As I’ve gone back over my very detailed diaries and scrapbooks and as I’ve looked back at the many interviews I carried out during 2014 and 2015 I remember why I needed 2 more years to recuperate. Hence I didn’t go back to this project until 2018. The purpose of the project was to capture a unique period of Bridgwater’s counterculture, artistic and political history in the words of the people who took part . With this final section I will let people sum up what they think it was all about.

Adrian Fraser
Adrian Fraser

Adrian Fraser was involved in all aspects of Sheep Worrying, rock, theatre and magazine and subsequently ran a vinyl record shop for a quarter of a century. “I first became involved in sheep worrying in the summer of 1983 helping to put the magazine together in the office in unity house and around the same time i saw my first sheep worrying play “nothing to lose but your chains” at the Bridgwater arts centre. I remember helping out on the door.
The first sheep worrying gig i helped out at was peter and the test tube babies at the arts centre. I remember getting their rider for them which included 2 gallons of local cider (Rich’s) and 4 lots of fish and chips from the west quay fish bar. Later i helped out on the door.This was the start of a 5 year association with rock gigs at the arts centre and I was rock club manager from 1984 to 1988 during which time we put on bands such as the toy dolls, chumbawamba, pop will eat itself, culture shock, the darling buds and atilla the stockbroker.

I also acted and was involved in writing several sheep worrying plays such as “star sheep enterprise” “rock and roll is pretty exciting” and “captain hardbugger” as well as helping to write and compile the sheep worrying magazine.

I have very happy memories of my time with sheep worrying and met many great friends. The most important thing about sheep worrying for me was that pretty much anybody could get involved. all you needed was interest and enthusiasm and if you had talent that was a bonus! Many people from sheep worrying have gone on to careers in theatre,music and journalism and i would like to think they are as proud of their involvement in the Bridgwater scene as I am. It was a great time.”

stubo
Stuart Croskell then and now

Stuart Croskell left Somerset to join the Royal Navy and ended up in the Falklands war. He left the Navy to join Sheep Worrying, and ended up as a bass player, actor, playwright, music critic and actor. In later years he went back into formal education, requalified as a drama teacher and  ended up as Dr Croskell. Today he lives in a small village just outside Bridgwater. “For me Sheep Worrying was always about access. It offered anybody who wanted to get involved a way into writing, performing and politics. It was like a gigantic toy box where you could act in plays, play in bands, edit a magazine and, best of all, have an opinion that would be heard. And as a plus, the collateral effect of its existence – or was it the point? I forget, now – was to annoy and wind-up all manner of bulging-eyed, permanently apoplectic, right-leaning barmpots. It was a trickster organisation. It shouted “Shit” through the vicar’s letterbox and ran off. A spanner in the works, defying local establishment narrative, giving voices to the voiceless.”

Rob Hackwill
Rob Hackwill

Rob Hackwill was involved in Sheep Worrying Theatre, Magazine and sang in Cub Whoopee. He went on to work as a broadcaster for Euronews in Lyon in France. ” I hardly knew Bridgwater even existed, despite having gone to school in the Quantocks from age 14, until I went to university at Sussex, where I met Kim Newman. Initially via a shared love of film, games, and being very silly, Kim invited me down to Bridwater in 1979 or 80 for the first time, possibly because he had already asked me if I wanted to be in a play. I would end up being in two, taking the lead in the first and then a smaller master of ceremonies role in the second. For the next few years until 1984 I threw myself into Sheep Worrying as much as I could while studying for a degree, living in Weston S Mare, and exploring the kaleidescopic world of young adulthood. That eventually involved bouncing for the Crass gig at the Arts Centre, a memorable eperience, countless hours brainstorming, otherwise known as drinking in the pub, all-nighters in the salubrious surroundings of the basement under Flo’s garage, rehearsals, gigs, writing bits and pieces for the fanzine, singing, talking politics, and forgetting lines. As far as I was concerned Bridgwater was very, very lucky to have sired a micro-generation of talented and resourceful young people who were interested in doing stuff. I was dazzled by the talent around me; musicians, writers, funny and knowledgable people with energy, creating original work. There was nothing comparable in Weston. Was it because Bridwater was the unloved seat of rebellion, a town so far from the centre that people decided to do things for themselves because no-one else would? I don’t know, because there are plenty of other places like Bridwater in Britain, but they didn’t all produce Sheep Worryings. The role of the Arts Centre seemed to be crucial, as was the role of the young people who had the ear of the management. It all fitted perfect with the DIY punk ethos of the time. Kids with too much time on their hands making their own entertainment instead of just consuming what was spoon-fed to them. Compare that with how children spend their leisure time today; far less collective action or teamwork in the pusuit of fun, far more individual, atomised gratification, which is fine, but it doesn’t seem to lead to, say, a conveyor belt of bands making great music like in the recent past. Now aged 58, I can honestly say there have been few periods in my life when I have felt a similar rush of creativity. The friends I made back then I still count dear today, even if I hardly ever see them. They gave me a glimpse of the power of numbers, and what you can acheive when you work together in harmony for a common goal.”

