By Harriet Robinson

BBC News, Bristol

She sailed up the River Avon into Bristol - a rusting trading vessel owned by a pair of creative eccentrics.

Now, 40 years later, Thekla is a cornerstone of the city's cultural scene, having gone through multiple identities.

As the venue celebrates its ruby anniversary, those who've made her hull their home share their memories.

"We had this crazy assortment of people that just sort of gravitated to us and and became part of it," says Sydney Longfellow, who helped sail the ship into Bristol Docks in 1984, aged 20.

"When we first arrived and we sailed under the Clifton Suspension Bridge... that moment of arrival was like nothing I've ever done in my life, and it was just magical," she said.

Thekla was built in 1958 and spent almost two decades as a coastal trading vessel.

However, in the 1970s it was left abandoned for years, half submerged in a Sunderland dock until American novelist Ki Longfellow-Stanshall and her husband, musician Vivian Stanshall, brought it to Bristol, opening it as the Old Profanity Showboat in 1984.

The ship hosted live music, as well as theatre and comedy.

"Such unlikely people would come and participate in things that I don't think they ever expected to do, like doing an improv play at lunchtime over a pint," said Sydney, Ki's daughter.

The venue will mark its milestone with a five-day programme of events from 1 May, including an exhibition and the launch of a new book containing lesser-known stories about the ship.

"It's a great achievement for any business to get to a 40-year mark, but in this industry and in this current climate it's something we're especially proud of," says Alex Black, Thekla's general manager of more than a decade.

"There's very few venues around the country - even the world - where you can enjoy live music or a club night on a boat," he added.

Sydney, now living in California, went on to work in a variety of roles onboard the Old Profanity, including chef, bouncer, bartender and performer.

She describes her time with the ship as "an amazing creative time, full of crazy adventures".

"There was something about that period that was deeply significant to my family," she added.

Sydney remembers Ogden, the ship's cat, would often steal the limelight.

"We did a version of Lady Chatterley's lover where he appeared right during the key love scene. The whole audience erupted in laughter."

Sydney said her mother opening The Old Profanity "was definitely one of the most powerful things that she had done in her life".

"She would dream about the ship. I dream about it sometimes."

The Old Profanity closed in 1986, and the ship was run as a 'rent-a-nightclub' in the 1990s and 2000s before being taken over by independent national promoter DHP Family, who still run the venue, in 2006.

The 1990s saw hundreds of DJs pass through, with Radio Caroline even using the ship to broadcast from in 1996 and 1997.

Steve Satan worked as a DJ and engineer for the pirate radio station in the North Sea until he and his colleague Ian Palmer found themselves in Bristol wanting to run a radio station.

"We approached the Thekla and they welcomed us with open arms," he said.

The crew did two one-month broadcasts (legally), hiring DJs - including Emma B, who went on to present on Radio 1 - and a then-unknown Stephen Merchant.

"I may be the only person ever to have sacked Stephen Merchant. It was all in jest - I reinstated him the next day," said Steve.

He said their broadcasts "had such an impact" that he and Ian "didn't pay to go to a gig for years".

And of course, are you even a Bristol institution if you don't have a Banksy?

The anonymous Bristol street artist painted one of his earliest works in his home city on the ship's hull.

During renovation work in 2014, the image of the Grim Reaper in a boat was removed to preserve it in the M-Shed museum.

Where is Thekla?

It lives in the Mud Dock area of Bristol's Floating Harbour

How big is Thekla?

It measures 52.77m (173.2ft) from Bow to Stern and 8.82m (28.11ft) from Port to Starboard

How many people does the Thekla hold?

Its capacity is 400 people in its main room and 600 across both floors

When did Thekla open?

It opened as a nightclub in 1984, but its history goes back a lot further

Who has played at Thekla?

So many artists! Stormzy, Lewis Capaldi, Ellie Goulding, The Pretenders, Idles and Calvin Harris to name a few...

Providing a stage for some of Bristol's most legendary performers, like Massive Attack, Roni Size and Portishead, Thekla became a place where any artist has to play at least once.

"My favourite thing about working here is definitely the live music," said Alex.

One of his highlights is The Pretenders playing on Thekla last year as part of Independent Venue Week, which he says was a "huge show" unlikely to be repeated.

From 1-5 May, some of Thekla's favourite talent from the past four decades will return to the stage, including Bristol dance producers and former club night residents from 2011, My Nu Leng, alongside regular guests Kahn & Neek, who also hosted their own "Bandalu" club events on the boat.

Also among the line-up are Bristol's Beatles Dub Club & Friends, Strangers singer Kenya Grace, punk-rock duo Soft Play and space-rockers Henge.

