As you have probably been made aware of over
the last few days; the Thekla could be under a very real risk of closure
due to residential developments taking place in the city.
Despite all the furore surrounding it, the legal ins and outs and
the (well deserved) public outcry, I’d like instead to tell you about
where this unique and irreplaceable Bristol institution came from, its
history and its importance to the cultural fabric of this incredible
multi-faceted and dynamic city.
Thekla (which translates from Greek as ‘Goddess’; incidentally) has
its humble beginnings in 1950s Germany where it was built for use as a
cargo ship.
In 1982, American playwright and author Ki Longfellow had an idea to
create a culturally fluid music venue where they could host plays,
music, performance dance and cabaret. They would also display art in the
onboard gallery. Ki and her husband, lead singer of ‘Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah
Band’ Vivian Stanshall, travelled to Sunderland where the ship was in a
poor state of affairs, refitted her and sailed back to Bristol the
following year where they moored as the newly named ‘Old Profanity
Showboat’ and where the ship remains to this day.
The grand opening finally happened on May 1st 1984 and over the next 2
years , ‘The Old Pro’ saw the likes of over 240 different shows and
performances. Alongside the stage productions, ‘The Old Pro’ would put
on gigs to help subsidise the less lucrative poetry and cabaret shows.
This even led to Jarvis Cocker’s PULP headlining there in September of
1985.
Artists from all over the world have taken to Twitter to defend the venue
Over the years, staff working the bar, door and cloakroom would invariably wind up on the stage at some point and finally, after 2 years, Ki and Viv couldn’t help themselves any longer and ‘The Old Pro’ staged it’s very own in-house production co-written by the pair. The show was called ‘Stinkfoot’ and ran in the two weeks leading up to Christmas of 1985. As mentioned, the ‘Comedy-Opera’ was written by Stanshall and Longfellow and was specifically staged to fit in and around the ship. The cast was made of staff and crew alongside other performing regulars and, as such, the characters portrayed often had the quirks and foibles of the actors portraying them. A runaway success, they sold out every night - allaying fears that the expense of an in-house show might cripple them financially.
Following the tremendous effort that producing ‘Stinkfoot’ entailed,
along with the day to day running of such a busy and in-demand venue,
the couple were ready to call it a day in early 1986. It was only for
the pleas of the regular performers and patrons that they hung on until
August of that year.
To give you some idea of the incredible impact of this bizarre
floating theatre/music venue; the following artists all appeared during
that magical 26 months, most of which were only just starting their
careers and every opportunity to perform was vital:
- Keith Allen, Joe Cocker, Ian Dury (The Blockheads), John Entwhistle (The Who), Jack Bruce (Cream), Bert Jansch (Pentangle), Ronnie Lane (Small Faces), Rik Mayall, Paul Merton, Bill Oddie, John Peel, David Rappaport, Tony Robinson, PULP, Alexi Sayle, Tony Slattery, Joe Strummer (The Clash), Screaming Lord Sutch, Steve Winwood, Tangerine Dream
During its revival and re-birth in the 90s and 00s, ‘The Old
Profanity’ regained her original name of ‘Thekla’ and quickly became an
instrumental nightclub as a part of the burgeoning ‘Bristol Scene’. Down
in the hull, bands like Portishead and Massive Attack would play their
formative shows alongside future drum and bass icons Reprazent, with
Roni Size at the helm. A regular to ‘Thekla’, Banksy stencilled pieces
all over the inside of the ship, as well as an iconic image of the Grim
Reaper rowing a boat over the river Styx on the outer hull. This piece
has since been removed for posterity and can now be seen in the M-Shed
museum.
Since it's purchase and subsequent refurbishment in 2006 by the
current owners, a whole host of other bands have played at the iconic
venue, including Franz Ferdinand, The New York Dolls, Pete Doherty,
Tokyo Police Club, The Growlers, Santigold, and The Chords.
My own experience with the venue has been the opportunity to see
amazing bands there over many years from 2010 onwards. Bands like
Melvins, MudHoney and Dinosaur Jr along with regular shows by Therapy?,
obscure cult bands like Evil Scarecrow and a plethora of local acts, all
in the very same position that Massive Attack and Portishead found
themselves in.
When I moved to Australia for a few years, the friends I
made were amazed to learn that the ‘nightclub on a boat’ from Skins was
real and every one of them had to visit it when they came to see me.
Even on the other side of the planet, Thekla captures the imagination
and elicits joy.
Leading names from the world of music have heard of the current plight and have taken to twitter to show their support.
These days, Bristol’s youth demographic will know Thekla as a busy
and thriving nightclub, notable for its indie and alternative night
‘Pressure’ which is on every Thursday and has been hosted and DJ’d by
Calum MacMillan since it’s inception. Pop Confessional is another superb
night that I love to get along to whenever I can and the long and
winding queues that grace the carpark before the doors open are a
testament to its ongoing importance and popularity.
General Levy is bringing his nationwide Jungle tour to Thekla on
November 24th and I cannot in all honesty imagine a better venue for the
event. But Thekla isn’t just a venue. It’s a meeting place, a platform
for musicians, an icon, a landmark, and a Bristol institution. In fact,
it’s more than that. For 35 years it has been a part of Bristol's DNA
and integral to every musical ‘scene’ that has occurred here. Countless
memories have been made at Thekla and, with your help, will continue to
be made for decades to come.
#SaveThekla
This article can also be found at www.native.fm
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