glen burrows
Glen Burrows

Glen Burrows was a mainstay of the Sheep Worrying organisation and later a mainstay of pretty much every radical cause in the Bridgwater area. “I moved to Bridgwater, from London, in the early 1980s. I liked everything about the town, but discovering there was a radical independent theatre group, that wrote and performed its own plays was the icing on the cake!

Since my schooldays, I’d loved acting, and I carried on cavorting about on the stage as a student in Birmingham in the late sixties. Later, in London, I tried to join local drama groups, but found them a bit stuffy and pretentious.

By the time I came to Bridgwater, I’d given up my theatrical ambitions, and knew I’d never belong to an amateur drama group, even if they’d have me.

And then as I said, along came Sheep Worrying. Wild, unpredictable, awkward, punky, political and with some really talented writers and performers. I took part in some amazing productions, and loved the way Sheep Worrying encouraged and inspired people who’d never done any acting to get involved. My partner, Dave Chapple, for instance, who had never shown the slightest interest in amateur dramatics, played the part of one of his heroes, Ben Tillet, leader of the Dockers’ Union, in “The Brickyard Strike”, and loved it.

Cultural forms must be accessible to all. Often they become the expensive preserve of the affluent,”polite” upper sections of society – opera, for example – and people can be put off.

Sheep Worrying represented a reclaiming of cultural territory for everyone, demonstrating the talents and resources that lie, often untapped, in all of us.”

dale
Dale Bruton then and now

Dale Bruton joined Sheep Worrying while working  at the Bridgwater Art Centre and was in several plays and bands. In later years he moved to the Czech Republic and Slovakia where he became a writer and an actor. “Sheep Worrying, for me, was an inevitable after-effect of having my first otherwise-unemployable-youth-training-scheme-type appointment at Bridgwater Arts Centre. This was where I met Brian Smedley, who managed, among other things, to persuade me to stand on the town bridge trying to sell a single one of a stack of Socialist Workers. He had just written the play ‘’Brickyard Strike’’ and, to counteract my being a wallflower, I forced myself to get involved. The readthroughs, rehearsals, performances and cast and crew parties were as exciting as the magic mushrooms I’d begun experimenting with. Around a year later I was in the cast of ‘’The Siege of Bridgwater’’, which I thought was nowhere near as good but my performance led to me losing my lingering virginity. Around a year after that, ‘’The Vernon Bartlett Show’’ outdid even the first play for me, and the fond memories gave me confidence to tread the boards again in Slovakia, albeit a quarter of a century later and a tad fatter. I did not consider it to have any strict parameters of content but it was a way of testing the waters of artistic expression and its local rag feedback. I suppose some people had ambition, some had the feeling they had something to say, some were keeping themselves busy enough to steer clear of harmful temptations like drugs or jobs. It is likely that if a local music scene had not been galvanized by SW and its offshoots, I would not have stood on stage pretending to be able to play a bass guitar along with various others who could or could not play their own instruments. I believe it gave a sense of purpose, it had at least the feeling of potential, and it provides for plenty of fun memories and nostalgic episodes, such as the entire backdrop of 17th century Bridgwater falling upon Gary Wilmot during his soliloquy.”

eugene byrne
Eugene Byrne

Eugene Byrne, who wrote many Sheep Worrying plays, acted, drummed, sat on the door at gigs, helped edit and design the magazine as a regional listings mag  and went on to become an editor of Venue Magazine, a respected Historian and a Journalist and published author thinks “In the end it was a bunch of people getting together in a small town doing stuff that interested them. I never saw it as revolutionary movement to energize the people of Bridgwater. Some of the time I saw it as a way to energise the wider region , to reach out to Wessex and we did achieve a lot but didn’t always feel like it. But what we did achieve was  firstly ,providing a lot of youngsters with a voice and opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have had to perform in plays and musicially . Also a forum for musicians of the region . Crucially, the basis for a lot of peoples careers-Myself -Kim -look at the CVs there’s , possibly 100s. People got something out of it that they wouldn’t normally have got from school or education and that’s being able to do what we liked. To do our own shows was more valuable to us . Our shows-and most were ok and some  were brilliant. Finally it gave Bridgwater a radical voice which was very neccessary  at that time . The Most Dangerous Man in Somerset came from Bridgwater and that was only tip of the iceberg. It said to people that there IS an alternative voice here. You don’t have to just take the fucking Mercury-and that meant something.”

