Paul Harding: Looking back at the music stars who have played live in Torbay

Paul Harding, Torbay Hospital Radio presenter:

With UB40, Scouting for Girls and The Feeling playing live at the English Riviera Food and Music Festival in Torquay this summer, it got me thinking about what live shows there have been in Torbay in the past.

The Princess Theatre is not massive, the old Festival Theatre in Paignton - now the cinema complex - was a similar size, so there is not a venue big enough to host the big names of the past or future. After a little research, it was clear I was wrong.

So here is a bit of a who’s who of famous names to have played Torbay and at a variety of venues. Perhaps you were there and you saw some of these great shows.

In July 1961, rock’n’roll legend Gene Vincent played the Princess Theatre just over a month after it had opened its doors.

Gene got a big surprise when he appeared at the theatre - he was presented with a huge cake, featuring a 3ft-long chocolate guitar and Gene’s name in marzipan, made by a local fan. Maybe you were that fan?

In 1963, the Fab Four visited Torquay, promoting their new single She Loves You. Their performance at the Princess was the only appearance by The Beatles in Torquay.

The 1960s also saw The Kinks, the Troggs and the Moody Blues all playing at the seafront venue The Festival Theatre in Paignton.

Opened in 1967, in direct competition with Princess and Pavilion theatres in Torquay, the Festival Theatre had its fair share of headliners including Roy Orbison, Roxy Music and Queen.

The historic Pavilion Theatre, which opened its doors in 1912, was one of the three main auditoriums in Torbay during the 1970s but differed, in that it was home to plays rather than variety shows during the lucrative summer seasons.

But a quick check reveals a rich history of concerts including David Bowie in 1972, when you could pick up a ticket for 50p.

It was one of three shows Bowie did in Torquay, the others at Torquay Town Hall in 1973 as part of the Ziggy Stardust Tour.

The 1980s saw a host of top acts in the Bay but by 1992, it was Genesis who came to another venue, the Torbay Leisure Centre, as part of a 16-date tour following the release of We Can’t Dance.

It was not the first time they had been to the Bay as they had played the Festival Theatre in 1980 as part of their Duke tour.

They were not the only big band to play at Clennon Valley, it was a particular favourite of Status Quo who rocked the joint four times in the late 1980s and 1990s.

You may have missed Muse in 1994 when they played the English Riviera International Conference Centre as part of a Battle of the Bands competition. They performed four songs - but did not win.

Muse also played the Piazza the following year and the Railway Inn, both in Torquay.

Of course, their big local gig was when they played to 40,000 fans over two nights at gigs on The Den, Teignmouth, back in 2009.

More recently, Paloma Faith played Torquay as did Adam Ant, whose show was described as 'one of the best ever'.

So there we are, almost up to date and one thing is for certain - do not complain that the big names do not visit Torbay because they do. If you want hear them, why not tune into Torbay Hospital Radio which is available online or via your smart speaker, where we play a variety of music 24 hours a day?

One final epic show, not a band, which I will save for another day was in May, 1904, when the Wild West came to Torquay in the form of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Now that’s show I would have liked to have gone to.