Meet iconic Stokie landlady Anne who brought Oasis to The Wheatsheaf
While fully aware of its pub-like setting, Anne Riddle, former proprietor of The Wheatsheaf, Stoke, was quick to point out that her vision was for it to be known as a live music venue - and one which was known for its support of new talent. Anne, from Penkhull, took over as landlord from Geoff Davis, arriving when the venue was already developing into a much-loved music destination for Potteries folk.
But Anne saw it had a lot of potential to grow.
"I had been promoting bands, running a venue and teaching music for years before taking over at The Wheatsheaf," she says. "When I arrived Geoff had already done a good job in getting it known as a place to see and hear good bands and by using external promoters like myself, he was putting on the best upcoming rock and indie music.
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"However, I saw great opportunities to attract other genres of music and to develop the venue. Geoff ended up staying on and running the door for me for a while. Back in those days it was a case of going to Stoke for rock music and Newcastle to hear soul music."
Having seen her workload increase massively, Anne who was also running The Frog, previously Bridge Street Arts Centre, had no choice but to give up teaching.
"I was teaching, promoting, managing and running the arts centre, which, before I took over The Wheatsheaf, I was on the cusp of purchasing from Newcastle Borough Council. However, The Wheatsheaf came up and at the time seemed the better of the two options."
After taking over and settling into her role Anne started to see what The Wheatsheaf could become and how it could support emerging talent from near and far.
"When I used to teach music in senior schools I came across lots of good teenage musicians who had formed bands but had nowhere to play or showcase their talents. I set up Splint Promotions to give them a bit of a leg up and launched by organising a Staffordshire Battle of the Bands.
"Before arriving at the Wheatsheaf I'd been working closely with a colleague who was also a music promoter. It was quite funny because my company was called Splint Promotions and his was Splash Promotions.
"We focused on getting live music back into the Cavern, Liverpool. Where the Beatles had played had become just electronic disco music. I used to get parents' permission to take their children up to the Cavern and also places like PJ Bells in Manchester, The Oasis in Stone, The Fish Pond in Matlock."
Getting new talent into the venue spurred Anne on to grander ideas and with an agreement from the brewery that there would be an option to buy the venue when the lease was up Anne began to put the money where her plans were.
She said: "I wanted The Wheatsheaf Live Music Venue to be a place which was open seven nights a week, for it to be a venue for everyone. The idea was to have two floors with different music on each and for it to be a place where acts wanted to come to play. On the ground floor I spent around £200,000 on a new stage and kitting it out with the best PA, sound and lighting equipment.
"It worked really well as bands and artistes used to love coming because of the quality of the equipment we had. We always had an In-House Sound Engineers too. I was very lucky. All of them were fantastic and the bands loved working with them."
"In my second year at The Wheatsheaf Live Music Venue I developed Wheatsheaf II on the second floor and invested around another £150,000 on that, again with a stage, dressing room, good sound and light equipment and an updated bar. I wanted to give an opportunity to up and coming bands, but not just that, I wanted it to be a place to help these new, raw acts to grow."
"People may not remember but during that time we had many bands start out from there and then return when they'd made it big. Bands like Feeder and Oasis performed on the main stage.
"When Oasis played the first time they were second support band (I would often have two supports to the main act) still developing somewhat and finding their style but you could tell then they were going to go somewhere. The second time they came they were the main support act.
"This was quite typical of how a band could progress. I do remember even in those early days Liam and Noel arguing. They had a lot of attitude but you know, when they came back for the third time as the headline act they were massive. I could have sold out for three consecutive nights."
In growing the appeal and reach of The Wheatsheaf as a premier music attraction, Anne not only booked all the bands, sometimes as many as 28 in a week, but invested her own time into the marketing of both venues.
She created the posters and millions of leaflets distributed throughout the area; maintained the constant presence on BBC Radio Stoke, Signal Radio, BBC Radio One; ensured that the local papers like The Sentinel, the Crewe Chronicle, the Stafford Newsletter ... all had copy and gig information and by organising the publishing of the venue's very own magazine, The Wheatbeat.
"The Idea for the free monthly magazine was to give previews of new bands appearing and on the back cover was a monthly gig list of the dates when bands were performing," says Anne. "We were lucky to have Keele University to do the publishing and printing of it."
As the name and reputation of The Wheatsheaf grew, generating a name for great gigs and attracting visitors from across the UK.
Anne decided in 1997 to diversify and open a fortnightly comedy night in Wheatsheaf II, The Wheat n' Chaff Comedy Club. This began in October 1997 with Charlie Chuck, supported by Bob May; John Cooper Clarke and Adam Bloom, supported by Peter Kay.
Anne used the same formula as she did with the bands trying to grow lesser known artistes. It worked. Sometimes spectacularly. Peter Kay, Lee Evans and Lee Mack became household names very quickly.
Through 1997 a collaborative relationship began to develop with the New Vic Theatre stalwart and playwright Peter Cheeseman. The New Vic's Artistic Director was a champion for new talent and community theatre and Anne felt there were many options that could be explored together when the third floor of The Wheatsheaf was opened to the public.
The lift was checked, restored and serviced and plans were drawn up to develop the large space that had been unused since the 1970s.
1997 was a busy year in the development of The Wheatsheaf. Links were formed with Staffordshire University and a timetable drawn up for students to spend time working with The Wheatsheaf sound engineers in both the main venue and in Wheatsheaf II from the October.
As the opportunities started to increase Anne began to investigate the possibilities of The Wheatsheaf Live Music Venue acquiring charitable status. Talks took place in Liverpool and a good start was made.
She said: "I really love music and performing arts and I loved absolutely every moment of running The Wheatsheaf Live Music Venue, Wheatsheaf II and The Wheat'n'Chaff Comedy Club (well, apart from perhaps coping with the flood on the day of Princess Diana's death!) I believed passionately in what I was doing."
Sadly for Anne and those involved in the success of The Wheatsheaf during those years, the journey came to an end in 1998 after JD Wetherspoon bought the venue from Gibbs Mew PLC, despite their promises of the option to buy once the lease drew to an end, leaving Anne feeling aggrieved but ultimately looking for her next venture.
She remembers: "I was given notice to leave on Christmas Eve 1997 but had contracts signed and acts lined up for over 12 months ahead. I couldn't say anything to the staff until I'd spoken to my solicitor and he was off until the New Year. Those 10 days were very difficult, as were the following months because Gibbs Mew had gone into administration. It was an impossibly difficult situation."
Despite pleas and petitions, picketing of Wetherspoons' head office, a Save The Wheatsheaf campaign and staunch efforts by supporters to protest against the sale, including a giant stage erected outside The Wheatsheaf with bands playing, which was televised and reported on by The Sentinel at the time. Anne and her team eventually moved on.
"After leaving The Wheatsheaf I took on The Talbot just across the road and renamed it Riddle's Music Bar. I managed the Robin R'n'B Club in Bilston for a year before returning to Stoke-on-Trent as programming and administration manager for the Ambassador Theatre Group, which owns The Regent Theatre and The Victoria Hall."
As for Anne's thoughts on her time in charge of what was one of the Potteries and UK's best live music venues, Anne looks back with many happy memories.
She said: "It was tough, I had to fight for everything I did back then at The Wheatsheaf but you know what? I'd do it all again. I loved my time working with bands, poets, artistes and comedians. I was blessed with wonderful staff, great doormen and amazing technicians and I loved them all."