The Malvern Fringe Festival was an arts festival (founded 1977) which took place in

Great Malvern Great Malvern is an area of the spa town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the eastern flanks of the Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill, and is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The main events of the Malvern Fringe Festival were the annual Malvern

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...

and parade, and the annual three-day festival held in June as a fringe to the

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

Festival. These were often accompanied by musical and other live events throughout the year.

History

Malvern Fringe Festival was founded in 1977 by Adrian Mealing, a teacher in

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

, in collaboration with Andrew Sleigh, Ian Fearnside and Phil Webb. It originated as a reaction to the Malvern Festival which was perceived to be biased towards

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

and appealing towards a national and international audience rather than a local one. A further concern was the continued requirement for the local Council to underwrite the main festival and the feeling that the public expenditure could be more wisely spent. The founding aims of the Fringe were to produce a popular, varied programme of events for the local people of Malvern, to bridge the gap between the "us" and "them" in the arts and to "shake it up a bit in Malvern". The first year featured 60 events consisting of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, world music,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, adult and children's theatre performed under the banner of "Associated Events" due to the main Festival's objections to the term 'Fringe', which they considered to be "outside" of the Festival. In 1978, to avoid confusion between the programmes for the two festivals, printed with similar designs at the main festival's insistence, Adrian Mealing hand wrote "Fringe" on over 3000 programmes. As the 1980s approached, the festival grew into a four-week event and the Fringe had established its own identity. Being centrally located between

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

and

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

the Fringe drew a wide audiences from over a 20-mile radius. During the 1980s, the festival attracted hundreds of visitors with a programme of 120 events over a two-week period. In 1982, Malvern Fringe Arts Ltd became a registered charity. By the 1990s, the Fringe programme had grown to a six-week event and was attracting comedy and cabaret acts that were beginning to establish their reputations, including

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

, Lee Evans,

Jerry Sadowitz Jerry Sadowitz (born June 1961) is an American-born Scottish stand-up comedian and magician. Notorious for his frequently controversial brand of black comedy, Sadowitz has said that audiences going to see a comedian should suspend their beliefs ...

Jim Tavare Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim' ...

, Chris Lynam and a double act featuring Linda Smith and

Mark Thomas Mark Clifford Thomas (born 11 April 1963) is an English comedian, presenter, political satirist, and journalist. He first became known as a guest comic on the BBC Radio 1 comedy show ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' in the late 1980s. He is ...

, plus musical acts as varied as

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

, Juicy Lucy,

Voodoo Queens The Voodoo Queens were a North London-based indie punk/riot grrrl band, who reached number one in the Indie Charts in 1993. History The band was composed of Anjali Bhatia (guitar, vocals), Ella Guru (guitar, backing vocals), Stefania 'Steffi' ...

and

Loop Guru Loop Guru is a worldbeat group consisting of bassist/guitarist Salman Gita (born Sam Dodson) and programmer Jamuud (born David Muddyman). They first met around 1980 and initially played together in The Transmitters and released their debut sin ...

. In 2006 the Fringe re-launched its three-day festival in June, loosely based upon a theme of Elgar's interests. One of the highlights of this festival was a bicycle race (as cycling was one of Elgar's keen interests) up the steep incline of Great Malvern's Church Street. This event was supported by

Commonwealth games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

gold medalist

Liam Killeen Liam Killeen (born 12 April 1982), is a British professional mountain biker. He represented England in cross country racing at the Commonwealth Games in 2002 where he came 3rd, and became Commonwealth Champion in 2006. He has won the Britis ...

, who's from Malvern, and was won by

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

cyclist, Arnaud Lenoir. The whole three-day festival was attended by over 5,000 people. In the autumn of 2006, the Fringe launched a 'folk weekend' featuring Roy Bailey and

Jez Lowe John Gerard "Jez" Lowe (born 14 July 1955) is an English folk singer-songwriter. Lowe was born and raised in County Durham, in a family with Irish roots. He is known primarily for his compositions dealing with daily life in North-East England, ...

Malvern May Day

The Malvern May Day and Parade are an annual community event which has been held in Priory Park, Great Malvern on the Saturday before the May Bank Holiday since 1993.

Local controversy

Despite an attendance of over 5,000 people the June 2006 festival has been the subject of much negative coverage in the letters pages of the local newspaper with one correspondent calling upon readers to petition the local Member of Parliament to halt any further Fringe activities.

Notable past performers

Throughout its history Malvern Fringe featured an impressive array of performers, many of whom have gone on to become international stars.

Classical

Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet The Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet is a professional Dutch recorder quartet. History The quartet was founded in 1978 by Daniël Brüggen, Bertho Driever, Paul Leenhouts and Karel van Steenhoven, four students of Frans Brüggen at the Swee ...

