The Knowhere Guide

The Local Music Scene in Stowmarket, Suffolk*

Stowmarket, Suffolk Record Shops and Venues

Record Shops

• Woolworths or Asda
• you should try the asda shop for latest cd and dvd releases
• ASDA ROCKS Everything is cheap and there is such a good choice of chart cds
• There used to be Andys records in Ipswitch, but its closed now. so I use the net. I also stock up when Im in London!!! Stowmarket sucks for record shops.
• asda hav opened a new shop next 2 beau fashions, its ok i suppose. gt my TV from there as well. its more of an electrical shop actually. and there's a record shop called CeeDee group. its surrounded by cameras n barbed wire. what goez on in ther? strange. never seen anyone go in or out of there. dont bother goin 2 woolies for albums, asda always sells them for £1 less.
• asda
• Record Pedlar (now closed) St Johns Street and Risbygate Street in Bury St Edmunds. Out of Time (Fore Street) & Ipswich Record and Tape Exchange (Upper Orwell Street) both in Ipswich and both still going last time I was in Ipswich.
• try any of the numerous charity shops, theres always some classic vynil, only the other day i bought East 17!!! Rich Mac
• Asda have a changed the garden shop to a music shop, quite nice to with quite a large selection.
• THIS IS NOW BEING UPDATED 2002. There are no specialist shops in stowmarket that sell anything inparticular, the only place you'll be able to get a good selection of music is from the Asda shop which has now been transformed into the music shop, Its actually quite nice in there and it gives you alot of selection on C.D's, DVD's, and videos also selling T.V's and Videos (not v.good makes though)
• Well it would be nice if we had one other than woolies, however the too super markets have a good range of cd's dvd's vid's and more.........
• No record shop at all, ok i forgot about Wollies (and the sexy guy with long hair who works there).
• well were buggered here then , coz only woolies , asda and tescos sell them!!
• Asda??????????? That is about the only other place that sells music unless you want the pan pipes stuff from QD!!
• Woolworths and Asda - Great
• There are no specialist record shops in Stowmarket. Could we have one please, so we don't have to keep traipsing up to Ipswich for them, as I think Andy's Records is very good.
• Bugger all. Stannards have a couple of over priced ones out the back - but you have to ask nicely.
• ASDA does a completely different chart line up to Woolies doesn't it? That's about it I think
• there's a shop for large people in the town centre but apart from that, everything is more orless the same as everywhere else if you want to shop properly then you have to go to ipswich on the bus
• WE DON'T HAVE ANY RECORD SHOPS OTHER THAN WOOLWORTHS (SOB)

Clubs (Dance Music) and Music Bars

• Jokers all the way: the three b's.. Beer, Bitches and Brawling. A perfect night out for a country gent. Should have called it the double deuce from road house, great for fights,no one cares. Just how a club should be.
• XCEL IS A GREAT CLUB, HAD MY BIRTHDAY PARTY DOWN THEIR SAT 27/10/07 AND DAVE , KELLY AND STAFF MADE THE NIGHT GREAT, GO TO JOKERS NO THANKS!!! WASNT DRUNK ENOUGH TO ENJOY THAT PUNCH UP VENUE!!!
• used to like the snooker club until the woman with long black hair took over, what a grumpy person, no fun anymore all the barmaids look grumpy don't smile or have any fun with you anymore, queens head is my new haunt might be more expensive but least its fun and friendly
• If excell is such a great night out, how come it's shutting down at last.
• No one goes to Xcel anymore!!!Every1 goes 2 jokers so its always packed in there.So its a good night out.It used to be "Jokers on a fri" Xcel on a sat" but Xcel is always empty now as every1 had stopped going.The Old Xcel days were brilliant!! And as a club its better than jokers and much bigger!! I say bring back Xcel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• XCEL!! the place to be, dont even bother going to jokers just a basment with a bedroom stero in it, horrible atmospare, rubbish dj's and the door staff deal drugs and everyone starts fights with you, cantg wait till it goes closed down, please puty us all out of out missery!!
