Community memory · November 2017
The Book of Freaks — Austen Cordasco
A literary recollection of Chelmsford music venues from the Animals and Prince of Orange through the Army and Navy, Y Club, Bassment and Asylum.
The people who were there
People's Memories
A central part of Chelmsford Rocks. Memories are presented as memories — not silently converted into fact.
Memory records currently presented on this page
Trevor Bass — Chelmsford music memories
Trevor recalls gigs he attended at Chelmsford venues from the late 1960s into the 1970s. His list includes shows at Chancellor Hall, the Civic Theatre, Shire Hall, Chelmsford Technical College and the Essex Showground, with uncertain dates and venues kept as he gave them.
The Who — Corn Exchange
Surviving recollections mention Pete Townshend stopping “My Generation” after a fan came onto the stage and damaged his jacket; meals and drinks at the Fleece; the opening of the show; Pete smashing a guitar; Keith Moon; and the atmosphere around the old Corn Exchange. Different recollections are kept as individual voices.
September 1964 — Corn Exchange
Comments survive around the advertised programme featuring The Fairies, Zoot Money, John Mayall, Mark Four and the forthcoming George Fame appearance. These are attached to the programme rather than treated as one person's definitive account.
Genesis + Man — Civic Theatre
Memories include the 65p admission, Barry Colbourne, Argent, Arcadium, the Eyes Club and other Civic Theatre experiences. Where comments refer to different nights, they remain separate.
City Rock ’77
Maurice's personal archive records his attendance and includes an “I WAS THERE!” badge and crowd imagery. Other recollections remain tied to the festival material.
Read Mark and Crispin on related Chelmsford music memories →
The Clash — Chancellor Hall, 27 May 1977
Three separate first-hand recollections survive for the White Riot Tour: Ash (July 2010), Duncan Egleton (June 2010) and Maurice Hyde. They are kept as individual voices because they remember different details of the same night. The surviving ticket establishes the event date; the recollections add personal experience and atmosphere rather than replacing documentary evidence.
Three early 1978 Chancellor Hall attendances
The site owner remembers attending the Tyla Gang (22 January), Tonight (5 February) and British Lions (20 February) shows. The existing record keeps personal attendance separate from the contemporary evidence supporting each date.
Read the full memory record · Tyla Gang event evidence · Tonight event evidence · British Lions event evidence
Essex Live — Chancellor Hall, 20 May 1979
Essex Archives Online’s catalogue summary of Ian Fortnam’s oral-history interview specifically mentions the Essex Live gig, names Modern English and AD3, and records that Anorexia went down better than the other bands. This is event-specific local-memory evidence, kept distinct from the contemporary advert.
8 October 1978 — Enid / The End publicity memory
The site owner remembers both names being advertised around this date, but did not attend either show. The event remains unresolved; this recollection is evidence about publicity, not proof that either show took place.
Bethnal — Where & When memory
The surviving personal list says “1977 or 78” and the site owner remembers seeing Bethnal but cannot now confirm the exact date. Separate documentary candidates remain separate from this uncertain memory.
Read the full memory note · Review the separate appearance research
The memories below are selected and paraphrased from the archived Music Memories page printout (19 May 2021). Personal recollections are attributed as such; uncertain dates and claims are not presented as verified event facts.
Matt May — Girlschool and the Caroline roadshows
Matt remembers Girlschool, supported by AIIZ, as his first gig at Chelmsford Odeon in 1981. He later saw them on the Motörhead tour. He also recalls the Caroline roadshows at Chancellor Hall, a crowd photograph with his friend Pete Hart in a Dumpy’s Rusty Nuts album gatefold, and the Yo-Yos at the Army & Navy.
A personal recollection from the archived page; the photograph and album identification are as Matt described them.
Bob Wiffen — The Statesmen and the Corn Exchange
Bob remembers playing with the Exchequers and Ray Ford and the Statesmen, and supporting major acts at the Corn Exchange, including The Who, Chris Farlowe and Rufus Thomas. He recalls Keith Moon offering pills when the band supported The Who, and remembers Zoot Money and Georgie Fame among his favourites.
