977 and was to become a leading figure in due course. During this time Dawn Curtis and Val Joans were working at the Queens and for about 2 years were responsible for running the bar in the Club room. Bob and Mary Wheeler were the landlord and lady at this time, but in about 1979 Jean and Lol (surname unknown) took over running the pub.
One of the younger members was Peter Halkon. Peter was a boarder at Bridlington School and was known to "escape" from the school to rehearse at Nigel Chippindale’s house on regular occasions. On one Club evening Peter had to scale the school fire escape to get back in to his dormitory.
A Club member called Beryl Henshaw ran the bar and would accompany anyone very ably on the "Knackers" (bones that are played between the fingers to produce a percussive rhythm). Dave Burnett was compere for a period of time, and did a very good job.
A regular guest booking from 1974 was The Pair (Stuart and Bill Davidson). Stuart is still a regular at the Club meetings today. Nick Burdall was around at this time and would, in time, become a leading figure in the Club, and Dave Richardson was the treasurer.
It is thought that Radio Humberside recorded a session at one of the Club evenings, but more details of this are unavailable.
The Club organised many guests over the years, some that were to go onto become famous in the folk music world. They met weekly and for a while the guest nights out numbered the Singer and Musicians nights. They also organised many other activities such as the ‘Folk Afloat’ sessions on the Yorkshire Belle, and a Pace Egg play was performed one evening.
Several Mummers Plays were performed on a number of New Years evenings. These were organised by Richard Fenner, and were held at The George, The Cock and Lion, or The Ship Ahoy. One year the Mummers Play was based on the song "The Hartlepool Monkey", and another year it was based on the rather more conventional "George and the Dragon" (and included Father Christmas!)Richard was around mainly at Christmas and in the summer, due to being at college.
There must have been copious amounts of alcohol being consumed at some these events as one year a Club member did his trick of taking a piano to pieces, much to the consternation of the landlord!
Some of the members were known to sing one particular song regularly. Sean Canon was one of them, and his song was. "The Sick Note". Derek Ryan sang, "The Chastity Belt," and George Sheldon (Deceased) regularly sang, "The Laxey Wheel". Peter Elliott also contributed to the Club with his self penned monologues.
It was around this era that the Filey Folk Club was running and a number of members would regularly travel between the two Clubs. A visit to the Pately Bridge folk club was also organised one evening. Club member, Laurina Wardill, was introduced to Pete Turner on a Club evening by her brother Pete Wardill, and in due course they became married, and they even held their wedding reception in the Club’s room.
Peter Elliott had been singing a few of Jake Thackray’s songs, Nick Burdall saw Jake at the end of one of his gigs and invited him do a gig at the Club. He even persuaded him to come for "a few quid". Peter was a slightly worried man for a while thinking about copyright fees, but all was well in the end.
One of the resident bands to perform at the Club was Plough Share; the group was made up of Sue Turner, Nick Burdall, Ken Giles and Ed Maddrell.
Around the mid 1970s Nick Burdall was running the Club, he was very good at creating the right balance of guest and singer nights. He was also very strict about the running of the Club. I.e., if you were late to the start of the meeting you wouldn’t get a spot in the second half.
On the 8 August 1975 Nick Burdall organised the Club’s first concert at The Spa. Tickets were £1 in advance or £1.20 on the door. The guest list was impressive with Dave Swarbrick, Dave Pegg, Simon Nichol, Bully Wee, Archie Fisher, Martin Carthy and Bernard Wrigley.
A number of other concerts were held at The Spa: Derek and Dorothy Elliott being the comperes, but other details of these concerts is rather sketchy.
In September 1975 Nigel Chippindale and Peter Elliott left to go to College, but returned to the Club whenever they could. They were given the second half of their last evening and performed gems such as "Tell me pretty maiden," complete with Nigel in drag. Nigel’s poem, ‘"he History of Bridlington Folk Club," and his arrangement of Captain Pugwash, for a motley band of people playing various instruments, including a trombone, trumpet, piano and cymbals (he dragged in a few of the regulars to play) was something to remember!
For an unknown reason the Club meeting on the 8 November 1975 was held at The Monarch Hotel, and the evening’s guests were The Pair.
Ralph Tomlins joined the Club in 1977 and was to become a leading figure in due course. During this time Dawn Curtis and Val Joans were working at the Queens and for about 2 years were responsible for running the bar in the Club room. Bob and Mary Wheeler were the landlord and lady at this time, but in about 1979 Jean and Lol (surname unknown) took over running the pub.
The early eighties saw the Club still at The Queens Hotel with some members doing a take off of some of the Sex Pistols songs, with song titles such as "Hull is Awful" and "The Wild Thing". In contrast to this, it was in the early 1980s that Trish Tate joined the Club, and in due course she was to become a leading figure for many years. The organiser at this time was Nick Burdall.
