Monday, June 3, 2013

The General Wolfe

The latest from Pete Clemons - his article on the General Wolfe venue for the Coventry Telegraph.




Fangs for the memories: The General Wolfe in Foleshill

By Pete Clemons. 
The General Wolfe progressed from being a free and easy to becoming one of the most respected and iconic venues in the country.


The area of Foleshill to the north of Coventry is of the city’s oldest suburbs.

Foleshill’s growth was mainly down to the industrial revolution during Victorian times.

The village of Foleshill, albeit spelt slightly different, is actually mentioned in the doomsday book and the evangelical church of St Laurence, on the Old Church Road, is one of the oldest in the city having been originally built in the 14th century.

Another Foleshill building that has been around for a very long time is The General Wolfe. The pub appears in lists of inns and taverns issued during 1822-23.

But the building is also mentioned as being used for auctions as far back as 1793 although it was not clear to me if it was also being used as a pub or not back then.

What is more than likely though is that the current building replaced an earlier one on that site at that time. And, as such, it may never be fully possible to pinpoint the exact year when the original structure was first built.

At one time though, during the 1800s, the pub had been known as The Travellers Rest but reverted back to its original and more familiar name and remained so until it closed during 2011.



Until as recently as 2008 The General Wolfe public house had been associated with the Coventry music scene as it progressed from being a free and easy to becoming one of the most respected and iconic venues in the country and a major stop-off point for any self-respecting band.

There is little doubt that the person who set The General Wolfe on its way to legendary status, and who will always remain synonymous in Coventry music history folklore, is Ken Brown who ran the pub from around 1972 to 1983. Much has been written about the visits to the venue by the likes of The Eurythmics and U2.



But its illustrious musical history did not start there. And neither did it end after Ken moved on to the Dog and Trumpet and then, of course, set up his first incarnation of Browns Cafe Bar in the Lower Precinct.

As far back as the mid to late 1950s the pub was regularly offering cash prizes to the best singer in the pub with its ‘win a pound’ contests. Friday, Saturday and Sundays were being advertised as the liveliest place in town.

Toward the end of the 1950s the venue played host to one of Coventry’s earliest rock ‘n’ roll free and easy’s. The band that made this happen was Ray Kelly and the Freemen. The Freemen being, Ronnie Cooke, Mick Colcutt and Martin Upperdine, and who were a little later joined by Nigel Lomas.

1960 then saw the pub introduce regular music sessions along with ‘Name That Tune’ competitions and other music quiz nights that, again, resulted in cash prizes.

1963, and with the onset of the beat bands and the rise of Friars Promotions, the venue saw constant regular live bands. The Sabres, Johnny B Great and the Goodmen, Beverley Jones and The Vampires all had short residencies there.

The General Wolfe had a change of management during late 1964. Suddenly the venue was being advertised as the brightest night spot. Between then and 1966 saw not only the local bands visit the venue but it also attracted bands from further afield such as Sam Spade and the Gravediggers from Rugby and The Chicanes from Birmingham.

However, in line with what was happening nationally, 1967 saw a total musical explosion at The Wolfe. Rather than the occasional band starring there, live music suddenly became a regular weekly event as the venue staged weekly ‘freakout rave sessions’ promoted by Friars.

And as was the norm for Friars in order to encourage the punters to their venues with their many ideas, the Wolfe was now being advertised as The Wolfe-A-Go-Go.

The venue became more serene and things seemed to quieten down during the late 1960s. The General Wolfe Hotel, as it was now being advertised, was now putting on grand late night dances and such like.

1972 saw the Meath Mens Cavan Club take up residence at The General Wolfe. All of a sudden the venue had an Irish flavour as regular gigs by Irish bands such as The Cairns Trio, The New Pence and Silverside filled the weekends. I am guessing that this coincided with the start of Ken Brown’s stay at the pub.

A little later on in the 1970s, and as the area diversified culturally, the venue celebrated it and played its part by hosting many of the Caribbean steel bands that were so popular at the time.

The Tropical Harmony Steel Band certainly added a splash of colour to the venue on Sundays. But it was from the late 1970s and through to the mid 1990s where The Wolfe really hit its stride.

It was an incredible period that made it arguably the most revered venue in the region. Every
respectable band wanted to appear there.

During his tenure at The General Wolfe Ken Brown was incredibly band friendly and generous with his time and resources. And this was reflected in the way he would actively encourage local talent by allowing them to rehearse in an upstairs area of the pub at no charge.

Fledgling bands like The Specials, The Selecter, The Swinging Cats, King and many others all practised there during their early days.

The 1980s saw a phenomenal number of bands play The Wolfe. For more than 15 continuous years the venue became a showcase for the cream of local talent.

But sadly all good things come to an end and by 1997 the amount of bands playing at the venue had slowed down to a trickle. For whatever reason, The General Wolfe had just fallen out of fashion.

Great efforts were made to revive the glory days and indeed, for a while, they did return as the pub seemed to find a second wind and bounced back strongly between the years 2001-05 bringing a succession of great bands.

But again, despite some loyal support, it was not enough to make it viable.

Several attempts have since been made to resurrect the pub and take it back to its illustrious past. Some fared better than others. But sadly, during October 2011, the pub closed down for good.

Since then the building has been used in ventures as diverse as a takeaway and a convenience store and more recently a restaurant.



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