Lanchester Polytechnic Students Union, Coventry

Lanchester Polytechnic, commonly known as "The Lanch," was a significant music venue in Coventry, England, during the 1970s and 1980s. The venue was part of the Coventry University campus, which was known as Lanchester Polytechnic from 1970 to 1987[2][4]. The Lanchester Polytechnic was created in 1970 through the merger of the Coventry College of Design, the Lanchester College of Technology, and the Rugby College of Engineering[4][10].

Lanchester Polytechnic Students Union became well known as a venue in the city for music in both its Main Hall and in the basement bar of its Priory Street building from the mid 1960s onwards.

It was a central hub for the emergence of 2-Tone music, with bands like The Specials and The Selecter regularly performing there[1]. The venue also hosted the annual Lanchester Art's Festivals in the 1970s[1]. Notable performances at the Lanch included artists like Slade, Billy Preston, Pink Floyd, and Chuck Berry[1]. The venue was also known for hosting a variety of other bands and artists, including the Jack Bruce Band, Colosseum, and the Modern Jazz Orchestra[5].

This reputation grew considerably with the appointment of Ted Little, a mature student who had previously worked in the music business and knew many booking agents. From 1967 to 1970 Ted Little developed the Lanchester Arts Festival of music, film, poetry and theatre.

Coventry music historian Pete Chambers, who was a regular at the venue, has documented the changes in the city's music scene and the role of the Lanch in these developments[1]. The venue's importance is also highlighted by the fact that Chuck Berry's only number one hit, "My-Ding-A-Ling," was recorded live in Coventry[1].

The festivals normally lasted a week to ten days. Significant events in the festival were advertised in the national press (including festival supplements in the music press).

The students union continued to be a major national venue for rock music throughout the 1970s from the 'prog rock' of ELP in the early part of the decade to punk and post punk, "Coventry became a centre for the UK music scene," (Pete Chambers).

Most importantly, the Two Tone Record Label was formed at the students union in 1979. Members of the founding bands of the Two Tone record label, The Specials and The Selecter, were students at the Lanchester Polytechnic, most importantly amongst these students was Jerry Dammers who had been an art student.

However, by the end of the 1990s, the Lanch, like many similar venues across the country, began to suffer due to shifts in the music scene and changing trends. Gigs and events were generally held at The Planet nightclub, and very few were held in the downstairs gymnasium that gave the Lanch its infamy[4].

Unfortunately, no images from the 1970s and 1980s of the Lanchester Polytechnic were found in the search results. However, there are some images available on the internet, such as those found on the blog "I Was A Teenage Sisters of Mercy Fan"[9] and "Coventry Music Articles by Pete Clemons"[11]. Please note that these images may not be from the 1970s or 1980s, and the actual source and date of the images should be verified.

Further information on the Extensive archive of bands and other cultural performances at the students union can be found at the Coventry Music Museum.

Wikipedia
Coventry University - How Ska Music Came to Coventry
Sisters Fan Blog - Temple of Cov: Lanchester Poly, May 1983
Coventry Gigs Blog - The Lanch (Lanchester Polytechnic) Gigs
45worlds - Lanchester Polytechnic
45worlds - Lanchester Polytechnic
Concert Archives - Lanchester Polytechnic
The Free Library - Rocking the Gym Hall at the Lanch
Sisters Fan Blog - Temple of Cov: Lanchester Poly, May 1983
Coventry Disco Archive - Lanchester Polytech Arts Festivals
Coventry Gigs Blog - The Lanch (Lanchester Polytechnic) Gigs
Getty Images - Coventry Lanchester Polytechnic
Coventry Telegraph - Exhibition Relives Glory Days of Lanchester Polytechnic
Coventry Disco Archive - Lanchester Polytech Arts Festivals
Getty Images - Coventry Lanchester Polytechnic
Historypin - Lanchester Polytechnic
Alamy - Lanchester Polytechnic
Lanchester Poly Bands Blog - About Lanchester Polytechnic
Coventry Music Museum - The 2 Tone Tour

Lanchester Polytechnic

The Lanch as it was known back in the 1970's referred to The Lanchester Polytechnic, now called Coventry University, "can be traced back to when it was known as Coventry College of Design back in 1843. During 1852 it became Coventry School of Art which then became a College of Art in 1954. During 1960 the college's city centre buildings were erected and housed the newly created Lanchester College of Technology. The art college also shared the buildings.

About the Lanchester Poly Arts Festivals

From c1989 to the early 80's, The Lanchester Polytechnic Student Union, Priory street Coventry, organised a Winter Arts Festival for a whole week in February. These were amazing multimedia events mainly centred around some of the best upcoming underground bands and artists in many genres and solo artists. There were also poetry, theatre events etc as you will see for the programmes here and included the first ever Live Performance by Monty Python's Flying Circus.

The Lanch of course had regular Friday night band sessions in the Main hall for students and non students. Most of the budding musicians and fans would have gone to see these bands at the time. Sometimes you could see three top name bands quite cheaply by today's standards.

Lanch Social Secretary Ted Little, summed up the festival in 1970 -

"The Lanchester Arts Festival is different from most of the other leading festivals in that is aimed to be progressive, and not just in the 'Pop' sense of the word. Basically the aim of the festival is to bring together people who do not normally perform on the same stage,and get them to do something out of the ordinary. For example, Sir Adrian Boult has very rarely played with Nathan Milstein, and is likely not to do so again in the near future. Similarly what Ron Geesin and Ivor Cutler do on stage at the end of their evening will be worth seeing."