"Somebody upthread mentioned Nellies in Beverley - I'm sure that was open before the mid-70s because I seem to remember going there in my late teens/early 20s."

I came to Hull in 1975 and it opened about a year later. Guest that first night (done as a favour to the organiser Ray Williams) was Mick Elliott. I think the first "proper" guest night a few weeks later was Pegleg Ferret.

In the early days it still had the old gas lamps in place and it was the first time the room had been used since the nineteen thirties. It also had the original bar (not the monstrosity that's there now) which was a marble table with a washing up bowl underneath. The beer pumps were set into the back wall.

Steve

PS It also had about the best acoustics of any room I've been in although the roaring fire behind the guests could play hell with tuning :)