• Rock on jokers.. the first bar I went too at fifteen.. lol
• Both the clubs are god awful, but if you have to choose go to Jokers.. there will only be six people in excel..
• i went to jokers last night for the first time with my boyfriend and his mum and ive never been to a club so good. is plays all sort of music and all the staff and dj's are friendly....There are bouncers there which are friendly as wall but can be arseholes but thats they job....JOKERS IS A WICKED CLUB! IF YOU GO TO STOWMARKET YOU WANT TO GO TO JOKERS. IT A GOOD PLACE TO MEET NEW PEOPLE!!! GO JOKERS!!!
• jokers rocks!!!!!!!!! i love it! and the drunken birds aswell!
• I'd justlike to make a comment on a nightclub in stowmarket who small minded people seem to bad mouth. xcels nightclub doesn't deserve the reputation of being an underage youth club it does not let underage drinkers in. It's a brillient club with a fantastic atmosphere. i challenge anyone to come down this saturday night and leave telling me they havent had a good night. it's a lively fun atmosphere and i truly wish people would stop bad mouthing it. if you wont come in and test for yourselves dont slag off what you arent willing to try.
• Xcel doesnt count (lord the boredom of xcel) just get out of here its an oversized retirement home. Run young ones- run for your life before you become one of them!
• oh yeah xcel and jokers great! (note sarcasim)
• JOKERS is the only club to in stowmarket! Unless of course you are 12 years old then u should go to excel youth club. Every sat nite me n me mates have a wicked time in jokers everyones friendly and all up for a laugh! it don't matter if u make a twat of yourself NO-ONE cares!
• Jokers is The best for a friday night but not so great on a saturday,as the crowds r all at the big X!Which is the local hot spot on a saturday night! Both r cool!!!
• Jokers-A place of Evil. Excel-you always feel like the oldest there, no matter how old you are.
• Jokers not been for a while surpirsed by plush new seats n tables very busy on the weekends shame the barmans been made manager he was so fast and new what most people wanted to drink before they did good luck to him looks well fit
• there is only one word to describe Xcel.......Xcel-ent!!!!
• JOKERS IS RUBBISH, EXCEL IS WORSE. STAY AWAY - EVERY TIME WE GO WE REGRET IT!
• Not that i would no, (as im underage) but ive 'heard' that the oak has Really FUNKY music and GROOVY Hippies there!!!
• I hardly ever go to clubs, but if I do I either go to Jokers (if im desperate) Or I go to Pals or Chicargos in Ipswitch.
• jokers great on friday nights shame top bar is not open. the big x2theL xcel great night on saturday always packed. great night for 18/25
• The Stow martians have landed!!! If you wanna get on with the real thing, then Xcel and Jokers is the place to be! Kellys (Xcel) lame attempt at Djing has to be sampled to be believed! and as for Jokers, well the local meat market is an under statement!!!
• Xcel is the best place in the world, the staff are great and fit,kelly and dave are the nicest people i no. and no mate what people say about the place we love it
• STOWMARKET IS WELL GOOD SO DONT DISS IT .
• I went down to xcel nightclub in stowmarket this weekend on the saturday 22/01/05. Im 23 and live in ipswich, the clubs there are youth clubs! Expect from pals, which is the place to go if you like meeting grandads and grannys in a meat market.I was very surprised for what people say about xcel, they go on about under age customers, school disco, youth club, but hey we didnt see any of that at all. The club was packed considering it is january, ipswich has been quite! In Xcel there were loads of fit guys and girls, even the dj,. The dj was really funny and good looking, loads of women were around him asking for requests all night. We ask for that new J-lo song Get Right and he played it straight away in a wicked mix with ice cube. Me and the girls were surprised that he plays your songs when you ask for them, not like the old boys in ipswich, who think they are superstars. Me and the girls loved the music they play. Xcel play a lot of RnB, Hip Hop and cheesy disco, which was great for a saturday night out. The doormen were very friendly like most doormen are and the bar staff really nice. There was no attitude in xcel, the customer were having a good time dancin and drinking all night, not like some places we went before in stowmarket? My advice to anyone if they go out in stowmarket is go to the Oak or dukes first then down to Xcel for half price drinks before 10:30. Jo(Ipswich)
• Hmmmm, we got Jokers, we got Xcel. I am personally frightened to go out in Stowmarket at the weekend because of the severe amount of attitude coming from the silverback gorillas AKA inbred male locals looking for any excuse to start a fight. If you want my advice, go to Ipswich (Over priced drinks and girls up their own arses) or Bury (Over priced drinks and nice girls who like to drink) Do not go to Hide in Bury though unless you drink from the hot tap.