It is known that on the 15 September 1981 the landlady was Gwen Joyce. Gwen had been landlady for some time, but the exact dates are not known. The Club closed at The Queens Hotel in August 1983 but shortly afterwards Steve and Jackie Pepper, John Cooke, Laurina Turner, Dave Richardson, and some others got together, re-formed and started the Club again at The Coachman. The Club moved to the Coachman because it had a good room and it was felt that the Queens by then had had its’ day.
The folk scene in the 1980s was not as good as it had been nationally or regionally in the 1960s or 1970s with the closure of Filey Folk Club, and in due course the Bridlington Club was also to close. It ran at The Coachman for about two to three years on one Sunday in the month, Steve Pepper feeling that there wouldn’t be enough demand for the Club to run weekly. Keith Godfrey started his time with the Club around this time and often compered the evening, and was also the Club photographer. Keith would go on to become another of the Club’s leading figures in years to come.
The Club’s resident group of the time was "Flash Company", made up of Steve Pepper and John Cooke from their band Slack Wattre, Steve played bouzouki, bodhran and whistle, John played guitar, banjo, mandolin and whistle, together with Dave Kay and Brian Swinton from their band Raven. Dave played guitar and Brian played fiddle, mandolin and occasionally guitar.
During the time at The Coachman the Club made a number of recordings for Bridlington Hospital Radio, of which Steve Pepper was the main organiser. Steve still has the tapes from those days once he can find them will make some of them available.
Around 1984 the Club raised money for the Lifeboat appeal, and a photo is available showing Steve and Jackie Pepper, Laurina Turner and John Cooke presenting a cheque to Dr Wilson.
It is thought that the Club closed towards the end of 1986, but no dates can currently be found. Sadly Nigel Chippendale passed away late in 1986 and the Club re-opened at The Queens Hotel in around 1987 as a sort of tribute to his massive personality. Unfortunately the Club doesn’t appear to have lasted long but the date it closed again is not known.
The Club didn’t run again for quite a number of years, possibly it was felt that the sad loss of Nigel couldn’t be filled.
Indeed Nigel, while in a slight remission at Castle Hill hospital, set up a small studio, and with two of the BBC’s staff Ralph Jordan and Colin Thompson, recorded some Christmas jingles for the BBC.
Much later the Club was informed that folk legend Pete Coe bought Nigel’s Hohner melodeon from him, which he still plays to today.
It is known that on the 15 September 1981 the landlady was Gwen Joyce. Gwen had been landlady for some time, but the exact dates are not known. The Club closed at The Queens Hotel in August 1983 but shortly afterwards Steve and Jackie Pepper, John Cooke, Laurina Turner, Dave Richardson, and some others got together, re-formed and started the Club again at The Coachman. The Club moved to the Coachman because it had a good room and it was felt that the Queens by then had had its’ day.
The folk scene in the 1980s was not as good as it had been nationally or regionally in the 1960s or 1970s with the closure of Filey Folk Club, and in due course the Bridlington Club was also to close. It ran at The Coachman for about two to three years on one Sunday in the month, Steve Pepper feeling that there wouldn’t be enough demand for the Club to run weekly. Keith Godfrey started his time with the Club around this time and often compered the evening, and was also the Club photographer. Keith would go on to become another of the Club’s leading figures in years to come.
The Club’s resident group of the time was "Flash Company", made up of Steve Pepper and John Cooke from their band Slack Wattre, Steve played bouzouki, bodhran and whistle, John played guitar, banjo, mandolin and whistle, together with Dave Kay and Brian Swinton from their band Raven. Dave played guitar and Brian played fiddle, mandolin and occasionally guitar.
During the time at The Coachman the Club made a number of recordings for Bridlington Hospital Radio, of which Steve Pepper was the main organiser. Steve still has the tapes from those days once he can find them will make some of them available.
Around 1984 the Club raised money for the Lifeboat appeal, and a photo is available showing Steve and Jackie Pepper, Laurina Turner and John Cooke presenting a cheque to Dr Wilson.
It is thought that the Club closed towards the end of 1986, but no dates can currently be found. Sadly Nigel Chippendale passed away late in 1986 and the Club re-opened at The Queens Hotel in around 1987 as a sort of tribute to his massive personality. Unfortunately the Club doesn’t appear to have lasted long but the date it closed again is not known.
The Club didn’t run again for quite a number of years, possibly it was felt that the sad loss of Nigel couldn’t be filled.
Indeed Nigel, while in a slight remission at Castle Hill hospital, set up a small studio, and with two of the BBC’s staff Ralph Jordan and Colin Thompson, recorded some Christmas jingles for the BBC.
Much later the Club was informed that folk legend Pete Coe bought Nigel’s Hohner melodeon from him, which he still plays to today.
