Were you one of the bright young things jostling for space in the queues on the Ricky Road in the early 1970s, trying to get in to Watford Town Hall to see the likes of Elton John, Steeleye Span, The Faces, King Crimson, and The Kinks? If you were, then there’s a new exhibition that just might take your fancy.

The Town Hall was one of the hottest music venues in the area back then, thanks to Friars, a music club that started life in Aylesbury and moved to Watford when its original venue, The New Friarage Hall, was closed down in July 1970. The town hall at Watford was a much better fit, with its 1,600 seat capacity and, between September 1970 and September 1972, hosted 18 gigs by some of the biggest names in music at the time.

“Those were amazing nights,“ says Friars’ co-promoter David Stopps, who has worked for the club for 45 years. “Watford was such an amazing part of Friars’ history, and there’s a lot of people around who will remember those gigs.“

The exhibition, The Local Music Club That Rocked the World, is at the Buckinghamshire County Museum and features many posters from the gigs at Watford and photographs of the musicians and bands on stage. Perhaps even more exciting is the twin-neck guitar of Mike Rutherford from Genesis, the drum kit of Nick Mason from Pink Floyd, one of Toyah’s stage outfits, Edgar Broughton’s Stratocaster guitar, and Howard Jones’ synthesiser.

A 90-minute film of Friars members talking about their memories of the club’s early days will also be shown as part of the exhibition.

“The first gig at Watford was Emerson, Lake and Palmer, in September 1970,“ remembers David, who was present at every one of the 18 Watford gigs, perhaps the most dramatic of which was the one Elton John performed in February 1972.

“We had a bomb scare halfway through, and I had to go on stage and stop Elton in the middle of Tiny Dancer,“ laughs David. “He jumped off the piano, up to the microphone at the front and shouted ‘Elton John bombed out at Watford!’“

Other nights David particularly remembers are fans ‘borrowing’ ladders from a nearby building site in order to get in through the Town Hall’s upstairs windows to see King Crimson in July 1971, and The Faces lowering their bassist and singer Ronnie Lane out of a dressing room window and then, when he tried to get back in past security, denying all knowledge of who he was, in May 1971.

“We’ve always wanted to do an exhibition because we’ve got so much archive material,“ says David, who co-promotes the club with Malcolm Isbister, “We’d love to bring it closer to Watford, because it really deserves to be seen by everybody.“

  • The Local Music Club That Rocked the World is at the Buckinghamshire County Museum, Church Street, Aylesbury, Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm, until Saturday, July 5. Details: aylesburyfriars.co.uk