Development of Future of Entertainment by Brian Inglis

Entertainment for Bristol Savages (now Bristol 1904 Arts) has featured in the club almost since its inception. In the early days and indeed even up to modern times it was largely classical performances provided by instrumentalists, singers, poets, raconteurs, and magicians. As far as music was concerned it was mainly a diet of classical pieces. Over time this has changed very little, yes, we have had the introduction of Jazz and acoustic guitars, but the bedrock has been based on classical styles of music and early twentieth century entertainment.

As I write this, we are in a fairly weak state as entertainers, plus we are carrying over entertainment styles, some of which are not very popular outside the confines of B1904A and so like it or not we have to change with the times if we are to encourage new membership.

It is therefore no surprise that our styles of music and entertainment need to be expanded and changed. As an organisation we have and still are undergoing massive change which has affected every aspect of what we do, the recent COVID pandemic has not helped us or anyone else for that matter, but it has given us a great opportunity to restructure ourselves, not least of all the Entertainment Members. In the outside world there have been massive changes and swings in entertainment tastes. In the 1970’s there were plenty of small mid-sized venues but these days they are either small or arena size!

We are fortunate with our facilities and we should make the most of them. So, over the coming months and years it is hoped to introduce genres of entertainment which will hopefully provide something for everyone, such as: Classical performance Humour including the raconteur Jazz Modern Music – Folk / Pop / Country Magic Spoken word Drama Concerts Dance Cabaret Comedy For the future B1904A will be expanding its horizons regarding entertainment with a view to embracing all the above. This will have a twofold benefit, firstly it will attract more diverse entertainment and secondly it is hoped that it will attract new younger members. Some of this will be achieved through our regular TWISTs, however, it is hoped to introduce ‘Concert Evenings’. This latter initiative is particularly exciting as it will be aimed primarily at members of the public and established performance artists, be they Classical, Jazz, Cabaret etc., to encourage them to join us. It will also provide additional spots for our own Entertainment Members. For the weekly meetings we may try and introduce younger guests to entertain us more regularly and give them an opportunity to experience life in Bristol 1904 Arts. These are long term strategies which will take time to plan and come to fruition but are necessary to ensure our future and enable us to grow.

Brian Inglis

Stuart ‘Fingers’ Potter and Graham Smith Steve Price

Tom Thorp with Stuart Fingers Potter and James Hemming