Towards the end of 1994 Trish Tate and Ralph Tomlins got together and set about reforming the Club, and on Tuesday 30 January 1995 a new committee was formed with Ralph as Chair and Trish as Organiser. The first meeting of the modern Club was held in The Tillie Morrison Bar at the Spa Royal Hall on Monday 6 February 1995, subscriptions were set at 50p per meeting, Dave Kay had the privilege of singing the first song which was "The River", and the Club has met continuously since that date. The Tillie Morrison bar is no longer in existence due to the Spa being given a complete revamp between 2006 and when it re-opened in May 2008.
In March 1995 the then shy Edwina Hayes was persuaded to attend the Club, this was principally by Ralph Tomlins, and indeed Ralph was known to have tuned her guitar for her on occasions. Edwina has now gone on to much bigger and better things in the folk music world. The Club met at the Tillie Morison Bar for a few months until the summer of 1995 when it was decided that, because they met in the public bar and it was getting too busy with holiday makers, they needed to move to where they could have a room of their own. The Club moved back to where it had been on previous occasions, and had become its spiritual home, the upstairs back room of The Queens Hotel, and they met every other Tuesday. The room was just what was needed, the size was right, and they had it to themselves, and had a good landlord, the only drawbacks were that they had to pay each meeting for room hire, and the fact that the room wasn’t actually very clean. Trish Tate and Jacqui Bartram often came to the meeting early to clean the tables and ash trays. (This was in the days when smoking was allowed in public places.) On the 8 August 1995 Dave Richardson and Jane Baker attended for the first time. Their first song, "Streets of London", was sung on 2 January 1996. Many years later both members would become regular committee members. On the 17 October 1995 a committee met and ran from 8pm to 9pm. This was to form the "new" Club and they voted to accept the cash that had been left from the "demise" of the old Club, and so started life with £119.84 in the bank. Chairman was Ralph Tomlins, secretary was Eddiee (Ed) Bartram. Treasurer was Jacqui Bartram, and publicity was Steve and Shirley Higton. The reason the "new" club was started was due to falling numbers, and so it was re-launched, so to speak. An "Ordinary Meeting" was held on the 14 November 1995 and Dave Boothroyde was added to the committee as vice chairman. This meeting ran from 11.10pm to 11.35pm. They must have been keen in those days! Over a period of time the "Bridlington Folk Club Band" was formed with Ralph Tomlins on vocals and guitar, Trish Tate as the principal vocalist, John Cooke on vocals, guitar, banjo and whistle, Martin Rich on vocals and guitar, and Ruth Rich on vocals, violin, flute and other instruments. One person who started coming to the Club around this time was Eric Lount (Deceased). He had a knack of being able to stand at the front of the room, say nothing and still be able to make every one laugh. Eric would become the Club’s comedy poet. From 30 April to 3 September 1996 the Club met weekly to try to encourage some of the holiday makers to join in, unfortunately its success was less than expected. The Club tried again the following year from 29 April to 5 August, again without success. The Club has only ever met fortnightly since then. On the 28 May 1996 Shirley Higton recorded two cassettes to raise money for the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust that was being promoted by the Free Press. In June 1996 Jacqui Bartram organised an evening at Gransmoor Lodge to raise money for the Arthritis and Rheumatism charity. From the 8th to the 14th July 1996 Shirley Higton organised a "Folk Week" which was held in the Orangery at Sewerby Hall. Mainly Club members performed to the public and the money raised went to the Free Press Anthony Nolan appeal. 13th December 1996 saw the Club organising a ceilidh for themselves. This is thought to have been at the Catholic hall. On the 29 April 1997 Denis Wilcockson took over as Chair from Ralph Tomlins, and together with Ed & Jacqui Bartram and Trish Tate formed the new committee. One of the stalwarts of the Club around this time, although never on the committee, was George Sheldon (Deceased), and he often sang "The Spinning Wheel". Other regulars from these days were Dave (surname unknown) and Arthur Marsden. Whilst at The Queens Hotel, one of the regulars decided to try to open the window, and unfortunately managed to break it in the process. A while later, for some unknown reason he went on to take the gas fire to bits (he wasn’t a plumber), after that he was known to some as ‘the gas man’. A few of the Club members, Trish Tate, Ralph Tomlins, John Cooke and Martin & Ruth Rich, and possibly some others, went busking on High Street in the old town, during the Old Town Festival one year and, much to the amazement of Ralph, raised the princely sum of £8.96 for Club funds. On the 26 July 1997 Jacqui Bartram organised another fundraising evening at Gransmoor Lodge, this time for the Diabetic Association. One evening a chap called Andy Howarth arrived at the Club with his group "The Sawmill Sidewinders". They were the support for the guest Jim Eldon. While Andy played his tea chest complete with a broom handle secured in one corner with a string to the opposite corner, one of his mates, who had obviously had too much to drink, insisted on wandering round the room playing his triangle as and when he felt necessary, which wasn’t necessarily