The End of an Era!
By Jenny Moffatt, in conversation with Patricia O’Beirne, October 7th 2002
(History of Jazz at the Hesketh Arms, Churchtown near Southport)
“Live jazz music started at The Hesketh Arms in Churchtown, Southport circa 1985-6. The actual date depends upon the person giving the information, but from my own reckoning this is about right. The landlord of the pub was a jazz fan and had put on jazz bands in his previous pubs and was therefore delighted to find that Southport had a strong jazz fraternity. The very first band to appear was The Parade Jazz Band lead by Charlie Walkom, followed by the Smoky City Jazz Band.”
“I have loved jazz since the age of 15 and remember the first 78 record I heard was of ‘Onions’, played by Sydney Bechet. Over the years I have both heard and seen many of the great British Jazz bands, and when my husband and I were free of growing-up children we started attending the regular Wednesday evenings at The Hesketh. Various jazz weekends and festivals soon followed and where a band impressed me I booked them for a gig at The Hesketh. The late Ben Cohen and his Hot Five, Jim Shelley’s Frisco Band and Jon Penn and his Sylvanians are just samples of the bands I heard who played several times for us.”
In 1994 Dave, the landlord, decided to leave The Hesketh for
pastures new. The new incumbent and his wife knew nothing about jazz and I
volunteered to organise the Wednesday jazz evenings, which by this time had
become very popular indeed. I decided that I would book three monthly sets and
eventually compiled a mailing list. Advertising in that wonderful Jazz Bible,
‘Jazz Guide’, soon followed and I believe that The Hesketh Arms became a
Mecca of jazz music in the North of England.”
“ I had my regular core of bands who would be booked for each set of thirteen and gradually over the years I added to the growing list of bands who wanted to play at the pub. I was very fortunate that I had a good relationship with the new landlord, and the brewery was supportive and paid the lion’s share of each band’s fee. I was advised by a jazz musician that in the 70’s when a band started doing pub gigs the going rate was ‘a pound, a penny a pint’! This in the days when a pint cost about 70 pence, and so the band received £70. I have used this equation ever since, and each time the cost of a pint of bitter increased I would have the landlord pay accordingly. I thought then, and still maintain, that we pay our wonderful jazz musicians very little for the work and time spent both travelling to and from and playing at gigs with all the enthusiasm and love of the genre they invariably display.”
“It is not possible to charge admission fees as we do not have a separate room for the musical evenings. Having gone round with the collecting pot for about eighteen months before I started organising the jazz I decided that a raffle would be a good way of raising revenue to give the bands some extra money and save up for special guests who were nearly always professional musicians. This has proved very successful and I have been able to accommodate many wonderful people at The Hesketh.”
“Over the past eight and a half years along with the regular bands playing in the North of England, we have enjoyed the company of bands on tour from Australia, Denmark, Sweden, The U.S.A. and Russia and guest appearances by Digby Fairweather, John Barnes, Roy Williams, Keith Nichols, Mike Cotton, Pat Halcox, Jeff Barnhart, Marilyn Middleton Pollock, Dick Charlesworth, Cy Laurie, Clinton Ford, the late Campbell Burnap, Beryl Bryden, Tommy Burton and others. The list is endless.”
The final jazz session at The Hesketh will be on Wednesday 18th. December 2002. It will be a very sad occasion because there are so many supporters to whom Wednesdays at The Hesketh became and has become an integral part of life. I believe the pub is to be ‘upgraded and modernised’ with more of an accent on the supply of meals, and so the whole character will be lost forever. This, I am informed, is the way forward! Hopefully in the New Year we shall be moving the Jazz evenings to another pub nearby, and when this occurs I shall put out as much publicity as I can.”
Finally, I am often asked which is my very favourite band. My reply to this is that all of them are-except that there is a Liverpool Band, formed many years ago, for whom I have a very soft spot for indeed!”
Pat O'Beirne
An article submitted to Just Jazz Magazine and appearing this month
Return to Pat O'Beirne writes
Return to News
Return to Jazz Extras
Return to Main Menu