Venues
The surviving archive covers decades of Chelmsford music. Each venue is treated as its own historical record. Publicly displayed images are limited to selected tickets, gig adverts and posters; other photographs remain in the retained source archive and are not shown as site imagery.
Browse the Where & When index Browse selected event records
Asylum
Chelmsford · venue status and timeline partly unresolved
The archive includes a July 2014 closure report, a Pukes memory, and later Asylum listings through 2017. Whether the venue reopened or changed operator remains unresolved.
Open Asylum venue record →Chelmsford Corn Exchange
Music archive: 1960s · demolished 1969
Beat, blues, soul and rock history including The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, The Fairies, Zoot Money, John Mayall, Georgie Fame and local support acts.
Open Corn Exchange →External research lead: Peter Searles oral history covers the Corn Exchange, Odeon and 1960s Chelmsford music scene. See catalogue lead →
Chancellor Hall
Punk, rock and touring bands from the 1970s onward, including The Clash, The Damned, The Undertones, Generation X, The Vibrators, Ultravox, Wilko Johnson and Dr Feelgood.
Open Chancellor Hall →External research lead: Ian Fortnam oral history discusses Chancellor Hall and Chelmsford punk. See catalogue lead →
Y Club
Victoria Road · YMCA venue · 1990s
Victoria Road YMCA venue, with surviving Y Club and YMCA listings from the late 1980s and 1990s. The original index wording and uncertain dates are preserved in the venue record.
Open Y Club venue record →Civic Theatre
1970s and later
Reported shows include Genesis + Man (advertised for 28 February 1972; actual date disputed), Osibisa, Groundhogs + Brewers Droop and Van der Graaf Generator + Medicine Head. A surviving Skin Alley / Hawkwind / Decameron advert is undated by year.
Open Civic Theatre record →Odeon
Baddow Road · historic cinema/concert venue
The historic Baddow Road cinema hosted major touring acts. The archive includes tickets for Brenda Lee, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Adam & The Ants, Ozzy Osbourne + Budgie and Wishbone Ash.
Adam & The Ants — 13 Dec 1980 →
Ozzy Osbourne + Budgie — 22 Oct 1980 →
Wishbone Ash + The Trend — 3 Jun 1980 →
Army & Navy
1990s–2002 venue history, including the promoter interview with Sean Hudson, major bookings, local scenes and the venue closing in October 2002.
Open Army & Navy →External research lead: Chelmsford oral histories also mention Army & Navy gigs. See catalogue leads →
The Bassment
Later Chelmsford live music, including Junior Jump and the Bottom Line (3 June 2017), Goldray and Frankie and the Witch Fingers.
Open Bassment listings, 2017–2020 →The Two Eyes Club
Chelmsford · newly supplied source lead
A newly preserved Flickr photograph and personal recollection refer to The Two Eyes Club in Chelmsford. The supplied image shows a May Blitz advertisement with “Sunday, March 21” and “The Two Eyes Club, Chelmsford”; the year and full event details are not visible in the supplied material.
Open Two Eyes Club source record →Evoke
Former Chancellor Hall site in later years. The archive includes Buzzcocks (4 October 2012) and From the Jam (28 November 2013).
See Evoke listings in Where & When →Chelmsford Social Club
55 Springfield Road, Chelmsford, CM2 6JG. Formerly known as Hideaway. The archive includes seven 2021–22 listings, the poster-backed U2 Tribe event, and 14 Black Frog Presents listings for 2026–27.
Open Hideaway / Chelmsford Social Club record →The Hot Box
28–29 Viaduct Road, Chelmsford. The archive includes a 2021 poster-backed gig and 18 Black Frog Presents listings for 2026–27. The supplied venue notes also name “Blues Box & Roots Sessions”.
Open venue record →External oral-history research
The packaged archive is only one layer of the surviving record. Essex Archives Online catalogues oral-history recordings that overlap several of these venues and eras. These are research leads rather than imported event evidence.