in time with the music; that was one of the best evenings that can be remembered! On Tuesday 30 September 1997 the Club had to move to The Ridings (Latterly known as the Station Inn and now the Funny Onion), because the room at the Queens Hotel was being changed into bedrooms. Thus the Club lost its spiritual home forever. The room at The Ridings was an ‘L’ shaped room and consequently if you were at one end you couldn’t see the people at the other end! The first meeting at the Ridings was a guest night with Early Doors, and the landlady at the time was Shirley McHale. On the 20 January 1998 subscriptions were raised from 50p to £1 for the singer and musician evenings, this was because the committee asked the landlady start to provide sandwiches for the half time break. The Club has provided sandwiches for the break ever since that date, and the subscriptions continue to be £1 per meeting to this day, with other prices for guest nights. (Change to price in 2017.) There was one evening that for some unknown reason the landlady didn’t provide any sandwiches, however, she was kind enough to go across the road to Jack's fish and chip shop and buy chips for everybody. Unfortunately she bought far too many and one Club member ended up having to secrete what was left out of the pub. One evening in April 1998 saw another fundraising evening at Gransmoor Lodge, this time for the BBC’s Children in Need appeal. On the 5 May 1998 (and in May 1999) the Club participated in the Bridlington Arts Festival. This was just a case of adding our Club’s name to the festival publicity. These meetings were ‘extras’ to the regular meetings, but even so did not bring in any more people. On Tuesday 12 May 1998 Keith Godfrey took over as Chair and became the regular compere until his retirement from the committee on 22 May 2007. The other committee members were Sue Swan as secretary, Jane Baker as vice chair and Dave Richardson as treasurer. From this time the Club adopted an unwritten rule: ‘No amplification other than a keyboard, and this continues to the present time. Under Keith’s leadership the Club settled into a routine of having six or seven guests a year; all the other meetings being Singers & Musicians nights. This arrangement continues to today and seems to work well. Keith also introduced "The 5 minute AGM". AGMs up to that point had been rather protracted affairs, and this didn’t suit Keith. We were there, "To enjoy the music, not talk", he said, and so all subsequent AGM’s have been kept short and sharp, and most people say long may this arrangement continue. Unfortunately over a period of time the conditions of the meeting room at the Ridings were causing problems for the Club, these were things such as the central heating being on full blast during the middle of summer, and all the chairs having been removed to leave only stools. Another problem was the ever reducing number of working light bulbs, as one blew it was not replaced. The consequence was that one of the Club members regularly took out the working bulbs that were at the far end of the room and moved them to where they were needed. Around 2000 the Club was asked by the Lions Club to provide entertainment at some of their Winter Social Club meetings. Their meetings were aimed mainly at the elderly of the town and usually held at the Catholic Hall, but on a number of occasions at Christ Church. Several Club members helped out on what were very enjoyable evenings. Some entertainment still continues to be provided for these evenings, but not as a Club activity. On 30 January 2001 Hilary Spencer and George Norris were due to visit, however, shortly before they set off, George ended up with his kitchen on fire. Fortunately Hilary was more than capable of entertaining the Club on her own. |
Dave Richardson and Jane Baker, who now play as part of T#ree's Company, with George Ansell, our MC.
|
On the 27 March 2001 the Club found itself without a room to meet in, as the members turned at The Ridings Hotel they found themselves faced with a locked pub door. Fortunately the landlord and lady at The Warwick Hotel, (Mike and Val Froud) who were just across the road, knew of the situation and kindly let the Club use their room for the meeting. Unfortunately the room wasn’t large enough and so after only one meeting the Club had to move on.
On Tuesday 10 April 2001 the Club moved to the function room at The Broadacres, the landlord and lady being Guy and Claire Mayger. The room proved to be much more suitable, the size and shape were perfect, and because it had a wooden stage floor and ceiling it proved to have excellent acoustics.
One of the singer/songwriters of note around this time was Bill Newton (Deceased), and he left us with numerous songs most of which were hilarious. Songs such as "There’s a spider in my bath" and "The Roadside Diner" must surely go down as classics. These songs and many others he wrote are still sung today by Keith Godfrey, and others.
On the 28 August 2001 Shirley Higton produced a cd for Mencap’s "Give us a break" appeal. Then at Christmas in 2002 Shirley produced another cd called"‘Bridlington Live Christmas"; the proceeds going to the Free Press "Give us a break" appeal.
On one evening one of the members brought their baby granddaughter with them, and whilst she was very quiet and indeed didn’t disrupt the evening at all, she was definitely asleep after a local duo sang a lullaby. This just goes to prove such songs do what they are designed to do!
On the 5 July 2004 the Club organised a fund raising evening to help replace money that had been stolen from Afton Court Residential Care Home.
