Blast from the past for Sidmouth bar reunion
Bernadette and Chris Tucker - Credit: Archant
For one night only, an old regular hopes to restore his favourite Sidmouth watering hole into the hip and happening place it once was.
Mermaid regulars Chris Tucker and Bernadette Connett in the 1970s - Credit: Archant
The Mermaid Bar was the place to be when Chris Tucker was growing up, but now as Jack’s Bar, it opens only during FolkWeek.
Now in his fifties, he wants to reunite with his old drinking buddies and relive those glory days.
“Sidmouth was a quiet town to grow up in and I quickly discovered that the coolest place to hang out was the Mermaid Bar,” said the Tiverton-based chartered surveyor.
“It was the place to go if you were a bit hip, a bit cool.
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“It was the focus of what little night life there was in Sidmouth at the time, the juke box was loaded with the best records and it was the place where everyone met before moving on to parties and dances.”
Customers would come from far and wide to drink in the Esplanade bar and listen to lesser-known acts like Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton and Bob Marley – and it is songs from these artists that will feature on the night.
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It was even popular with Satan’s Slaves, the local chapter of the Hell’s Angels.
Chris, who grew up in Sidbury, insists it won’t be a seventies-themed party – all his friends lived through the long hair and flared trousers and do not need to repeat it.
“We don’t need to look silly all over again,” he added.
He hopes to reunite with everyone who was there from 1972 to 1978.
Jack’s Bar will be rebranded as the Mermaid on Friday, August 8.