• 2005....... OK, there are still the two clubs in Stowmarket. Jokers and Xcel. As the actual clubs go X is by far the better with a much plusher interior, it is the type of place that you could pick up and put in a city and it would do well. Jokers is a black box of a room. Amazingly Jokers is busy and X is dead. There are reasons for this that I won't go into as it is small town mentallity but essentially if you want to go out clubing go to jokers as there are people there.
• xcel aint that bad although it is full of kids but you have to remember that they need something to do at night just as we do so why dont we stop moaning about them and just go to a decent club in peterborough or norwich because we are the ones that are actually legally allowed in and as for squaddies the stow lot dont mind you til you start gettin full of yourself.see ya
• Excel: It's more like a youth club than nite club, I went in there 1 friday nite as number 50 on my ticket and to be honest it did not fill up much after.
• well....xcel do an under 18's nite every school holiday which is v. popular n is always packed. they sell red bull! great!! but its kinda lame, so is jokers. u can get in easily. most people go to indie or liquid in ipswich.
• Jokers is ok but the last time I went to excel I thought I was at a school disco
• The best place to go out in Stowmarket is IPSWICH
• jokers is the best club in stow for the over 19's and the men in there are much better, like micheal tipple, Paul ford, Wesley mcsloy, andrew beck, & chippie!! all Lush!!
• the club that used to be The maltings, Eternity and Browns has re-opened as Xcel nightclub and Verandah bar. it`s still owned by Dave and John but managed by Kelly. the venue is the dogs bollocks, too good for stowmarket really! Open til 3 on a saturday, with a full colour laser, 3 large bar areas, a bridge over the dancefloor and 2 podeums for those more daring. www.xcelnightclub.co.uk
• Whilst growing up I never went to The Maltings but plenty of my peers did. I think there is still a couple of clubs there but don't know what they are called.
• Ah stowmarket!Why is it the local people (well guys) do not like the soldiers who frequent their town??Is it they feel threatened? I feel a little bit of jealousy is afoot - the soldiers bring much needed revenue to the town and make it able to afford nightclubs such as strokers(oops jokers) and the school disco(browns).yes these clubs (alledged) are not top standard but it offers the people ,a night dancing (well moving ) , a late drink,and a few hours sitting at the taxi rank( as there are never any available)- it can't all be bad.Remember if it was not for the presence of soldiers in your town ,it would have even less than what it has now.Imagine that
• Jokers, quite like jokers, have been a regular for bout 4 yrs, not sure if thats ne thing to brag about. Had a refurb a couple of years back and now doin quite well for itself! Flissx
• jokers .ARH what a joke ,they must of been stoned when they brought that place. oh yeah and must not for get excel.heheheh ur be lucky to even see more than 5 people in there at a time
• Jokers is tiny and x-cel is full of kids go elsewhere
• Jokers, previously something else, previously The Pine Mine. Friday night may never be the same again. Dukes then Jokers. Lots of locals. Lots of music. Very Suffolk. Better than Eternitys or whatever that dive is called now.
• Jokers is cool. Chat the lady bouncers up, if you can call them that. Drinks are cheap, music is cheesy and all the girls I used to go to skool with. See mates you have not spoken to in 10 years!!!