In the mid 2000s the local authority started enforcing some new regulations which directed that "Clubs" had to have "members". We never really knew what the regulations were all about, but by telling the regulars that they were members this got us round the situation. Up until this time people simply came along and, according to Keith Godfrey, you were a "member" if you came for more than one evening! Consequently membership cards had to be produced and these were issued to all the regulars. The regulations changed a few years later and "membership" was no longer required and so the Club went back to operating as it had done for many years.
In July 2005 Club member Jen (surname unknown) created a web site for the Club. Unfortunately when she left there was no-one in the Club who either had the interest or knowledge to continue the site and so it ceased to exist.
Shirley was at the fundraising front again over several weeks in the summer of 2005 when she recorded the "Bridlington Folk 2005" cd for the Free Press "Give us a lift" appeal. Then in August of the same year Shirley returned to fundraising again; this time to help replace money that had been stolen from the Salvation Army Hostel. This involved Club members singing Christmas songs, which seemed a bit strange in August. Shirley recorded the cd in the studio she had at home.
On 11 April 2006 the Club organised more fundraising, this time for the MacMillan charity.
October 2006 saw the first visit to the Club by singer/songwriter David Swann from near Malton. Dave was to become a regular at the Club and over time has become one of the notables on the local folk scene and now his songs are spreading over the country. Most of his songs are about local places and people; several of them are comic and some are now being sung by current Club members. Facebook.
Over a period of time the Club’s resident band "Tablets of Stone" was formed, the main members being Keith Godfrey on vocals and guitar, Mark Chaplin on vocals, guitar and bouzouki, Sarah Rutter on vocals, flute and whistles, and Sue Swan on mandolin. There was another chap with them on some occasions.
22 May 2007 saw Keith Godfrey and Sue Swan retiring from the Club committee, for Keith this was after 9 years as the Chairman, and for Sue 9 years as the secretary. During their time the Club went from strength to strength, and they also set the pattern for Club nights which still continues. The new committee consisted of Dave Richardson as chair, Jane Baker as treasurer, Ed Bartram as secretary, and ‘adopted’ member Jacqui Bartram.
One evening just before Christmas in 2007 the Broadacres landlord, Guy, made a double booking for ‘our’ room, and so we couldn’t start our meeting until around 10pm. Guy very kindly offered all the Club regulars a free carvery meal. This went down well, and despite encouraging Guy to make the same mistake again!
In either May or June 2009 George Ansell became the Club’s regular compere. From May 2007 the Club had been run by a variety of comperes, but it was felt that this lacked continuity and so George took on this role on a permanent basis, and this has proved to be a much more satisfactory arrangement. He is still going strong in 2017!
One guest night on 2009 we had booked a well known national folk musician and the Club’s rule of "No amplification other than a keyboard" was severely tested. The chairman of the time arrived at early The Broadacres to find that the artist has already set up his microphones and speakers, and so had to make a decision; ask him to remove them or accept the consequences. He asked the artist to remove them, but it didn’t go down particularly well. The chairman has since made sure that there has never been a mix up or lack of understanding again with any more guests, or indeed other people coming to the regular Singers and Musicians meetings.
One of the Club’s stalwarts from back in 1977, Ralph Tomlins, decided that he and his wife Barbara would emigrate to Greece, and so on the 16 March 2010 the Club organised a farewell evening for them. Many people that Ralph and Barbara had known from way back were invited. Club members and guests provided music in the first half, and Ralph was given the second half. Steve Pepper recorded the evening and produced a cd, the proceeds of which were kept and added to a fund raising evening that was planned for later that year. Nearly a year later on the 1 March 2011 the aforementioned fundraising evening took place for the RNLI.
24 May 2011 saw Club members Bob and Kath Evans joining the committee due to Ed and Jacqui Bartram moving to Scotland.
A new Club member, Albert Lockwood, (Deceased) started attending regularly, and he made his own wooden recorders which all sounded superb. He made them to order and sold them not only in the UK but as far afield as America. Thanks go to Elaine for introducing him to our Club; it’s such a pity he was only with us for a few years. Club trio, "Three’s Company" asked Albert to accompany them on one song and at the rehearsal Albert appeared with one of his recorders which was literally as tall as he was, and what a sound it made. Albert also provided what was probably the funniest moment that can be remembered. It was, however, one of those "you had to be there" moments. He’d stood up to play a couple of tunes and when he got to the front of the room he proceeded to take his whistle out from under is jumper claiming ‘he was keeping it warm’.
Most of the guests that the Club booked were only asked to every three or four years, however, Johnny Silvo was booked every year from 2001 to 2011. He was booked this often simply because he was so good, and after his performance in May 2011 a number of people commented that we felt he was at his best. Unfortunately, unbeknown to us at the time, he had cancer and sadly the folk world lost him in December of that year.
