What brings music and pottery together on a rainy weekend in Stoke-on-Trent?

After getting a little bit damp checking out conditions in Hanley Park on Friday afternoon – it was wet but not too wet so parkrun would hopefully go ahead as planned – it could have been a night for wrapping up warm and staying home.

But we had tickets for a gig. It was closer to home this week and with a lot less forward planning involved. A friend had mentioned their band Don’t Call Me Ishmael was playing; tickets still available. Friday night at The Underground! Thanks for letting us know, Gary, why not!

We planned our last two Friday nights months in advance, but that’s not always how it has to be. This was a grapefruit wheat beer kind of moment for the 27 Hours in Twizel blog – we would make the most of the opportunity on our doorstep (even if it was raining).

And so we set off – and I realised I had no idea where we were going. Despite living in Stoke-on-Trent for almost 15 years, there are still lots of places I don’t know. Fortunately Mr T was on the case – and reminiscing about bands he’d seen there in the past as we walked up to Hanley (in the rain).

Turns out it is near Tesco! Or the site of one of the old pottery factories where Mr T used to work. Pottery and music – see?

We arrived just before the first band went on stage – time to check out the street-art and music posters on the walls and ceilings (not very rock and roll I know – sorry!).

I’m not great at music reviews, or knowing how to describe musical styles. But we had a great night – four different bands, each with different styles and experience, and I enjoyed them all. A bit of rock, a bit of punk, lots of guitars, original music, quirky lyrics and a new experience. In between performances, we chatted with people and reminisced some more about music venues past and present – strangely no one else knew about most of mine, although seeing A-ha at the Apollo in Manchester in 87(ish) got a good response.

(Check out Don’t Call Me Ishmael here – their winter gig is in Stafford on 25th November. We loved them, especially the quirky lyrics.)

And then it was Saturday afternoon – and a chance to pop down to the British Ceramics Biennial at All Saints Church on Leek Road. There were several different exhibitions across the church buildings and grounds – award winners, student showcases, installations and some I can’t quite explain.

I was drawn to this exhibit, perhaps by the bottle kilns, perhaps by the map, perhaps because it took a while to look through all the different images and motifs. It was created by Neha Gawand Pullarwar, bringing together images and references to the industrial heritages of Mumbai and Stoke-on-Trent. Worth a look.

And finally ceramics meeting music all over again:

Mad in Stoke by Carrie Reichardt is a 1969 Ford Zephyr car covered in mosaic tiles inspired by Stoke-on-Trent’s rich and radical nightlife history with a particular focus on Shelley’s nightclub in Longton, home to superstar DJ Sasha.

https://www.britishceramicsbiennial.com/exhibitions/award/

Shelley’s had come up in conversation on Friday night too. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been allowed to go there, even if I had grown up here. But there was so much detail in the designs, text and images on the plates, it definitely told a story of a city where pottery meets music.

I went underground and learnt a lot about my adopted city this weekend – pottery and music combined!

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50 for 50 #11: 50 posts for my 50th birthday to be posted before I’m 51.