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Digbeth Town Hall

M

Mr Zippy

master brummie
Hi, Just rediscovering this site; hope to make more use of it soon.Anyway, I went to a concert last week at the HMV Institute, which has been Digbeth Civic Hall and Digbeth Institute. It looks like an old music hall/theatre inside, but Wikipedia suggests it started life as a church, which seems odd. Can anyone verify this? Thanks.
 
Thanks. Nice photo. With the distinctive Bonser and Co building, this stretch of Digbeth does not look that different now.
 
Another great Birmingham building that externally has not changed at all since it was first built. Unfortunately the interior has changed vastly since those days. Regretfully I have to own up to being partially responsible for that, my crew were responsible for gutting the premises in the 80's when it changed from The Institute to The Sanctuary night club and it was revamped, but at least by then all the original fittings had gone.

I can remember using the hall several times before it was used as a night club and it used to be a function venue. I attended several private functions there and I on occasion watch some wrestling or boxing there.

Phil

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I remember the old Civic Hall Institute very well, mostly from being the Thursday night venue of the Jug Of Punch Folk Club. Ian Campbell, Harvey Andrews, Dave Swarbrick and many more graced the stage in those dim and distant days of the late 1960's. It was also notorious for the scrumpy served at the bar. Many a Thursday night I staggered up to New Street to get the bus home, swearing never to touch rough cider ever again.

Does anyone else remember The Jug Of Punch?

Big Gee
 
I was wondering the other day if anyone else remembered the Jug o Punch.
I never missed a Thursday night there for about 5 years & have several vinyl LPs by the Ian Campbell Folk Group which I still play.
I´m a great fan of UB40 too although I´m old enough to be the Campbell boys mother.
Never had a minutes worry about walking through town late at night to catch the bus in Union Street. Wouldn´t do it in daylight now.
 
Big Gee said:
I remember the old Civic Hall Institute very well, mostly from being the Thursday night venue of the Jug Of Punch Folk Club. Ian Campbell, Harvey Andrews, Dave Swarbrick and many more graced the stage in those dim and distant days of the late 1960's. It was also notorious for the scrumpy served at the bar. Many a Thursday night I staggered up to New Street to get the bus home, swearing never to touch rough cider ever again.

Does anyone else remember The Jug Of Punch?

Big Gee
Click to expand...


Yes, I remember the Jug of Punch.

I must admit I am not really a fan of folk music but a friend and I went there a few times when Dave Pegg played bass with the Ian Campbell Folk Group as we knew him slightly. Spent most of the time in the bar area!

I remember seeing the Strawbs there one night - quite enjoyed them as they were not so 'folkie'
 
I wasn't really a folkie either - I much preferred blues and still do. But it was always a great atmosphere at the Jug, and some very good music too. I believe Ian and Lorna Campbell are still around, but don't know if they still perform. They were happy days, for me at least.

Big Gee
 
Good memories, Richard. I remember Ralph McTell and Fairport Convention at the Jug too. The only thing is - I wouldn't have used Watneys Red Barrell to put out a fire.

Big Gee
 
My brother bought his first house in Sutton from Dave Pegg. I believe lorna is still living in the Kings Heath area.
People think I´m potty, but I remember seeing Chris Christofferson at the Jug when he was in Engand avoiding the draft to VietNam. He was a singer in those days, not a film star.
Saw Fairport Convention several times & was a great fan of Dave Swarbrick.
Remember Ian & Lorna´s parents singing on many an occasion.
Happy days.
 
HI ZIPPY
Yes you are correct it was a music hall way back in the early 1900s possibley abit more than that
and my grand mother and my mother when she was young used stage tap and dance there and with another family member one of the perks family and my great grand father was a compere the in the old days of music halls
i have said before about a guy cally harry leiveine dance troup that usd to tour the country
and in the days of sir billy coton wakey wakey ; and wee georgie wood and another person whom was famous
and they travelled around the world quite regular all four and five of them and she used to takey a monkey in a cage
with her where ever she travelled ; that being my grand mother victoria hinton
that building over the decades as been numerous building holding various venus from the church to pop bnds wrestling ; boxing meeting hall for all purposes afew years back there wa articles on this form about the building in its glory year
and pictures but as you mayu of learnt some one as stole all but most of the threads and pictures off this
forum ; for there personal purposes but i beleive personaly its to do with bg brother society
as its with in the libary and knowing what most of us already know that the big brother is already accumelating
peoples lifes and info; from face book ;which i heard and learnt from a very good source thats another reason
why i would not used face book because of that reason so you see big brother is already activated in this country
so may be you may not get another picture of thes one time great music hall unless some one whom as a copy will postedit for you i know the orinional member whom knew alot and posted the picture was barred from our forum
along with one or to other members so they would not be able to reprint it for you
still fingers crossed we have a great number of forum members on here and as we are one great big happy family along with jim and his hilary the owners may just be able to produce one for you along with moreinfo'
have a great day best wishes astonian ;; ALAN
 
