Continuing the series of the towns bars, clubs and pubs here is The Night Owl. This club, on the High Street, is not the sort of place that plays my kind of music, so I've never been inside but I wanted to tell you something about it. Not knowing anything about it I checked out their website http://www.nightowlclub.co.uk/ and I was so suprised by the history of the club behind the door that the info below is taken from their website :-"Going back to the early 60s when it all started as a milk bar frequented by the mods on their scooters. Egg & Bacon was the local hang out for the young and restless of Cheltenham. For a while it was a dancehall under the name SPA Lounge. In the late 60s it changed incarnation again. This time the venue was called Blue Moon. It became the premiere circuit venue for the Gloucestershire area. Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Mott The Hoople, Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart to name but a few, played up the stairs in the corner stage. The Four Tops played their very first UK show at the Blue Moon, which it remained to be during most of the 70s.
Then in the early 80s the club changed management yet again and turned in to The Night Owl. What started with the scooters and the mods back in the early years, now turned in to a dedicated bikers and rock venue.
Another name change to Mistys didn’t mean it changed genre. Still a rock club up until 1996 when it turned in to The Attic which is when Stuart “Stu” Challoner got involved. Still focusing on rock music, with up and coming bands playing live, The Attic featured artists such as Stereophonics and Feeder."
Now the club, once again The Night Owl, is undergoing a refurbishment and has a promising future. Who knows whether todays unknown rock bands featured here will become as famous as some of those that played The Night Owl in the past? Lets hope so.
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8 comments:
It's really been through a myriad of eras!
Quite the history here. If the walls couls still hear. ;) Hopefully it's future will continue on.
What an interesting history behind those doors, Marley! Thanks so much for sharing!
Pat
Guelph Daily Photo, My Photos.
Yes Marley like the old Odeon cinema (where the Beatles once performed)...this nightclub has had quite an interesting past. Despite its central High Street presence the club has never really been that great...especially in the last decade or so. I think I may have been once or twice in my 18 years in Cheltenham. It is only really one rectangular room...and doesnt have much character. Perhaps things are changed now that its called The Night Owl again. With a past line-up like that it must have something about it!
I'm more of a Two Pigs man myself!!
Greetings from Toruń Daily Photo here in Poland!
Glenn - The 2pigs is great! My next post in the series will be of the 2pigs, just to remind you of your times in Cheltenham!
I'm not sure that I agree with your history story. The Club was the Blue Moon from about 1965 to 1968 at the latest and then became the Spa lounge. I went to the club during this period. Rod Stewart played with the Steam packet, along with Judy driscoll, Long John Baldry and the Brian Auger Trinity.Got to mention Lee Dorsey of 'Ride your pony', 'working in a coalmine' etc fame. A great diminutive figure who had frequent live performances at the Moon. I am surprised by the ommission of Eric Clapton who I saw there but he was rather low key.
This club was a Mod Club and was a forerunner of the Northern Soul scene with a close connection with the Torch at Stoke on Trent. Many people from Cheltenham went to the Torch especially following the closurenof the ' Blue Moon'. A great music scene.
This brings back somme memories. Only thought to look to see if there was any mention on the net having recently dug out an old LP of The Action, a fantastic group who also played there and had a big following with venues always packed.
This club was so popular there have been a couple of reunions in receent years but I was unfortunately unable to attend either. I do still have my membership card from 1966 though!
There was a time before the Night owl that the disco was called the OVAL it was green and then they changed the decor and called it the Night owl
and then they played northern soul and had the first under 16 disco mid week when they sold just soft drink
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