dave Lewis

The Tavern in the Town – what a pub. It feels like I spent the whole of my young social life at the Tavern. Although, in reality, it was probably no more than three years. I first graduated to the place from The Lichfield (a small upstairs/downstairs bar in Lichfield Street) in 1976 when I was 17. I can’t remember why I made my first visit to the Tavern, but I do remember that just about every table was covered in uncollected empty glasses (they must have been short staffed that night!) so it didn’t leave a great impression on me (I clearly had very high standards for a 17-year old). I am so pleased that I gave it another go though, because I reckon that I went back more than 500 times after that.

I was part of the group that sat in the corner (see Ian Pearce’s story) under the strange mural. There were loads of us, boys and girls, from the age of 14 up. You could go to the Tavern any night of the week and some of our group would be there. It was a second home and given that I was living in a small bedsit over the road from the West Park – I needed a second home.

There are so many pieces of music that I hear to this day which transport me back to the Tavern and its jukebox – which was also a member of the Corner Group by virtue of its location. Trampled Under Foot and Black Dog by Led Zeppelin immediately spring to mind, as does Black Sabbath’s Paranoid. Twice a week (Wednesday and Friday) we used to stay at the Tavern until chuckin’ out time and then go to the Laff (Club Lafayette as no-one ever actually called it) to the rock night, with our pink and blue tickets which gave us free or reduced-price entry. This was my first introduction to live music, and I loved it, but it took on a whole new meaning with the Punk Rock explosion and we saw just about all the big Punk bands there, including three gigs by the Sex Pistols, who I have to say were the best live band I ever saw. I took a bit of stick from some of the corner group for embracing Punk, but it wasn’t long until several of them followed suit, although I remember there were always one or two who were sniffy about it because ‘it wasn’t as good as Rush or Yes’.

There were one or two weird regulars at the Tavern, including two old fellas who were never together (not sure they ever spoke) but they were always on their own and just blended in somehow (I wonder how old they actually were). There was also a thuggish type who gets mentioned by others in the website memories. He was dangerous, and we were always walking on eggshells around him, thinking that he could explode at any time. As I was leaving one afternoon (lunchtime drinking was part of the joy) he collared me and suggested (in a way that I couldn’t refuse) that he wanted to come back to my bedsit for a cuppa. I was terrified, but I really had no choice. I remember feeling sick as we went in, wondering what was going to happen. The moment we were inside he completely changed, he was totally polite, he sat on my only armchair and had his cup of tea and chatted to me for a while then said, ‘I won’t disturb you any longer, thanks for the tea’ and he got up and left. I was amazed and incredibly relieved. He did it again two or three times afterwards. Every time I was terrified, and every time he was just as polite. He never mentioned it back in the Tavern and treated me like everyone else - as someone to intimidate at every opportunity. It was something I am never going to forget, thinking back now he must have been lonely – he didn’t seem to have any close friends.

I made some very good friends at the Tavern. Deb Brownlee (also on the website) was one, she was Deb Meredith in those days, and I forgive her for joining the police force! I am still in touch with several of the Corner Group, in particular Kev, Fran and Steve. I bumped into another Corner Group friend, Kath, in a North London pub recently (we were both there to watch Wolves beat Tottenham) and I now play 5-a-side football twice a week with Ian Pearce (or Jim as I know him). We have both lived in Devon since the mid-80s. As he says in his piece, we formed a duo called the Precious Poets to perform in pubs and on the radio – I still can’t believe we didn’t become world famous. I am so pleased that he has retained his creative output as a playwright and performer, but it wasn’t really for me (I didn’t have the confidence). I have been lucky though, because one of my work responsibilities has been running a live venue in Exeter for more than 30 years.

I guess that the beginning of the end for me, as far as the Tavern is concerned, was when, in 1979, Kev Tranter and I went to work on the fairground for Butlins. We loved it and went back for a second and third season, until we got sacked for watching Stiff Little Fingers on BBC in the ITV room – it’s true. I went back to the Tavern in the winter seasons, but the corner group had mostly disbanded so it just wasn’t the same. I went in once when it was Moriarty’s - once was enough.

It’s the Lych Gates, The Posada or the Great Western for me now when I go back to Wolvo. All great pubs, but can they match the feeling I got from being in the Tavern…of course they can’t.