• Jokers (bad), Xcel (worse)
• It has to be lucky j's, A.K.A dirtys A.K.A the roylejoke. real name Jokers night club.situated by the regal cinema jokers is the idle place to finish off a night on the lash. "jokers a regular meat market" If your looking for a dance partner to drunkenly snog and grope you, jokers is the place. most of my relationships have started in jokers, and i've met most of my closest friends there too. but jokers is also a place for making a tit of yourself, getting in fights and making enemys. It's an all round experience i recomend it to all.
• Never been to Browns but i hear its horrible, just full of school kids. And the other one infront of the Regal, cant remember what its called, but i dont think thats much better. If u want a good night out, GO TO IPSWICH!!!!!!
• Having moved down from a city I can say flatly that Jokers is the kind of place that city dwellers don't believe exist, but it is the only serious option if yiou want to keep drinking when the pub shuts.
• The one the only JOKERS! (A dark dingy underground hole!!) Or Tipples, Browns, Excel or what ever that latest name it has to dodge the tax man!!
• Yhea right. Like the one every legally aged drinker tries to avoid down by the station. Mentioning no names of course. However often it's burnt,revamped and renemed it's still gonna be the Maltings and still gonna be run by the same uninteresting out of date D.J. Sorry folks looks like youll have to stick to Jokers. At least there you dont get beaten up by the staff. Well not very often anyway.
• Jokers aka 'ho-kers, lucky J's, that shit hole and yokers...formerly The Joke. Jokers is not THAT bad... but it can turn into a nasty habit. Yeah, it was shite, but the tunes are better now, and there's a family atmosphere! Underage girls are less common now that its become more popular (doormen more choosy). If you want to get drunk, dance like a loon and don't care if your'e not cool, Jokers is the place to go. This place is NOT for those concerned with their image...but then again, they're crap to go out with anyway.
• Browns but i think thats closed down now but im not sure! and jokers which is meant to be pretty good but i wouldnt kno as im underaged!!!!
• jokers, oh yes, what can i say, its a village hall in a town, good atmosphere tho but quite small , good laugh if you go wiv ya mates tho
• JOKERS IS THE ONLY PLACE TO GO IN STOWMARKET LATE AT NIGHT.THERES MUSIC IN BOTH BARS SO CHECK IT OUT
• LAST TIME I WENT TO STOW WAS WHEN THOSE TWO EXTREMELY NICE CLUBS CALLED JOKERS AND BROWNS WERE GOING - R THEY STILL BEING RUNN BY THE PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY OWN THE WHOLE TOWN
• joker's.....a joke. the same people...standing in the same place...pretending to have a laugh. this place is frequented by dogs! browns....hardly stringfellows....although if ya like em young (18-18 1/2 ) it's worth a visit....not...go to ipswich instead
• Jokers!!!!!!!!!!
• Ohhh, the refurbished Joke. Now slightly larger, maybe a bit classier, and crammed with Stowmarket's finest. Can you ask for more?
• The new Jokers,now getting more popular than ever.Thoroughly recommended for a return visit.Now playing quality upfront tunes and more.Check out the web www.jokersnightclub.co.uk from 1st Nov.Nuff said
• Jokers is a Hole! But it’s the better of the so-called clubs. Apparently they take offence to drunken individuals removing 2-pint pitchers from their treasured trophy cabinet. They become violent and don't appreciate the "What's this all ABOOT?" gags. Browns is just crap, with kiddy fiddler Dave Brown walking around in his muscle shirt, not nice!
• There are 2 clubs in Stowmarket , Jokers and Browns. There is just one thing that I do not like, too many soldiers!!!They should go somewhere else and stop pestering the local girl's.The music they play is up to the minute chart stuff.
• I've only done Browns, once and I won't be doing it again. JAM
• All that's been said before is true, Forget Browns if you're over 22. Jokers caters for all ages and its just been revamped, probably still full of revamps too!