*National Youth Recorder Orchestra *

Edwin Roxburgh Edwin Roxburgh (born 1937) is an England, English composer, Conducting, conductor and oboist. Roxburgh was born in Liverpool. After playing oboe in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, National Youth Orchestra, he won a double scholars ...

and the Hendrickse Flute Quartet

Music

3 Daft Monkeys 3 Daft Monkeys are a world music-influenced acoustic band from Cornwall, UK, consisting of Tim Ashton, Athene Roberts, Rich Mulryne, and Jamie Graham. The instrumentation consists of vocals, fiddle, twelve-string guitar, bass guitar and percuss ...

Daevid Allen Christopher David Allen (13 January 1938 – 13 March 2015), known professionally as Daevid Allen, sometimes credited as Divided Alien, was an Australian musician. He was co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine (in the UK, 1966 ...

* Roy Bailey *

Bhundu Boys The Bhundu Boys were a Zimbabwean band that played a mixture of chimurenga music with American rock and roll, disco, country, and pop influences. Their style became known as jit, and is quite popular across Africa, with some international succe ...

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

Lol Coxhill George Lowen Coxhill (19 September 1932 – 10 July 2012) known professionally as Lol Coxhill, was an English free improvising saxophonist. He played soprano and sopranino saxophone. Biography Coxhill was born to George Compton Coxhill ...

Fred Zeppelin Led Zeppelin was an English rock band whose career spanned twelve years from 1968 to 1980. They are considered one of the most successful, innovative, and influential rock groups in history. During the band's tenure and in the years since they ...

Gordon Giltrap Gordon Giltrap, MBE (born 6 April 1948) is an English guitarist and composer. His music crosses several genres. He has been described as "one of the most revered guitarists of his generation", and has drawn praise from fellow musicians including S ...

The Groundhogs Groundhogs are an English blues and rock band founded in late 1963, that toured extensively in the 1960s, achieved prominence in the early 1970s, and continued sporadically into the 21st century. Tony McPhee (guitar and vocals) is the sole co ...

*Left, Right and Centre (featuring

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

and Caleb) * Juicy Lucy *

Kroke Kroke is a Polish instrumental ensemble of world music. The band's name refers to the Yiddish language name for Kraków (, ). The band was founded in 1992 by three friends and graduates of the Academy of Music in Kraków. Initially, they wer ...

Jim MacCool Jim MacCool (born 1954) is a British dramatic poet in the shanachie or travelling bard tradition. MacCool is the author of ''Ionan Tales'', a series of twelve lengthy tales in verse inspired by the Canterbury Tales and which he has performed more t ...

* Moishe's Bagel * Rory McLeod and

Tymon Dogg Tymon Dogg (born Stephen John Murray) is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Dogg's career started early with shows at the Cavern and Peppermint Lounge in Liverpool when he was 15. As well as pursuing a solo career, he coll ...

Moonshake Moonshake were a British-based experimental rock/post-rock band, existing between 1991 and 1997. The only consistent member was singer/sampler player/occasional guitarist David Callahan, who initially co-led the project with Margaret Fiedler ( ...

Ozric Tentacles Ozric Tentacles are an English instrumental rock band, whose music incorporates elements from a diverse range of genres, including psychedelic rock, progressive rock, space rock, jazz fusion, electronic music, dub music, world music, and ambi ...

Hazel O'Connor Hazel Thereasa O'Connor (born 16 May 1954) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles " Eighth Day", " D-Days" and " Will You?" She also starred in the 1980 film '' Breaking Glass''. Caree ...

Pantagruel ''The Life of Gargantua and of Pantagruel'' (french: La vie de Gargantua et de Pantagruel) is a pentalogy of novels written in the 16th century by François Rabelais, telling the adventures of two giants, Gargantua ( , ) and his son Pantagruel ...

Prophets of Da City Prophets of Da City (POC) is a hip hop crew from Cape Town, South Africa. They are composed of about eight members, though the exact membership fluctuates frequently; these include Ishmael Morabe (vocals), Mark Heuvel (dance), Shaheen Arief ...

Surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

Suns of Arqa Suns of Arqa are a world music collective founded in 1979 by Michael Wadada. Since the group's formation, over 200 people from around the world have played and recorded with them, and in many cases these were like-minded musicians Wadada met ...

June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. As ...

and

Huw Warren Huw Warren is a Welsh jazz pianist and composer whose work crosses several genres. He is known as co-leader and founder of the jazz quartet Perfect Houseplants. Career Huw Warren was the co-leader and founder of the jazz quartet Perfect Hous ...

* Tarika Sammy * Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia *

The Wurzels The Wurzels are an English Scrumpy and Western band from Somerset, England, best known for their number one hit " The Combine Harvester" and number three hit "I Am a Cider Drinker" in 1976. They are known for using British West Country phrases ...

Zion Train Zion Train are a British dub ensemble that formed in Oxford, 1988. They have consistently released music and toured from 1992 to present day. Their mix of reggae and dance music was a notable innovation in the early 1990s. History Co-founder ...

Dance

Lousie Tonkin
and

Poetry

* Dannie and

Joan Abse Joan Abse (née Mercer; 11 September 1926 – 13 June 2005) was an English author and art historian. She was the wife of Welsh poet and physician Dannie Abse. Biography Joan Mercer was born St Helens, Lancashire, on 11 September 1926. By age 1 ...