In 2011 the Club came into the 21st century with George Ansell setting up an email address, [email protected] and Bob Evans creating a website, www.bridlingtonfolkclub.co.uk
The Clubs oldest member at the time was Ron Barnett (Deceased) who at 86 was still playing the harmonica, and in particular played an excellent version of the "Hovis" song.
Over the last few years there was been a resurgence of members visiting Clubs other than their own, Filey (2 Clubs), Cottingham, Hornsea and West Ayton in particular.
Unfortunately in 2011 the Broadacres landlord and lady, Guy and Claire Mayger, announced that they were leaving the Broadacres to move onto pastures new. This was a blow for the Club, as we considered that the room had been just right for us. However a new venue had to be found because the new owners of the pub announced that the building was to be completely re-vamped and would be left without a function room, and in early June ‘our’ room was demolished.
On the 31 January 2012 the Club moved into its new venue at The Telegraph Inn. The evening happened to coincide with a guest night and the room was just about full to bursting, and so we had a good start. The room is rather smaller than the room at The Broadacres, but we soon settled in and indeed this has resulted in getting to know each other a bit better.
On 22 May 2012 Rob Pagett joined the committee due to Bob and Kath Evans leaving.
It is more than 50 years since the Club first met, and on the 28 May 2013, the same evening as the AGM, we held a special evening to celebrate. As we did not know the exact date an arbitrary date had been decided upon. We didn’t invite everyone from the past; it was decided just to keep the evening a low key event.
Sadly during 2013 a number of Club members, and other regulars, passed away. Ron Barnett died after having battled with cancer for many years. Albert Lockwood died after a short illness; he kindly left some money for the Club to enjoy some food at the Christmas meeting. Tony Lavin died unexpectedly during the night after having enjoyed an evening at the Filey Folk Club. Shufflers band member Barry (Baz) Thompson also passed away after a long battle with cancer.
In February 2014 the Club was brought even further into the 21st century with Club members Martin and Mary Frankish setting up a Facebook page, and in due course re-vamped the web site. This is proving to be a useful source of information for people coming to the Bridlington area for holidays or seeing friends and relatives, and being able to visit the Club at the same time.
10 June 2014 saw the Club organising another charity night, this time for the local RNLI. The room was fit to burst with people and a goodly amount was raised for the cause.
On the 16 September 2014 the Club’s guest was Pete Coe (and Alice Jones), and he brought with him the melodeon he had bought from Nigel Chippendale all those years ago back in the 1980’s. (See the 1980’s section)
The Club’s guest on the 21 January 2015 was folk legend Martin Carthy; the Club had decided to limit the audience to 50 that evening and these were sold out within a couple of weeks of being available. Club member John Cooke was going to be part of the evening’s support, but sadly he’d suffered a stroke in November 2014 and wasn’t able to attend. However a Club member recorded the evening so John was able to watch it.
That’s about all there is for the moment however I am sure that the Club will continue for many years to come with good Singers & Musicians nights, together with many excellent guest nights.
If you have previously been to the Club and this article brings back happy memories for you, or if indeed this is your first contact with the Club, please come and see us, you will be made most welcome. Check us out on Facebook.
The format of the evening is still as it has been for many years ago, and the Club will guarantee that anyone coming to the Singers and Musicians evening will get a chance to perform . On the Club’s guest nights, the support artists are organised prior to the evening, so it is unlikely you will be given a spot. You will, however, be strongly encouraged to return to the following meeting!
Bridlington Folk Club is holding singers/musicians nights and guest nights on alternate Tuesdays at 8.30pm (prompt start). So come along at 8pm to find a seat, buy a drink and enjoy a wonderful evening of music, with sandwiches at the break.
On Tuesday 10 April 2001 the Club moved to the function room at The Broadacres, the landlord and lady being Guy and Claire Mayger. The room proved to be much more suitable, the size and shape were perfect, and because it had a wooden stage floor and ceiling it proved to have excellent acoustics.
One of the singer/songwriters of note around this time was Bill Newton (Deceased), and he left us with numerous songs most of which were hilarious. Songs such as "There’s a spider in my bath" and "The Roadside Diner" must surely go down as classics. These songs and many others he wrote are still sung today by Keith Godfrey, and others.
On the 28 August 2001 Shirley Higton produced a cd for Mencap’s "Give us a break" appeal. Then at Christmas in 2002 Shirley produced another cd called"‘Bridlington Live Christmas"; the proceeds going to the Free Press "Give us a break" appeal.
On one evening one of the members brought their baby granddaughter with them, and whilst she was very quiet and indeed didn’t disrupt the evening at all, she was definitely asleep after a local duo sang a lullaby. This just goes to prove such songs do what they are designed to do!
On the 5 July 2004 the Club organised a fund raising evening to help replace money that had been stolen from Afton Court Residential Care Home.
