Folkestone’s Music Wall Of Fame

Folkestone’s music wall of fame celebrates the rich heritage of bands and artists who have played in the town.  Musicians Joe Ranger and Bryan Rylands set to work on the tribute that can be seen on Number One, The Leas.  The wall acknowledges the famous, and, as importantly, the local artists who have contributed to the music scene.  Folkelife met with the duo to find out how it all came about.

Joe : “Around 15 to 20 years ago I found out that Jimi Hendrix had played in Folkestone.  I knocked on every door I could think of and said ‘you should have a plaque marking this event’.  However, I soon realised that if you want something done, you’re better off doing it yourself.  So I set up a Facebook page with some musician friends calling it Folk Of The Stone.  There were about 100 of us, and if we all chipped in £5 we could get a plaque made.  I wanted it to be in purple because it was Jimi.  We needed to acknowledge Noel Redding too, he was Jimi’s bassist and from Folkestone.  We knocked on the door of the building we wanted it on and the guy said yes.  It was a simple as that!”

The rolling stones

Joe: “Between then and where we are today we’ve put up about half a dozen plaques around Folkestone. We’ve got Cream, Black Sabbath and Fleetwood Mac. And renamed Marketplace as Noel’s Yard after Noel Redding.  We did something for The Rolling Stones too.  But soon we were running out of legends that had visited.  It was easy though to come up with a list of local legends who should be recognised.  Denigh came up a lot, when talking to people about this project.  Intensified, The Green Hornets and The Maroondogs also got a lot of mentions.  The Maroondogs was one of the most hard-working bands in this part of Kent.  It’s important that we mention modern bands as well as ones going back to the 1960s.  

“Bryan and I have been friends for a long time, and we were chatting about this.  He said ‘I think I can help you; you need someone to knock on doors and get support, and get financial support at that.  I think I know which doors to knock on.'”

Bryan: “We found the financial support, but you’d be surprised at how hard it was to find a wall around here.”

local musicians

Joe: “I am a musician, I play in a band called The Transients.  I just about get away with it on guitar and harmonica, and do a bit of singing.”

Bryan: “He’s being modest.  He’s very good.  I play the saxophone, piano and clarinet, and do a lot of studio work.  We’d been asking around the town for a wall to put the names on and a friend mentioned he was managing Number One, The Leas.  I’d actually played with the gentleman that owns the building, and he suggested I email him to put our proposal to him.  That was probably the easiest part.  

“Having worked at the Folkestone Herald I had quite a few local contacts. I got in touch with Quinn Homes and they suggested a supplier the bricks for the names, and it went from there.”

denigh: local legends

Joe: “Denigh were part of the new wave of British Heavy Metal that came out in the late 1970s, early 1980s.  They were there with Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Saxon.  All reinventing rock for a new generation, and Denigh were doing that locally.  They had some successful singles and supported a lot of the bands that came to Folkestone.  If Saxon came, then Denigh supported them.  The band were on the cusp of that next level of fame, but kept it to Folkestone and around.  It demonstrates their love of music rather than chasing success, and they’re starting up again which is so cool.”

Bryan: “Something that’s important to us is that every name on that wall signifies a musician that writes their own work.  Denigh, Intensified, Abi Orfila…all of them create original work.  And take a look at Lorraine Lucas, for about 7 years now she’s been running the Folkestone Songwriting Festival which is an opportunity for all sorts of people to get the time and expert guidance on writing their own music.  If you look at how many people have been a part of that over the years and what they’ve produced, it shows you that it’s really important to nurture talent and help it grow.  That’s what’s happening here, and that’s what we want to recognise.”

continuing the legacy

Joe: “Our project is Rock’n’Roll.  Someone else’s passion might be jazz or pub bands or something.  But it’s funny now we’ve put the first 50 names up there, people are coming to us with suggestions for more names.  We had about 100 on the list, but it’s always good to hear who people think should be there, and to find out more about the legacy of these musicians around us. 

“It was wonderful to see how surprised and touched people were to find their name on the wall.  We’re planning on how to do the next series of names.  It’s important to be part of something that’s so positive too, to make sure people are thanked for their contribution to music, and appreciated for what they’ve done.”

All photos credited to Joe and Shaun Ranger.