The Groovy Garden

 

The Groovy Garden

by Pete Clemons

Someone wiser than I am once said 'a night out in Coventry? Easy. A good night out in Coventry? A bit more difficult' - but it could be done, whatever your tastes in music, decor or clientele.

A recently advertised Groovy Garden reunion at the Kasbah had myself and, I suspect plenty of others, casting their minds back to many a chilled out Sunday evening simply taking in a variety of new and old sounds.

The Groovy Garden was a popular club night in Coventry. It began during the 1980's started as a Sunday night club at the Dog & Trumpet (D&T). The club night later relocated to the Tic Toc Club during the early 1990s. More recently, Groovy Garden nights have been revived at the Colosseum and Kasbah Nightclubs. In warmer weather, the Groovy Garden events have been held outdoors in the Kasbah's garden area.

That said Clive Parker-Skelhon and Steve Edgson hosted the inaugural Groovy Garden at Corks Wine Bar, where Clive was introduced to groups like 'Sounds Orchestral' and other cool music.

Arguably however The Groovy Garden was best known for its 90s music, particularly indie, Britpop, and guitar-led classics, creating a feel-good, nostalgic atmosphere. The night often featured themed events, like 'Groovy Garden vs Green Onions vs Kinky Afro Reunion'.

Giraffes guitarist, Nigel Williams, took over doing the Groovy Garden from Paul Sampson who, in turn, had joined Steve Edgson at the Dog & Trumpet. Paul had been getting more recording work by then and Nigel carried on doing it with Steve at Tic Toc, Silvers, The Alhambra and briefly at the 3 tuns. Nigel recalled 'it was lucky The Giraffes rarely had a gig on a Sunday'.

A lot of folk were disappointed when the Tic Toc closed up. They held some cracking nights there in between university terms. One student quote was 'best night was the Groovy Garden and the LBG night/Sunday afternoon. Always a good atmosphere and no trouble. The Colly was a decent replacement though'.

The Tic Toc also held a Friday night cabaret evening, as well as hosting jazz bands, innovative theatre and, of course, the Sunday night Groovy Garden 60s/70s disco, which was free. Bar times are till 2 am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 1 am on other weekdays, with normal times on Sundays, although the disco always continued till midnight.

The first Groovy Garden at the Kasbah which, by then had moved to a Saturday night, was an extra special event as it hosted ets from Lethal Bizzle, Skinnyman, Marvin The Martian and 91db.

The Groovy Garden events are characterized by a strong sense of nostalgia, with a focus on 90s music, including indie, britpop, and other guitar-led classics and was generally considered as 'a fine night to round off the weekend'.