The Keith Moon anecdote is Bob’s personal memory, not independently verified by this page.
Dave Pickett — The Coltraine Union
Dave identifies himself as lead guitarist with the Coltraine Union. He remembers the band playing at the Corn Exchange and sharing bills with acts including The Who, David Bowie, Geno Washington, Brian Auger’s Trinity, the Steam Packet and Spencer Davis. He names Martin Dobson, Bob Bennett, Dick Gowers, Graham Deakin and Philip Shergold among the band members.
This is Dave’s recollection. The archived page says he also had band photographs and newspaper cuttings; the individual appearances still need matching documentary evidence.
Simon — The Clash, Chancellor Hall and Ecstasy
Simon remembers seeing The Clash at Chancellor Hall and Joe Strummer urging the audience to go home “in a gang”; he recalls leaving with ringing ears. He also remembers a punk festival where The Damned did not play and the Doctors of Madness stood out, and Ecstasy record shop as a meeting place where people shared gig news.
A separate voice from the already linked Clash recollections.
Y Club and Army & Navy — 1990s recollections
An unnamed contributor remembers local shows and social life around the Y Club and Army & Navy: a Gene show in August 1994 and another in January 1995, Salad in summer 1994, and seeing A around 1997 or 1998. They also recall fanzine reviews, promoter John Dunne, and Brett Anderson appearing at a Geneva gig. Some names, dates and details in the source are approximate or unclear.
The contributor’s identity and several details were not given clearly in the archived printout.
Pat Clear — Richard and Linda Thompson at the Three Cups
Pat remembers Richard and Linda Thompson with Simon Nicol playing at the Three Cups on 3 February 1974. Pat also recalls Richard Thompson performing solo at DJ’s Disco on Rainsford Road in the early 1980s.
The dates are retained as Pat supplied them in the archived page.
Trevor Bass — a list of remembered gigs
Trevor’s archived list recalls shows by artists including Ace, Argent, Barclay James Harvest, Chicken Shack, Kevin Coyne, Deep Purple, Faust, Focus, Rory Gallagher, Groundhogs, Kokomo, Man, Spirit, Steeleye Span, Strawbs and Wishbone Ash, across venues such as Chancellor Hall, the Odeon and the Civic Theatre.
Trevor described some of these memories and dates as hazy. This list records what he remembered, not a verified concert schedule.
DJ Muzza — Alex Harvey and SAHB
DJ Muzza, writing from Radio Redhead Annan, remembers the Alex Harvey Soul Band playing the Corn Exchange twice and the Sensational Alex Harvey Band at Chelmsford College in 1974. He calls them his favourite band.
These are the contributor’s recollections; the archived page does not provide supporting tickets or adverts.
Hugh and Kevin Bullen — Soul Trinity with Jimi Hendrix
Brothers Hugh and Kevin Bullen sent first-hand memories of supporting The Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Corn Exchange. Hugh remembers being 16 and playing bass, sharing the dressing room with Hendrix and his band, speaking with him, and standing beside his Marshall amplifier. Kevin remembers being 17 and playing guitar, and says Hendrix came backstage to tell him he had enjoyed his playing.
Listen to Soul Trinity on YouTube Music · Read both brothers’ full memories on the Jimi Hendrix event page · Hugh Bullen’s website
Hugh’s message spells his brother’s name “Kelvin”; Kevin’s own signed memory says “Kevin”.
Jimi Hendrix Experience — Corn Exchange, 25 February 1967
The Saturday Scene newspaper advert shown on the event page gives the date as 25 February and names The Jimi Hendrix Experience with support from The Soul Trinity. The year is confirmed by the official Jimi Hendrix site, which also says Dutch filmmaker Roeland Kerbosch filmed parts of “Stone Free” and “Like a Rolling Stone” at the performance. It describes this as the earliest known film footage of The Experience performing in concert.
See the advert and Chelmsford event record · View the video shared on Facebook · Official Jimi Hendrix event and film-footage account
The Facebook video is linked as supplied; its identification as the Dutch footage has not been independently verified here. The official account confirms the filming and date, but does not specify 8mm film.