Eugene has written a series of books which can be found here.

Aleia Vernon
Alexia Vernon

 Alexia Vernon left the Bridgwater area in 1992 but came back  “I went to Uni in sept 92 .. I did drama and theatre studies at Royal Holloway. I got a 1st class degree in 95 and worked as a studio manager for a recording studio in Shepherds Bush doing voice radio – all Penguin audio books, BBC radio drama and so on. After a few years I came back to Somerset, trained for teaching and then taught drama at Richard Huish.   Sheep Worrying has contributed to what I’ve done and I’m not overly sentimental but I can say that as soon as I got involved  it completely changed the  direction of my life from journalism to theatre and music and this drove me all the way thru Uni  and to my work subsequently in London and into teaching and writing. So Bridgwater and Sheep Worrying were pivotal . I met my  husband thru this. But also Sheep Worrying  was just fun. Having fun and being able to do something thru shit jobs and unemployment. Like a voluntary job . You could wake up after a General election crying because the  Tories were  in again but there was this network of left wing people and you could gravitate to them.And what’s more it got  people into theatre who wouldn’t  normally go into it. It helped left wing organisations get linked up. Yes, we did do left wing stuff but just as important was  the fact we were doing something creative and stimulating that you couldn’t usually do in Bridgwater. The only alternative was Blake Drama club –who were good but not the same. This was radical Bridgwater. That  backdrop of shitwater makes you want an escape from it, cameradery, a laugh, people smashing up the environment and taking away funding and access and facilities and amenities. We all clubbed together. I came from Taunton—almost metorpolitain compared to Bridgwater which was very rough and ready and had no pretentions to be anything other than what it was…but in  the 1980s Taunton was the  5th growing town in Europe in terms of demographics/retail etc and had a county town feel.  But Bridgwater has more creativity. The role of working class people doing stuff is important too .Letting people do stuff even if it’s  shit…in drama it’s important to let people ‘explore’ , it’s what successive Tory Governments have tried  to smash out of people . No room for failure or experimentation or to progress. So it actually IS important to let people experiment without fear of failure. And it’s  important to have a go even if maybe to realise it’s not for them and they can’t do it. Also the role of the Art Centre is crucial. It had this traditional twin set and pearls approach. Sheep Worrying came in and  deconstructed  this image to those people who didn’t want that .”

Alexia’s book ‘From the Viewpoint of a Starling’ can be tracked down here

matt bartlett
Matt Bartlett

Matt Bartlett  had acted  in Sheep Worrying, helped at the rock gigs, learnt the bass and guitar , was in bands and then went on to form his own band, The Visitors, and eventually to set up his own Music company Midnight Mango which is based in Somerset . “I did some of my songs in the Spanners and later in the Visitors it was 100% mine . I went to Bristol Uni and also spent half a year living in Prague then some time in Sheffield . I’d also worked as a teacher in London  94-97 after doing teacher training in Bath . When I came back to Bridgwater from Sheffield I helped Brian set up the SCMG (Sedgemoor Contemporary Music group) with Rob Perdrix and Jon Addicot. I ran the web site which was what mattered and I ended up being the driving force but never really wanted to be. I formed the Visitors and we did 3 albums  I got involved in the Art Centre  which was under threat of moving to Burnham and I ran a campaign to stop it/. By the 21st century the Visitors stopped because I got more into promoting other things and  I was also a teacher and father and a husband and there’s only so many hours in a day and  I was never gonna make money out of visitors. However I saw an opportunity in concert promoting so  then I became an agent and consistently made money.Artistically, Sheep Worrying gradually petered out. It wasn’t going anywhere, people were not committed and there was no management – and  I saw the imp of that. Promoting is a craft and I enjoy it and so it’s not just an artistic thing alone. Was Sheep Worrying important? I’m not sure. It was for some people and it was for me.”

