Exeter's Vanished Rock Venues
In the beginning ... I started a project to research and produce a 15 minute podcast about Exeter's Vanished Rock Venues. An appeal on the Exeter Memories facebook site generated an enormous response and it quickly became clear that this was a bigger subject than I'd anticipated. As the podcast was intended to accompany a walk, I initially limited its coverage to a walk from the top of Sidwell Street to the Corn Exchange, via Gandy Street and Queen Street.
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I also put together a collection of images from a wider selection of venues, mainly from the Exeter Memories website with the kind permission of David Cornforth, together with some current photographs taken by me. These images were shown as part of the Exeter's Vanished Rock Venues and other stories exhibition at St Petrocks for Art Week Exeter (AWE) 2018. I added my pictures and descriptions of venues to a map of the city, and encouraged visitors to add their own recollections to help improve the information that I had collected.
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In 2025 I'm curating another exhibition for AWE entitled 'Gathered from Coincidence', and I've highlighted the following broadcasts from the past 7 years which best reflect the original aims of EVRV to collect memories about Exeter's vanished venues:
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November 2018 - Graham Sclater talked about his early career as part of a band that played in the Hamburg Star Club a year or two after the Beatles, about playing with Jimi Hendrix, and then moving on to music production.
March 2019 - Jon Curtis from the Cut-Ups, one of Exeter’s most successful bands, talked about their career.
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August 2019 - Dave Treharne from Phonic FM recalled the year 1985, his time on DevonAir Radio, and the blues scene that was his main focus at that time.
August 2021 - Ed X talked about his Exeter band Annalise and how they had toured widely, including the far east; and he also talked about the early days of Exeter Cavern.
December 2023 - Len Gammon talked about his roles in the Exeter music scene, as a DJ, promoter, bass player in The Fans and as a musical entrepreneur.
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September 2024 - I made a programme for River Radio – Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - with people remembering the clubs surrounding Exeter Quay.
I’m still interested in talking with anyone who has memories of the Exeter music scene - from the 1950s, right through to the present day. So if you have memories to share, either on-air or off-air, email me at vanished.venues@gmail.com
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The History of EVRV
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Radio: From August 2018 I've been broadcasting, originally with co-presenter Ally, programmes of music and interviews associated with Exeter's Vanished Rock Venues on Phonic 106.8 FM. Monthly broadcasts, on the 2nd Thursday of the month from 4 to 6pm, can be heard in the Exeter area or listened to online at phonic.fm. From May 2019 I started another show on Phonic, Between The Buttons, on 2nd Tuesdays from 12 to 2pm. This was a more relaxed show which picked up things that didn't fit in EVRV, and other stuff that I wanted to include. It finished at the end of 2023. From August 2019 I've been doing a four weekly show Strange Days on Soundart Radio, Dartington which often repeats (parts of) the Phonic broadcasts. Many of my shows are posted on Mixcloud, eventually. Details are also shown on the EVRV facebook page and twitter feed.
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The Podcast: I have updated the first version of my city centre podcast. However, the project is now on hold and without music and location recordings (it's a simple unplugged guide narration which runs for 14 minutes). The ultimate intention was to extend the walking route before rerecording and producing a final 'live' mix with location sounds and music. I was also planning to extend the project to record more detailed recollections of people's live music experiences in Exeter, for broadcast on local community radio. However, these plans remain on hold at the moment.
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Exeter's Vanished Rock Venues - Selected Sources (hover and click to access)
Exeter Memories - David Cornforth
Exeter Memories facebook group
Exeter Past and Present facebook group
Destiny One/Exeter Nostalgia - Peter Rice
Searching for the Young Joe Rebel (Louder than War) - Joe Swinford
The Graded Grains web site -John Gregory
The Beatles Bible/History - Joe Goodden
Oh No! It’s Local Rock and Roll … but I like it! (volume 2) - Barry Sowden
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Photographs from the 2018 St Petrocks exhibition can be accessed here​. Brief CVs of the artists and writers who exhibited can be accessed here.