• Well I never - Jokers (Formally The Joke, but now must be given respec') has gone and had a remarkable transformation, and could now even pass for a club/place you wouldn't mind going/joint you wouldn't mind grooving in! It's hardly recogniseable! Huge! Barsome (lots of bars that means) and it even plays some crackin' tunes (well I remember at least one from Saturday night). Goodonya Jokers - better than Braaaans any day.
• Jokers is a hole. Small, relativley expensive, music not fit for a 12 year ods burthday party disco. It's an utter dive. Browns is a bigger hole with a dress code. Still a hole.
• Jokers - worst point being the music is so bad you just want to go and sit down - although there is nowhere to sit until they open the bar at midnight. Browns tries to be impressive with a strict dress code but who cares coz only wannabe ponces frequent the place.
• Oh yes the world famous - must-visit-it-to-know-what-a-shit-hole-it-is place that can only be Jokers. Oh and of course the beautiful new Browns which is like a big attic, and now complete with lap dancers. They should have left it as it was - burnt to a cinder!
• Not just one but....TWO!!! "The Joke" and "Browns", if you ever miss the pumping sounds of the classic tune "Return of the Mac", either one of these clubs (I use that word lightly) is the place for you.
• er, there's Jokers..ha ha, i went once and that was enough..it's a pathetic excuse for a club in ipswich there's hollywoods which is the only half decent place
• jokers night club ?, and soon to be the maltings re-opening !!!
• Jokers is the size of my bedroom, I hear that eternitys has opened again and is very good, it took its time. I shall have to go before I believe it. There are also rumours of a new one being opened by the chain that own hollywoods in Ipswich, so from one club to 3. Im impressed.
• jokers. and tipples bar (was eternity's until most of it got burnt down) both, erm, dodgy.
• CORRECTION; JOKERS IS THE ONLY CLUB IN STOWMARKET - THE OTHERONE BURNT DOWN A WHILE BACK
• Best place to hang out - Jokers Bar/Night club, Ipswich Street.

Live Music Venues

• the pickeral is a great place and the oak for live bands, the snooker club has some pretty good tribute acts too, but whats with the new manager? man she's a grump does a smile hurt, she looks like the wicked witch of the west power crazy i reckon, and the bloke just seems to get pissed all the time swan around like he's some hard nut, cant really see the appeal there myself!! where'd the other manager go? at least she'd have a laugh with you. elton is a pretty sound bloke at the pickeral tho always game for a laugh defo my fav music venue.
• Xcel and the oak, they are both the nuts, great night out
• Riverside snooker clubs probably has the best variety of bands, a couple of smaller pubs bands occaisionally, never anything good, usually covers
• Snooker Club and The oak but u will find underage girls in there acting childish
• try the pickerel on a friday/saturday nite. also the snooker club have a gr8 selection of tribute bands, at least 1 evry month
• Snooker Club and The Oak are the best Stow Venues. Ipswich has the fire and Ice bar and Bury has The Grapes
• Sophie ellis bextor + mcfly are playing or have played in ipswich!!!
• The Oak, thats cool for live music. I usually go to the U.E.A in Norwhich though cos that is the best place to go!!!
• Oak, Pickerel and Snooker club has some good tribute acts on every now and then.
• 2005.........The Oak in the high street is still the main music venue in Stowmarket. Good food and beer and a decent line up of more rocking bands.
• The Oak Probabbly the best larger in the area oh and they play live music on a thurs and sometimes sun if there is no weekly quiz on that night!!!!
• the oak i guess for all your cover band needs. Rich Mac
• The pubs or the snooker club.
• THIS IS NOW BEING UPDATED 2002. The Oak, Pickeral, Crown, Capones all the local pubs do music mainly on a thursday and sunday nite
• I heard that Pink Floyd once played on the Rec.
• The Oak (once the royle oak) has had some cool live bands in the past including the flintstones, the greyhoundes, miss world and many more. The live music nights are on thursdays and sundays it's well worth a look. (even if you go just to see that thin drunk bloke dancing like a nutta)
• The Regal. Went to a good music event ages ago, battle of the bands i think. Otherwise there are the schools when their bands play. Nothing wonderful really *sigh*
• The Oak has recently been refurbished and I prefer its new decor but you still get the well known grebo's in there. Before the refurbishment they had a band in their every Thursday and Sunday but now they haven't got a band booked for another two months. The bands are normally pretty good but way too loud and then theres the head banging of the really tall man that goes in there!
