The vessel has welcomed a huge number of the world’s very best bands and acted as a platform for the area’s finest up-and-coming acts to showcase their talents. From being built in Germany in 1958 to becoming an iconic bristol night club, thekla bristol has a unique place in bristols diverse nautical history.
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00:00This is the 40th anniversary of Fekler. We're celebrating 40 years. 40 years is a really
00:07special thing for any venue, let alone a venue on a boat.
00:11The showboat was based on the idea of creating, owning and running a theatre on a seagoing
00:17ship and using it to showcase music of every sort, limited only by the size of the hold.
00:23It's a little bit niche really, you know, not many nightclubs are on a boat in Bristol
00:29Harbour, so just that attracts people's curiosity.
00:34A tough few years, obviously Covid especially was really bad for the whole industry and
00:39now with the cost of living crisis, people don't have as much disposable income as they
00:41used to, but we do find that people do still want to have fun, so as long as we put on
00:47something good they want to come to, they will still make it out.
00:49Fekler is celebrating 40 years, it's a nightclub on a boat, it's quite extraordinary in that
00:56respect with regards to the fact that it's not just a building, it's a fully fledged
01:01ship which travelled here 40 years ago and it's amazing that it's survived that long.
01:07But yeah, here we are, 40 years of Fekler.
01:09A whole exhibition with some photos from Fekler's past, including a load of my photos from Fekler's
01:16present. We're launching a book that documents not even the 40 years, 60 years of Fekler
01:24from when it was a cargo ship right up to now.
01:27It's become a landmark of Bristol I think because of its unique structure. People can
01:31come and see it all year round. I think Bristol's got a really rich maritime history, everyone
01:36loves a good boat and everyone loves a good night out, so when those two things come together
01:39it's a match made in heaven.
01:40The ship also contained an art gallery. During the 1990s, under new management, it was run
01:46as a rent-a-nightclub.
01:48The ship has now been returned to its original working name of Fekler and let's hope for
01:54another 40 years of this iconic and unique Bristol nightclub.