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of Wellington, but as they used to have jazz there it became known as “The Duke”, after jazz musician Duke Ellington. Situated on King Street in the heart of Bristol, in the first week of trading, most of it taken at lunchtimes, they took about £900. John then decided to get in touch with some of the old jazz bands that used to play in the pub over the previous 10 years in the hope that they would want to come back. And the rest is history, so they say. The Duke never looked back. Each year in August a stage was built in the street outside the pub and for 10 days a fantastic Trad Jazz festival was staged, with musicians from all over the world guesting along with local bands. Acker Bilk became quite a regular during the 17 years John was there and they became good friends. Georgie Fame, Roy Williams and Danny Moss also performed to ever bigger audiences.
On one evening when Doc Cheatham came over from the US to play, the bar was packed and very noisy, but as soon as Doc started playing you could have heard a pin drop. Following the reception that Doc received, word soon went around the world and the list of bands and musicians who wanted to play at The Duke grew longer and longer. John and Mauveen organised a 2-week trip for 96 of their customers to go to New Orleans, the home and birth of Trad Jazz, and it was a tremendous success. After a couple of years when Courage, the owning brewery, sold to Scottish & Newcastle, things were beginning to change in the way S&N wanted the pub run; they intended to cut down or even stop the jazz and John decided it was time to go.
There was much publicity in the newspapers and petitions set up to the brewery to leave the pub as it was but, inevitably, in January 1995 John and Mauveen packed up and moved in with their son and his wife in the town of Somerton in South Somerset.
Walking through the town about 3 weeks later, a voice greeted him with “Hello Stone” and standing there was an ex-band colleague who used to play in the RN Volunteer Band in Cornwall, Dick Edwards, who himself was out of the mob and living in Somerton. He asked John if he would like to start up a band in the town as they hadn’t had one for many years. John bowed to pressure and, with a budget of £500, the “Somerton Festival Band” was born. On the first evening there were about only 9 or 10 musicians who turned up but, undeterred, John persevered and in just a few short months the band had grown to between 25 and 30 members.
John was keen to start playing his horn again with a band in Yeovil and, not wanting to let down the band, he found an ex-marine bandsman willing to take on the task.
John continued to play French Horn into his 70s until, sadly, his teeth began to give bother and the estimate to have them fixed to allow him to continue playing was a staggering £6,000! So for the next couple of years he was not involved in band activities, apart from emergency standby. John was then approached by Kingsbury Episcopi Band, which at that time was looking for a new Musical Director. He accepted the invitation and, under his expert musical directorship, the Band has gone from strength to strength and is in constant demand.
John now lives happily ever after as Director of Music of Kingsbury Episcopi Band.
On one evening when Doc Cheatham came over from the US to play, the bar was packed and very noisy, but as soon as Doc started playing you could have heard a pin drop. Following the reception that Doc received, word soon went around the world and the list of bands and musicians who wanted to play at The Duke grew longer and longer. John and Mauveen organised a 2-
There was much publicity in the newspapers and petitions set up to the brewery to leave the pub as it was but, inevitably, in January 1995 John and Mauveen packed up and moved in with their son and his wife in the town of Somerton in South Somerset.
Walking through the town about 3 weeks later, a voice greeted him with “Hello Stone” and standing there was an ex-
John was keen to start playing his horn again with a band in Yeovil and, not wanting to let down the band, he found an ex-
John continued to play French Horn into his 70s until, sadly, his teeth began to give bother and the estimate to have them fixed to allow him to continue playing was a staggering £6,000! So for the next couple of years he was not involved in band activities, apart from emergency standby. John was then approached by Kingsbury Episcopi Band, which at that time was looking for a new Musical Director. He accepted the invitation and, under his expert musical directorship, the Band has gone from strength to strength and is in constant demand.
John now lives happily ever after as Director of Music of Kingsbury Episcopi Band.
Focus on ...
John Stone
Director of Music
In 1970, John was told he would be joining the 3rd Royal Marine Commando Brigade Band in Singapore. So the family once more packed up their home and flew out to John’s new job as Band Master. This appointment was to be his last as he was due to retire in 1973 after completing 25 years’ service. However, this was not to be as due to ill health in his wife they were brought back to England where, after Mauveen’s recovery, they were drafted to HMS Culdrose in Cornwall with the naval band; this was John’s last appointment and he was retired in October 1973.
He and his wife then moved to Bristol and underwent training in preparation for running a pub. They, with three of their children, took over the management of “The Old Duke”, named after the Duke
He and his wife then moved to Bristol and underwent training in preparation for running a pub. They, with three of their children, took over the management of “The Old Duke”, named after the Duke
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