A photo of the Fairlight Bungalow Hotel as it was known at the time it hosted the Hayloft Folk Club in the 1970s. Photograph from Hastings Area Past and Present page on Facebook.

The return of the Hayloft Folk Club

50 years ago at the site of the current Cove Pub, there once lived a Folk Club. In the upstairs room at the Fairlight Cove Hotel, every Saturday evening from 1 December 1973, the Hayloft Folk Club would play host to many well-known folk artists of the day. Bill Pocock and Steve Green are excited to announce a revival of the Hayloft Folk Club.

Back in the 1970s, John Towner, of the house band the Mariners, organised the Club along with Ian Dobson. It ran in tandem with a similar Club at the Black Horse pub in Telham, near Battle. The impressive list of performers at the Hayloft reads like a Who’s Who? of the British Folk music scene from that decade. We have been researching who the musicians were – and what they remember.

Climbing the outside stairs to The Hayloft Club entrance would be Jake Thackray, Julie Felix, Shirley Collins & Ashley Hutchings and the Etchingham Steamband, John and Sue Kirkpatrick, Ewan McColl & Peggy Seeger and Richard Digance. Who of a certain age will not remember Robin Hall & Jimmie MacGregor? The duo were regularly on BBC Radio and television during the 1960s. Local virtuoso fiddle player Peter Knight, formally of Steeleye Span, played there at the height of Steeleye’s popularity in the ’70s and ’80s. He now plays regularly with his band Gig Spanner and the Gig Spanner Big Band in Hastings and beyond. This is to name just a few that you might know.

The entrance fee was 30 pence and there was a late bus returning people to Hastings. Without doubt this was a thriving club which ran from 1973–1976 on Saturdays and was revived in 1984 – running April to December every Friday night.

The Hayloft Club rises again!

And so to the present day. We have managed to track down two of the original performers from 50 years ago and we’re bringing them back to appear once again at The Cove in Fairlight.

Paul Downes

Performing on Sunday 25 August this year: Paul Downes – once part of Downes and Beer (with Phil Beer – “Show of Hands”) will play from 6pm.

Martin Wyndham-Read

The following Sunday, 1 September, we have Martyn Wyndham-Read accompanied by Iris Bishop on concertina, also playing from 6pm.

Both performances will be free entry so please come along and listen to some great live music, We would love to see you there.

The Cove is at 53 Waites Lane, Fairlight, Hastings TN35 4AX

Also in: Music & Sound