• If you aren't fussy about your music then there's plenty of places to see bands in Stowmarket. If you have the slightest taste then you're out of luck, mate.
• SPUD ROCKETS LIVE N UNPLUGGED ALWAYS GOES DOWN A TREAT
• Oak - Thursday/Sunday Night, live bands, covering a whole range of music. Best of are Rawkus, Flintstones, Swagger and Modicum.
• The Oak has frightening bands on a Sunday, the best of which is easily Swagger. Joker's is threatening some live acts as well.
• Lots of the pubs now offer live music and there is usually a good selection onn during the week. For the liveliest and friendlest pub I would recommend the Oak, Chris and Ellie have just celebrated 15 years of running the place.JAM
• Right, many entries here are out of date. So as of July 2000: Sundays: Royal Oak - live band, usually good cover rock/blues stuff but ocassionally the odd, the very odd and who did your demo tape for you? Thursdays: Royal Oak - ditto, but full of clubbers getting tanked up before going to Jokers Fridays: Capones - good bands tho Rob doesn't see the bands as John used to, but if he books a bad one he'll send them home at half-time. Within walking (staggering) distance is the Pickerall (opposite the Station and Browns) so guess what? just like Capones it's full of clubbers waiting for them to open. When they leave it's down to the same old 30 and 40 somethings - but the bands are fairly consistently above average - well done Colin. THIS INFORMATION MAY NOT BE ACCURATE AFTER SEPTEMBER WHEN CHRIS AND ELLIE MOVE TO THE SHEPHERD AND DOG IN ONEHOUSE - ABOUT A MILE AND A HALF ALONG THE B1115 (GOING WEST)
• The Pickeral is good, they have live bands there, many a time I had stage dived in their barn out the back. It also allows the youth to have drum and base gigs down there which is cool.
• New band which occasionally plays in the Pickeral is well worth the time of day. Lead singer has 2 earings and a nose ring - looks ike a lunatic but they can play. The Royal Oak occasionaly has bands - about as occasionally as it's owner Chris smiles.
• Thursady's/Sunday's - Royal Oak(Ipswich Street), live bands, all sorts, very load, great atmosphere. Fridays - Pickeral, Capones, more mature bands- blues etc, older age group.
• The Pickerel and the Gardebers Arms are the two main pubs that have bands. The Royal Oak and the Dukes have had bands in the past but not recently. The best bet is definately the Gardeners arms. It is about two miles out of stow in the country so you don't get all the tosspots who think the world ends at Tescos or Combsford PO there. The bands are usually rock but there is occasionally something softer.
• If you wanna hear a good band in a relaxing setting try out the oak. check out who and when the bands are playing! Invest in a jug of beer--good buy
• The Oak has outstanding live bands and The Dukes is (or used to be) good for karoake (top quality entertainment). Occasionally the Pickeral has some live bands along with Capones.
• The Pickeral stable - A bit of pretend head banging and crowd surfing a few years ago. It was like, um, shaking your head until you were dizzy, in a stable without any straw. Great fun!!
• only village halls or the regal. hurrah!
• EH? WE BE HEATHEN COUNTRY FOLK, WE DON'T BE KNOWING NO FANCY WAYS SUCH AS MUSIC AND BOOK LARNIN'. THE CLOSEST WE'VE EVER COME TO CELEBRITY GIGS IS HOT CHOCOLATE (BEFORE THE FULL MONTY MADE THEM COOL)AND JIVE BUNNY. SAY NO MORE. FOR SMALL LOCAL GIGS, TRY "THE PICKEREL" OR VARIOUS VILLAGE HALLS IN SURROUNDING POKEY VILLAGES

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Last updated: 2008-08-26