Jazz at Hospitalfield: Alan Steadman looks back at 30 years of gigs

Alan Steadman’s ‘Jazz at Hospitalfield’ nights in Arbroath began “quite by accident”, according to the well-known radio DJ.

And Alan, who is also the voice of the iconic Speaking Clock, certainly didn’t think that one sold-out gig in 1990 would lead to hundreds of shows and decades of success.

“I was working in Arbroath and looking for a room to run some evening classes in jazz,” recalls Kirriemuir native Alan, who has hosted jazz radio shows for more than 40 years.

“Someone said to try Hospitalfield House – I’d never heard of the place,” he admits.

“I went along and met the director, and he opened up this coach room. It was covered in dust, chairs and tables everywhere.

“But I thought: ‘This has just got live jazz written all over it. You couldn’t build a jazz club like this’.”

The poster for the first-ever Jazz at Hospitalfield gig. Image: Supplied.

Inspired by the unique venue, Alan floated the suggestion of a Sunday evening jazz night.

“We ran one with a local band,” he says with a twinkle in his eye. “It sold out. So we tried another one about two months later, and that sold out too.

“I said to the director: ‘I think we might be on to something here, I think we might get six months out of this.’ That was 35 years ago!”

Jazz at Hospitalfield ran each month – usually selling out the 100-capacity venue – for many years, before gradually the concerts were scaled back to 9 or 10 per year.

Joe Temperley played often at Jazz at Hospitalfield. Image: Supplied.

Then Covid came along and essentially put an end to them, with only two concerts taking place post-pandemic – each to debut pieces that Alan has commissioned himself, one for Hospitalfield and one for Arbroath.

Loyalty to audience spelled success

Now, Alan is giving his beloved jazz nights community a fitting send off, with a presentation highlighting the most unforgettable moments across 30 years – in the same room he fell in love with all those years ago.

Featuring music from Jazz at Hospitalfield gigs over the years, and “fantastic photos” of nights gone by, Alan’s audio-visual presentation will be a walk down memory lane for those who have whiled away many a happy evening at the shows.

Rose Room, one of the most popular acts to appear, played with award -winning saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski at Hospitalfield, Arbroath on March 21 2015. Image: Supplied.

“I have some folk who have been there since the beginning, so I hope they come,” smiles Alan. “We lost a lot of folk over the years sadly, but we always brought new folk in.

“Other promoters and club owners say: ‘I don’t know how you’ve managed to do this in Arbroath, man, but you have’. I think it was just something that happened at the right time.

Jazz pianist Paul Harrison played at Hospitalfield. Image: Supplied.

“Though I’ve never been able to get the youngsters in,” he chuckles.

“I gave up in the end, because I thought: ‘Why bother? You’re chasing the Holy Grail here, just stick with the audience that you know.”

‘Make it personal’ says Alan

For Alan, the key to his jazz nights’ success has been “to make it personal”.

“The place helps, because it’s such a beautiful venue, and a very intimate room,” he explains.

“There’s no stage mind you, and some folk have found that a bit off-putting. They’ve come for their first time and thought ‘Bloody hell, I’m right in their faces’.”

Alan Steadman receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Scottish Jazz Award ceremony in November 2022. Image: Supplied.

As well as for the audience, Alan has been careful to “make it personal” for the musicians.

“I’ve always treated them with respect and I’ve always paid them well, and they’ve reacted accordingly,” he says.

Arbroath was ‘hard sell’ – but not for long

His approach paid off, with artists travelling from England, Australia, America, Canada and New Zealand to play.

“At the start, I thought: ‘How do I persuade folk to come to Arbroath?’ It was a bit of a hard sell,” admits Alan.

“But eventually, once folk began to know about it, I began to get phone calls from musicians from all over the place saying: ‘We’re touring, can we come to your place?’”

Malcolm ‘Molly’ Duncan, founder member of the Average White Band and a regular visitor to Jazz at Hospitalfield. Image: Supplied.

One of Alan’s favourite memories was having two members of soul legends Average White Band reuniting at a Jazz at Hospitalfield show.

“I knew one of the founding members, Molly Duncan – we were at school together,” reveals Alan.

“I got another member from Connecticut to come and join up with Molly, and we did a sort of reunion concert. That was magical.”

Profits put back into Hospitalfield

Never interested in making a profit from the nights, Alan has ploughed any excess money from ticket sales back into the running of artistic haven Hospitalfield.

Scott Hamilton playing Jazz at Hospitalfield. Image: Supplied.

“For years and years, if somebody came to me and said, for example, ‘the washing machine’s broken’ I’d just pay for a new washing machine,” he shrugs.

“I didn’t want the money to go into some nebulous fund that was never seen again, I wanted to see that we bought that or we did this. Again, just keeping it personal.”

Phoned up by the Speaking Clock?

But perhaps the most unique part of his Jazz at Hospitalfield enterprise was the way the tickets were sold.

“It was all done over the phone,” beams Alan, who appreciates the fun of phoning people up as the Speaking Clock.

Warren Vache was another exciting name on the Jazz at Hospitalfield bill. Image: Supplied.

“Word of mouth is great. I didn’t go online or anything, just picked up the phone and said: ‘I’ve got a jazz night coming up, d’you want to come?’

“At 8pm precisely, of course.”

Alan Steadman’s lookback at Jazz at Hospitalfield takes place on August 3 2024 at Hospitalfield House. Anyone interested in coming along can give him a ring on 01382 774648.