To follow Matt’s company Midnight Mango, click here.

john parish
John Parish

John Parish left Yeovil college in 94 and worked full time with PJ Harvey, touring, recording and doing film scores. “I  never imagined doing  jet setting, I  never imagined being a producer. But then it felt natural. My  ideal position would be to be like Robert Fripp. He gets to  play on loads of interesting records yet still does his own thing and no one recognises him. It’s a cool lifestyle. We’re oddly similar.  No solo success but involved in stuff, makes a very comfortable living and gets to play with interesting people. I’ve ended up where  I hoped I would be and it’s rare enough to be pleasant.”

anne dixey
Anne Dixey

Anne Dixey  was originally from London but moved to Bridgwater after her Journalist  training in Cardiff. “Bridgwater was my  1st small town and I learned on the job, doing court reporting that sort of thing. I wanted a career in journalism so Sheep Worrying started as  a distraction but ended as a key part of my life. I never had sang or wrote plays and suddenly music showed me the  possibilities  I wouldn’t have otherwise seen. I wouldn’t have  played Glastonbury without Sheep Worrying making people believe things were possible. After Bridgwater I  continued  to work professionally  in journalism – Coventry Telegraph, Freelanced on national newspapers, Radio 4 news programmes, BBC world service, the broadcasting media. I’ve written a book –non fiction, about my time in the States from 9/11 to 7.1 – United States of Hysteria. I  lived there 4 yrs. I’m   working on a novel  , my first – and a play project.  Which I’ve not done for a long time- a new direction. How  does Bridgwater fit into my life now ? On a global scale, not too much. But it was a  pivotal moment of my life and impacted since.I  keep in touch with  Neal and Gareth. Well, it’s not my home town so no magnet –I’m  an outsider anyway . I was able to belong a bit through Sheep Worrying but maybe I had the wrong accent and looked wrong.”

Anne’s book ‘United States of Hysteria’ can be found here.

kim newman
Kim Newman

Kim Newman was a founder and mainstay of Sheep Worrying for most of the years but saw the 1987 ‘Rock,Rock,Rock’ show as the real end of the project . The interview with him took 2 days and nights “Mainly I am reminded of the endless arguments. The sheer physical effort of getting people to do stuff . But we did get a lot of people to do stuff they wouldn’t normally do by meeting us. I for instance became a music journalist and then into acting.  Lots of people drifted in and out of Sheep Worrying.Lots of people just wanted to have a good time and hang out with friends. When this was dominant it was more productive than when we tried to make big statements. We weren’t good at that. This encouraged the arguments, falling out, strange committee rulings. The message was more important than communicating it or just letting people do stuff. I look at stuff I wrote for Sheep Worrying  as a part of my output. There are thematic connections with what I’ve written subsequently . It maybe a selfish view of Sheep Worrying ie where I went with that material. But without the humble beginnings of ‘Real Fiction’ would Dave Butland be the cultural icon he is today?”

To follow Kim Newman’s career go to his Johnny Alucard website here.

brian smedley
Brian Smedley

Brian SmedleyBy the end of it all Sheep Worrying had seen people come and go but for me it was a constant in my life throughout. In 1990 I became a councillor and in 1991 formed the Bridgwater Czech link which became Bridgwater International so I was finally able to put aside Sheep Worrying and all it’s genuinely personally painful battles. Friendships , relationships, bands all came and went  but the cause stayed the same. So I never stopped doing what I’d always done. In January 1992  I was in court for non-payment of the Poll Tax, in February I was in a recording studio with Automatic Dlamini playing the accordion on an album which also featured PJ Harvey  and in June I was signing a document to mark the first British-Czech twinning then in July I was indulging in my ultimate ambition to take a pop group on a Summer Holiday tour across Europe . In April I was on stage doing a musical production, with my mates to raise money for the Czech link and throughout the year produced 4 editions of the Somerset Clarion. At the same time I was trying to be a good father and holding down a lorry driving job and be a good councillor and spent much of my time representing Bridgwater people in the courts and getting deals for them to avoid or lessen the burden of the poll tax. At the same time the Council simply attached my wages -barely £100 a week I earned, showing the absurdly unfair nature of the Poll Tax and how it affected people differently. Mind you we had to wait another 4 years for a Labour Government….and then it was bloody Blair!”

Today, 2019, Brian Smedey is the Leader of Labour controlled Bridgwater Town Council and the administrator of Bridgwater International. He is a councillor for the Westover Ward, where he still lives.

To Follow Bridgwater today here’s some blogs

Bridgwater International

Bridgwater Westover ward

Somerset Labour

Bridgwater Arts Centre

Bridgwater Town Council