In the mid 2000s the local authority started enforcing some new regulations which directed that "Clubs" had to have "members". We never really knew what the regulations were all about, but by telling the regulars that they were members this got us round the situation. Up until this time people simply came along and, according to Keith Godfrey, you were a "member" if you came for more than one evening! Consequently membership cards had to be produced and these were issued to all the regulars. The regulations changed a few years later and "membership" was no longer required and so the Club went back to operating as it had done for many years.
In July 2005 Club member Jen (surname unknown) created a web site for the Club. Unfortunately when she left there was no-one in the Club who either had the interest or knowledge to continue the site and so it ceased to exist.
Shirley was at the fundraising front again over several weeks in the summer of 2005 when she recorded the "Bridlington Folk 2005" cd for the Free Press "Give us a lift" appeal. Then in August of the same year Shirley returned to fundraising again; this time to help replace money that had been stolen from the Salvation Army Hostel. This involved Club members singing Christmas songs, which seemed a bit strange in August. Shirley recorded the cd in the studio she had at home.
On 11 April 2006 the Club organised more fundraising, this time for the MacMillan charity.
October 2006 saw the first visit to the Club by singer/songwriter David Swann from near Malton. Dave was to become a regular at the Club and over time has become one of the notables on the local folk scene and now his songs are spreading over the country. Most of his songs are about local places and people; several of them are comic and some are now being sung by current Club members. Facebook.
Over a period of time the Club’s resident band "Tablets of Stone" was formed, the main members being Keith Godfrey on vocals and guitar, Mark Chaplin on vocals, guitar and bouzouki, Sarah Rutter on vocals, flute and whistles, and Sue Swan on mandolin. There was another chap with them on some occasions.
22 May 2007 saw Keith Godfrey and Sue Swan retiring from the Club committee, for Keith this was after 9 years as the Chairman, and for Sue 9 years as the secretary. During their time the Club went from strength to strength, and they also set the pattern for Club nights which still continues. The new committee consisted of Dave Richardson as chair, Jane Baker as treasurer, Ed Bartram as secretary, and ‘adopted’ member Jacqui Bartram.
One evening just before Christmas in 2007 the Broadacres landlord, Guy, made a double booking for ‘our’ room, and so we couldn’t start our meeting until around 10pm. Guy very kindly offered all the Club regulars a free carvery meal. This went down well, and despite encouraging Guy to make the same mistake again!
In either May or June 2009 George Ansell became the Club’s regular compere. From May 2007 the Club had been run by a variety of comperes, but it was felt that this lacked continuity and so George took on this role on a permanent basis, and this has proved to be a much more satisfactory arrangement. He is still going strong in 2017!
One guest night on 2009 we had booked a well known national folk musician and the Club’s rule of "No amplification other than a keyboard" was severely tested. The chairman of the time arrived at early The Broadacres to find that the artist has already set up his microphones and speakers, and so had to make a decision; ask him to remove them or accept the consequences. He asked the artist to remove them, but it didn’t go down particularly well. The chairman has since made sure that there has never been a mix up or lack of understanding again with any more guests, or indeed other people coming to the regular Singers and Musicians meetings.
One of the Club’s stalwarts from back in 1977, Ralph Tomlins, decided that he and his wife Barbara would emigrate to Greece, and so on the 16 March 2010 the Club organised a farewell evening for them. Many people that Ralph and Barbara had known from way back were invited. Club members and guests provided music in the first half, and Ralph was given the second half. Steve Pepper recorded the evening and produced a cd, the proceeds of which were kept and added to a fund raising evening that was planned for later that year. Nearly a year later on the 1 March 2011 the aforementioned fundraising evening took place for the RNLI.
24 May 2011 saw Club members Bob and Kath Evans joining the committee due to Ed and Jacqui Bartram moving to Scotland.
A new Club member, Albert Lockwood, (Deceased) started attending regularly, and he made his own wooden recorders which all sounded superb. He made them to order and sold them not only in the UK but as far afield as America. Thanks go to Elaine for introducing him to our Club; it’s such a pity he was only with us for a few years. Club trio, "Three’s Company" asked Albert to accompany them on one song and at the rehearsal Albert appeared with one of his recorders which was literally as tall as he was, and what a sound it made. Albert also provided what was probably the funniest moment that can be remembered. It was, however, one of those "you had to be there" moments. He’d stood up to play a couple of tunes and when he got to the front of the room he proceeded to take his whistle out from under is jumper claiming ‘he was keeping it warm’.
Most of the guests that the Club booked were only asked to every three or four years, however, Johnny Silvo was booked every year from 2001 to 2011. He was booked this often simply because he was so good, and after his performance in May 2011 a number of people commented that we felt he was at his best. Unfortunately, unbeknown to us at the time, he had cancer and sadly the folk world lost him in December of that year.