Memories connected to event records
Where a memory sits alongside a selected event record, the two are linked rather than merged into one voice. Direct attendance recollections and event-specific oral-history evidence are linked to their event records. Publicity-only or date-uncertain memories are kept in the separate unresolved-clues section below.
- The Who — Corn Exchange, 23 January 1965 — direct memory connection
- The Clash — Chancellor Hall, 27 May 1977 — three direct first-hand recollections
- Tyla Gang — Chancellor Hall, 22 January 1978 — first-hand attendance memory
- Tonight — Chancellor Hall, 5 February 1978 — first-hand attendance memory
- British Lions — Chancellor Hall, 20 February 1978 — first-hand attendance memory
- Essex Live — Chancellor Hall, 20 May 1979 — event-specific oral-history evidence
Other selected event records may have related archive material, but they are not presented here as memory records unless the current archive contains a direct matching connection.
Unresolved memory clues
The 8 October 1978 Enid / The End recollection concerns publicity and does not establish either show took place. The Bethnal list entry remains “1977 or 78” and is not forced to match the separate dated documentary candidates. Enid / The End note · Bethnal note
Corn Exchange memory · January 1966
The Action at the Corn Exchange
An attendee recalls seeing The Action and compares the set with The Who; the date remains month-only and subject to confirmation.
Asylum memory · December 2016
The Steve FP Band at Asylum
Maurice Hyde recalls an entertaining set the previous night, including songs from The love that kills.
Two Eyes Club — Flickr recollection
A recollection attached to the Two Eyes Club Flickr source describes the US air-force base at Wethersfield, a London Road café used by local mods, scooters outside, and Martin Havalin later turning the café into the Pop In record shop. It also recalls imported ska, bluebeat, R&B and soul records and trips to gigs around Essex and London.
City Rock ’77 — Flickr recollection
Maurice Hyde’s source account remembers the 17 September festival, its advertised line-up and ticket prices, The Damned not appearing, and the later Chancellor Hall return. The account remains attributed personal testimony alongside the poster and ticket evidence.
The Who — Corn Exchange Flickr source
The Flickr page records three Chelmsford dates and includes a comment correcting another date in the local music history. Existing memories about The Who at the Corn Exchange remain individual voices and are not used to prove every item in the source caption.
Army & Navy — Sean Hudson interview memory
Former promoter Sean Hudson’s interview recalls bookings and venue life, including the Heavy Metal Kids show moved there in 1992, an Oasis recollection from 1994, and the venue’s reported final period in 2002. These details are retained as oral history and linked to the venue source record.
The Damned + 999 — ticket recollection
The Flickr source caption associates a Chancellor Hall ticket with The Damned and 999 and remembers a 90p admission charge connected with covering hall costs after the City Rock ’77 dispute. The ticket and the explanation are kept as separate kinds of evidence.
Chelmsford Folk Festival — 1972
A contributor who was 15 remembers jug bands and lesser-known acts in the marquee, dancing to Steeleye Span and the Strawbs, and sets by Sandy Denny, “Al Steward” and Roy Harper. They remember Joni Mitchell being expected but not appearing; the explanation heard at the time remains unverified. The contributor recalls a small, friendly and intimate crowd.
Harvey Andrews — 1972 Folk Festival
David remembers travelling from Middlesbro for the 1972 Chelmsford Folk Festival, principally to see the Strawbs, and also remembers Harvey Andrews as a memorable performer. This is preserved as his personal recollection.
Jasper Carrott — Three Cups Folk Club
A supplied memory places Jasper Carrott at Chelmsford Folk Club at the Three Cups circa 1972/73. The approximate date is retained as given.
Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel and the Chelmsford Folk Club
Roger Perry recalls Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Bert Jansch, Martin Carthy and others appearing at Chelmsford folk clubs during the 1960s. He remembers Paul Simon introducing a friend, followed by Art Garfunkel joining him to sing. The recollection names the Queen’s Head, White Horse, Dolphin and Spotted Dog as club venues.