Blog: So the Buttermarket’s up for sale, writes Dave Burrows.

The thing that made it a unique story for us was the fact that the sale includes the clubs very own Wurlitzer organ.

With apologies to everyone interested in that sort thing, that organ led me into one of the dullest conversations of my entire life.

In retrospect, it might have been quite interesting. But I was in my early 20s and at university at the time and had no interest in big organs (stop tittering, this isn’t Carry On Columnist).

The conversation happened on a train journey from uni in Preston back home to Shrewsbury. I had stupidly forgotten to plug myself in to my Walkman and got dragged into talking to the guy in the seat next to me. I told him I was from Shrewsbury, he gave me the entire history of the Buttermarket’s Wurlitzer.

The Buttermarket has also got me into trouble. When I worked on another newspaper I went there to review Mansun (remember them? No? Stripper Vicar? Okay then). I described the venue as a “poke-hole”. The owner took exception and told me so in no uncertain terms. Then stopped speaking to me.

In fact, the Buttermarket features a lot in my formative years. I was once lifted shoulder-high by friends while out celebrating one of their birthdays, simply because I was speaking to an attractive girl (during one of my many “dry spells”). She was an old school friend, but they didn’t know that. And alcohol was involved.

I also remember, with horror, my flat-mate meeting a random girl outside the venue, inviting her to a house-party we were on the way to and then taking her home. I assume for coffee and conversation about Nietzsche.

I’ve seen my friend’s band rock the place and two of my best friends, who’d been skirting around the edges for months, finally got together there (it even featured in the best man’s wedding speech/video presentation).

Now, I haven’t been there for years. After a while you become too old for that sort of thing. But I hope it is bought and given a new lease of life.

The cellars are a pretty unique feature and the venue itself could and should be great. It would be wonderful to see more live music there (by the time my mate’s band played, the poke-holedness had been addressed).

And for goodness sake, it’s got its own Wurlitzer organ. The Wurlitzer was first installed in the Ritz cinema in Chatham, Kent and was opened by Harold Ramsay, the then Musical Director of Union Cinemas, on March 22, 1937. When the cinema closed the organ was placed in storage. The Shropshire Theatre Organ Trust brought the organ and installed it in the Buttermarket in 1988…

See, I was paying attention on that train…

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