I saw Dave Pegg a couple of months ago playing in 'The Dylan Project', a band headed up by Steve Gibbons, another Brummie musical legend. They were at The Guildhall, Lichfield, which was absolutely packed out. A great night of music, mostly Dylan naturally. Dave Swarbrick is still performing, and as good as ever on the fiddle. I happen to know his former wife... Ralph McTell was a great performer, and only the other week I found out that McTell isn't his real name, but he took it from the great Delta blues singer Blind Willie McTell. Rather like naming yourself after God, as far as I'm concerned. I do remember a 'legend' that Kris Kristofferson had played the Jug, but never saw him there and so never believed it. However, Senoraruz now confirms the legend!

Great days, never to be repeated I'm afraid.

Big Gee
 
I think it's fair to point out that Kris Kristofferson was in the American army and came out a Captain.

Regards

David
 
I did say that Kris Kristofferson's 'appearance' at the Jug Of Punch was legendary....if it wasn't, then I only wish I'd been there to see him.

Big Gee

PS: does anyone recall another Amercian performer called Tim Rose, whose big hit here was 'Come Away Melinda', an anti-war song? He lived in England for a long time, and I saw him once in Brum in the late sixties at that pub close to the Old Rep Theatre (can't recall its name just now).
 
Yes, I remember Tim Rose. 'Morning Dew' was his biggest record (there was a bit of a controversy about who wroye the song).

He came over to the UK in 1968 and played at the Factory (next to the Opposite Lock in Gas Street) with John Bonham on drums - just before he joined what was to become Led Zeppelin. It was a good night!

Think maybe you mean the Crown pub in Navigation Street? The club night 'Henrys' was run out of the upstairs room and they had alot of bands on there in the late 60's
 
Yes, Henry's at the Nav, that was it! Me memory's going! I only recalled him because someone performed 'Come Away Melinda' at an open-mic night a short time back, and did it quite well. It's probably quite a topical song, given what's going on in the world these days.

I was never much of a night-clubber in the old days, so rarely went to places like the Opposite Lock. Mother's in Erdington was our favourite.

G
 
Hello Beegee,

Tim Rose now you're talking another song of his "Morning Dew". Also his first album is very good. Does a version of "Hey Joe".

Regards

David
 
He got into a bit of a copyright wrangle with "Hey Joe", which I think was first recorded in the very early 1950's. Tim Rose claimed it was a traditional ballad, which it probably is. Loads of bands and solo artistes recorded it before Hendrix, whose version IMHO isn't bad, but not as good (or as angry) as Tim Rose's.

Big Gee
 
I just had a bit of a trawl through the internet, and found out that a number entitled "Hey Joe" was first recorded in 1952 by a character called Carl Smith who I never heard of before, but it seems that his song isn't quite the same as the one we're discussing here. Apparently the earliest recording of the song we know was in 1965 by an American band called The Leaves, again never heard of by me. But apparently, the song was written and registered for copyright in 1962 by someone called Billy Roberts, whose name is vaguely familiar. If I can find decent tabs for this number I might give it a go at some open-mic night sometime.

G
 
Hello Big Gee, interesting, I think we had better stop this or we will be told off for going off topic. Lol

Thanks for the info

Regards
David
 
Back in the 1970s I worked with an old boy who told me that as a young man before the war he had attended a British Union of Fascists meeting at Digbeth Civic Hall. He was young an impressionable and that vitriol and hatred he witnessed that night at that meeting had stayed with him all his life.
Anti-fascist protestors had infiltrated the meeting and it soon turned into something of a riot.
Does anyone know anything about this incident? I've searched online to try and find out more about it, but so far I've drawn a blank.
 
My father told me of the Bull Ring area pre-war fights against the fascists. (Oswald Mosley). Him and some of his brothers witnessed it. Maybe there are some Police reports or newspaper reports. After all, there was a 'nick' in Digbeth.
 
This photo is of Oswald Mosley and his follows after the riot at Digbeth City Hall in the 1930's. He looks quite pleased with himself.

oswald moseley aftermath of riot birmingham 1930.jpg
 
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