Former cleaner, Kim Lintern, who began working at Thekla in 1993, remembers the manager at the time, Charlie, living in the cabins.

"He started dating his girlfriend, and they absolutely loved doing the Tango," she said.

"One day, I came down to the dancefloor to start the cleaning and there was Charlie and his girlfriend doing the Tango amongst all the cigarette butts and empty beer cans."

Alex added: "The vessel's 40th anniversary also comes at a pivotal time for independent music venues, acting as a space for growth for emerging artists and inspiration to grassroots venues that are faced with rising operational costs.

"We've seen recently with the closure of Moles in Bath just how easy it is for a well-established gig venue to go under, so it's not something we take for granted, but it is nice to step back and smell the roses."

Mark Davyd, CEO of the Music Venue Trust, said: "Thekla is a special venue with an extraordinary history. The weight of its quirky, almost mythical, origins story is only matched by the astonishing programme of artists that have taken the stage in its 40 years."

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

Emma Edwards is the leader of Bristol’s Green Party – which could well be in charge of running the city council for the first time after May’s local elections.

First elected to represent the Bishopston and Ashley Down ward in 2021, Edwards has been a strong advocate of the new committee system that is replacing the mayoral model. But in true Green fashion, it’s not her but her colleague Tony Dyer who would become the next council leader if the party is swept to power.

Emma chats to Neil about the Greens’ vision for doing politics in a different way, with more openness, transparency and collaboration with other parties. That all well and good, but how will it actually work in practice?

After years of holding the Labour administration’s feet to the fire as the main opposition party, support for the Greens has been on the up in recent years, with Bristol now one of their main targets in the general election later this year, but are the party with strong roots in activism ready to take power and everything that comes with that?

On the Greens’ ideas for running the city, Neil and Emma discuss the need to focus on Bristol’s failing bus services rather a new mass transit system long in the future, tackle the housing crisis by unblocking the planning system and bringing empty buildings back into use, and their aim to set up more liveable neighbourhood schemes despite the mixed response so far in east Bristol.

Listen to the other special local election episodes of Bristol Unpacked with Labour’s Tom Renhard, Lib Dem Jos Clark and Tory Mark Weston. And you can check out the rest of our local election coverage here.

Subscribe to The Bristol Cable on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your audio.

The movement of student support services means the loss of popular study seats

Holly Lambert

News BRISTOL

On Monday (22nd April) the fifth floor of the University of Bristol’s Senate House reopened as an area where the students can access key Student Union services.

According to the SU website, it will now be easier for students to access advice, learning and development opportunities, SU democracy and campaigns, and the elected officer team.

The move from the Richmond Building in Clifton to Sentate House was following feedback from students that the SU facilities were too far away, hence the move to the heart of campus.

The facilities now in Senate House include The Bristol SU Welcome desk, academic advice, the SU staff team, activity rooms, and development team meetings.

When the move was announced earlier this year it faced backlash from students who felt it was unfair to remove the use of study spaces given the shortage across campus, especially during exam season.

The fifth floor used to consist of multiple study rooms, available to book out for student societies, but now only rooms 5.20 and 5.22 will be open in the evenings as activity space.

Student groups, specifically Drama Soc, protested against the closure of these rooms as 170 study spaces were lost that were utilized for society meetings and performance practices. The university, already having issues with spacing availability, did not offer alternative and permanent spaces for these societies.

These societies heavily relied on Senate’s bookable spaces, but since these rooms have closed, there has been worry among the students, who can’t put on their shows if they cannot find replacement spaces to use for rehearsal.

In response to these student views, the SU said: “We know that there is a shortage of study space on campus and we are actively lobbying the University to find additional space for students to study and make it easier to find out which spaces have availability.

“From Thursday 25 April – to Friday 31 May the Carpenter Room in the Richmond Building will be able to be used throughout the day, during weekdays and weekends, to help provide additional student space for students.”

The fifth floor as a study space was only temporary, with the SU reinstating that: “Taking on the space secured the long-term future of two large Senate House rooms for student group activities – which only happens if the SU are the tenants.”

For more information on where to find different services, head to the SU webpage and FAQs here.

Related articles recommended by this author:

• Search continues for university graduate who went missing after Bristol house party

• Iconic Bristol nightclub Gravity to close down immediately due to ‘economic strains’

BRISTOL, Tenn. (WJHL) — No injuries were reported after an apartment fire in Bristol, Tennessee.

Firefighters responded to Village Square Apartments on Tuesday night.

The apartment owner says the fire was caused by a gas grill leak.

The fire affected two balconies and the roof.

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90-year-old mistake corrected with new historical marker in Washington Co., Tenn.

90-year-old mistake corrected with new historical marker in Washington Co., Tenn.

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