Having the dubious honour of founding The Grove Folk Club back in 1962 and running it for the first fifteen years I was asked by Sam and Ed to write a few words in celebration.
Although The Grove isn't the oldest folk club in existence, that honour goes to the Topic in Bradford, it is certainly the oldest single venue folk club in the world.
Every Friday night for forty-seven years and at the same pub must be some sort of a record.
In 1962 Holbeck was a mixture of back to back houses and mills and had a large Irish community. The Grove Inn was at one end of Victoria Road and St Francis's Catholic Church at the other. The church had a superb dance hall attached to it and a bottle of whisky would usually persuade the local priest to allow it to be used for ceilidhs.
Guest Fees in 1968
- Dave Burland appeared for £8
- Christy Moore charged us £10
- Bob & Carol Pegg for £5!
St. Francis's Church and most of the streets have long since been pulled down but somehow the pub remains.
It is still almost exactly as it was forty-seven years ago: a tap room, a drinking corridor, two tiny snugs and its famous concert room. Its only concession to 2009 is that it now has a ladies toilet!
From 1970 to 1974 the club hosted the Radio Leeds weekly folk programme.
A number of these tapes have survived and a selection of songs from various artists is being made available on the web site.
Memories of The Chieftains
The night The Chieftains were booked at a local college and rang to ask if the bar would still be open if they turned up at 11.30 am. The landlord at the time was Irish. The bar was still open at 2.30am the following morning! What a ceilidh that was!
December 1968
High Level Ranters
White Eagles Jazz Band
Double decker bus and pie & peas with Mike Harding
Then there was the time we had joint evening with Mike Harding's club from Manchester.
We hired a coach and arranged to meet them halfway at a pub in Todmorden called the Grove Inn.
They arrived in a red double decker bus! there was lots of good music and a pie and pea supper to finish.
Locked out with the McPeake Family
Like the night the McPeake Family were booked and when we turned up the pub was locked and the landlord was dead drunk behind the bar.
Fortunately the Adelphi pub offered us their concert room and a guard was left at the door of the Grove to direct people the half mile to the Adelphi.
... and 130 capacity! for Hedgehog Pie .... The night Hedgehog Pie were appearing and by removing every table we managed to squeeze 130 people in (the current limit is about 80).
That the Grove Inn has survived at all is a miracle but it has and although it now stands on the edge of one of the largest combined office, hotel and residential developments in the U.K.
It still hosts one of the best folk clubs on the world.
Long may it continue!
Brian Senior, April 2009