John Cooper Clarke John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet, who first became famous as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums. Around this time, he performed on stage with sev ...

John Hegley John Richard Hegley (born 1 October 1953) is an English performance poet, comedian, musician and songwriter. Early life He was born in the Newington Green area of Islington, London, England, into a Roman Catholic household. He was brought up i ...

Adrian Henri Adrian Henri (10 April 1932 – 20 December 2000) was a British poet and painter best remembered as the founder of poetry-rock group the Liverpool Scene and as one of three poets in the best-selling anthology '' The Mersey Sound'', along with ...

Michael Horovitz Michael Yechiel Ha-Levi Horovitz (4 April 1935 – 7 July 2021) was a German-born British poet, editor, visual artist and translator who was a leading part of the Beat Poetry scene in the UK. In 1959, while still a student, he founded the "t ...

and

Stan Tracey Stanley William Tracey (30 December 1926 – 6 December 2013) was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album ''Jazz Suite Inspir ...

Frances Horovitz Frances Margaret Horovitz ( Hooker; 13 February 1938 – 2 October 1983) was an English poet and broadcaster. Life and work Frances Margaret Hooker (who adopted and wrote under the surname of her first husband, Michael Horovitz) was born in W ...

and

Pete Morgan Colin Peter Morgan (7 July 1939 – 5 July 2010)Miles SalteObituary: Pete Morgan ''The Guardian'', 15 July 2010, retrieved 7 August 2010 was a British poet, lyricist and television documentary author and presenter. Born in Leigh, Lancashire, ...

* Joolz *

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet and activist. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. His ...

* Ian McMillan * Dick McBride *

Roger McGough Roger Joseph McGough (; born 9 November 1937) is an English poet, performance poet, broadcaster, children's author and playwright. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Poetry Please'', as well as performing his own poetry. McGough was one o ...

Henry Normal Henry Normal (real name Peter James Carroll, born 15 August 1956) is a writer, poet, TV and film producer, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Manchester Literature Festival) and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Festival. In Ju ...

Lemn Sissay Lemn Sissay FRSL (born 21 May 1967) is a British author and broadcaster. Sissay was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, has been chancellor of the University of Manchester since 2015, and joined the Foundling Museum's board of trus ...

* Gabriel Woolf

Comedy

Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. He played the title roles on the sitcoms '' Blackadder'' (1983–1989) and ''Mr. Bean'' (1990–1995), and the film series ''Johnny English'' (2003–201 ...

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and actress. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Saturd ...

Jack Dee James Andrew Innes Dee (born 24 September 1961), known professionally as Jack Dee, is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter and writer known for his sarcasm, irony and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom ''Lead Balloon'' ...

Jenny Eclair Jenny Eclair (born Jenny Clare Hargreaves; 16 March 1960) is an English comedian, novelist, and actress, best known for her roles in ''Grumpy Old Women'' between 2004 and 2007 and in '' Loose Women'' in 2011 and 2012. Early life Eclair was born ...

* Lee Evans *

Jeremy Hardy Jeremy James Hardy (17 July 19611 February 2019) was an English comedian. Born and raised in Hampshire, Hardy studied at the University of Southampton and began his stand-up career in the 1980s, going on to win the Perrier Comedy Award at the Ed ...

The Kipper Family The Kipper Family was a two-man parody English folk group, played by Chris Sugden (as Sid Kipper) and Dick Nudds (as his father Henry). History The group performed as the Kipper Family throughout the 1980s and released several cult albums. Part ...

Mark Lamarr Mark Lamarr (born Mark Jones, 7 January 1967) is an English comedian, writer, radio DJ, and television presenter. He was a team captain on '' Shooting Stars'' from 1995 to 1997, and hosted ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' from 1996 to 2005. Early li ...

Al Murray Alastair James Hay Murray (born 10 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor, musician and writer from Hammersmith. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, and in 2007 he was voted the 16th gr ...

* Linda Smith and

Mark Steel Mark Steel (born 4 July 1960) is an English author, broadcaster, stand-up comedian and newspaper columnist. He has made many appearances on radio and television shows as a guest panellist, and has written regular columns in ''The Guardian'', '' ...

Literature

Romesh Gunesekera Romesh Gunesekera FRSL (born 1954) is a Sri Lankan-born British author, who was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for his novel ''Reef'' in 1994. He has judged a number of literary prizes and was Chair of the judges of Commonwealth Short Story P ...

Theatre

* Oxford University Revue *

The Theatre of Small Convenience The Theatre of Small Convenience was a theatre in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. In 2002 it entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's smallest commercial theatre, seating up to 12 people. It is less than half the size of the ...

References

{{Fringe festivals in Europe Spring festivals Malvern, Worcestershire Culture in Worcestershire Fringe festivals in the United Kingdom Charities based in Worcestershire Festivals in Worcestershire Music festivals established in 1977 Theatre festivals in England