Bands, Cinema & Theatre 1970's '80's

A Memory of Great Malvern.

Spent a good deal of time here in my younger years. My brother & many of his friends worked at the MoD,, & had what they called 'the Tuesday night cinema club'. Good or bad, most Tuesdays would see us at the cinema in the Winter Gardens to see a film, going for a drink - or 3 - after in the Unicorn or Nags Head. Another popular pub was The Morgan (not the later one near Barnards Green), formerly the Lygon Arms, at Link Top. In those days it was a popular, family run pub. Later on the brewery tried turning it into a 'sports' pub, which failed. It was later sold with the caveat it could not be used as a pub, & is now flats.
The soundproofing wasn't very good between the cinema & the hall where the bands played, & you could hear bands if they were playing next door.
At the time Malvern Fringe Festival was second only to Edinburgh as an alternative festival. They had late night showings of cult films. These could get quite rowdy, as many patrons had been at the pub beforehand. You could smoke at gigs & cinemas then, & there was often a er, herbal scent in the air, especially during the more trippy/reggae films.
Didn't often go to the theatre, despite the efforts of an arty girlfriend. You would often see famous actors/personalities in the town, or the pubs or wine bar. Remember seeing Kate O'Mara, Leo McKern & Nigel Hawthorne around. A workmate swore she'd been chatted up in the wine bar by Bobby Moore & Rodney Marsh, two ex footballers who were doing a lecture tour.
When I moved to the area, it was the days of punk/new wave, & the British Heavy Metal revival. Saw bands who would go on to be world famous - Iron Maiden,, Judas Priest, Def Leppard, Motorhead & many, many more. There is an excellent website, Rock Around the Hills' which gives details of the gigs from the 1960's on. Cherry Red, the record label named after a Groundhogs song, was formed by people who used to put on gigs at the WG.
Sadly, the Gardens were redeveloped during the '80's, putting an end to the glory years of concerts.