In 2011 the Club came into the 21st century with George Ansell setting up an email address, [email protected] and Bob Evans creating a website, www.bridlingtonfolkclub.co.uk
The Clubs oldest member at the time was Ron Barnett (Deceased) who at 86 was still playing the harmonica, and in particular played an excellent version of the "Hovis" song.
Over the last few years there was been a resurgence of members visiting Clubs other than their own, Filey (2 Clubs), Cottingham, Hornsea and West Ayton in particular.
Unfortunately in 2011 the Broadacres landlord and lady, Guy and Claire Mayger, announced that they were leaving the Broadacres to move onto pastures new. This was a blow for the Club, as we considered that the room had been just right for us. However a new venue had to be found because the new owners of the pub announced that the building was to be completely re-vamped and would be left without a function room, and in early June ‘our’ room was demolished.
On the 31 January 2012 the Club moved into its new venue at The Telegraph Inn. The evening happened to coincide with a guest night and the room was just about full to bursting, and so we had a good start. The room is rather smaller than the room at The Broadacres, but we soon settled in and indeed this has resulted in getting to know each other a bit better.
On 22 May 2012 Rob Pagett joined the committee due to Bob and Kath Evans leaving.
It is more than 50 years since the Club first met, and on the 28 May 2013, the same evening as the AGM, we held a special evening to celebrate. As we did not know the exact date an arbitrary date had been decided upon. We didn’t invite everyone from the past; it was decided just to keep the evening a low key event.
Sadly during 2013 a number of Club members, and other regulars, passed away. Ron Barnett died after having battled with cancer for many years. Albert Lockwood died after a short illness; he kindly left some money for the Club to enjoy some food at the Christmas meeting. Tony Lavin died unexpectedly during the night after having enjoyed an evening at the Filey Folk Club. Shufflers band member Barry (Baz) Thompson also passed away after a long battle with cancer.
In February 2014 the Club was brought even further into the 21st century with Club members Martin and Mary Frankish setting up a Facebook page, and in due course re-vamped the web site. This is proving to be a useful source of information for people coming to the Bridlington area for holidays or seeing friends and relatives, and being able to visit the Club at the same time.
10 June 2014 saw the Club organising another charity night, this time for the local RNLI. The room was fit to burst with people and a goodly amount was raised for the cause.
On the 16 September 2014 the Club’s guest was Pete Coe (and Alice Jones), and he brought with him the melodeon he had bought from Nigel Chippendale all those years ago back in the 1980’s. (See the 1980’s section)
The Club’s guest on the 21 January 2015 was folk legend Martin Carthy; the Club had decided to limit the audience to 50 that evening and these were sold out within a couple of weeks of being available. Club member John Cooke was going to be part of the evening’s support, but sadly he’d suffered a stroke in November 2014 and wasn’t able to attend. However a Club member recorded the evening so John was able to watch it.
That’s about all there is for the moment however I am sure that the Club will continue for many years to come with good Singers & Musicians nights, together with many excellent guest nights.
If you have previously been to the Club and this article brings back happy memories for you, or if indeed this is your first contact with the Club, please come and see us, you will be made most welcome. Check us out on Facebook.
The format of the evening is still as it has been for many years ago, and the Club will guarantee that anyone coming to the Singers and Musicians evening will get a chance to perform . On the Club’s guest nights, the support artists are organised prior to the evening, so it is unlikely you will be given a spot. You will, however, be strongly encouraged to return to the following meeting!
Bridlington Folk Club is holding singers/musicians nights and guest nights on alternate Tuesdays at 8.30pm (prompt start). So come along at 8pm to find a seat, buy a drink and enjoy a wonderful evening of music, with sandwiches at the break.
2020 and 2021 have seen the Folk Club transfer to Zoom for the 2020 Christmas Club Meetup and for the 16th February 2021 Club Meetup. Invitations are sent by email, and participants need a PC, laptop, iPad or other such electronic device. Zoom needs to be downloaded prior to the event, but we have found this to be a quick and painless experience.
Three sessions are held, each 40 minutes long, with a 10 minute break for getting a drink and other necessities. George Ansell is still our MC, Zooming away like the professional he is. Not daunted by a few underwater sounds effects and crackles that do not come from the various forms of winter heating that different folk club participants have in their homes, he keeps us all focussed on the participants, introducing them to the virtual stage with gusto! This is history in the making! Our next is to be held on Tuesday 6th April.
Three sessions are held, each 40 minutes long, with a 10 minute break for getting a drink and other necessities. George Ansell is still our MC, Zooming away like the professional he is. Not daunted by a few underwater sounds effects and crackles that do not come from the various forms of winter heating that different folk club participants have in their homes, he keeps us all focussed on the participants, introducing them to the virtual stage with gusto! This is history in the making! Our next is to be held on Tuesday 6th April.
