On This Day in Wembury — 26 February 1998
Live Jazz at The Odd Wheel
In the late 1990s, The Odd Wheel in Wembury was not just the village pub but a lively hub for live music on the South Devon circuit. On Thursday 26 February 1998, the Western Evening Herald listed the night’s entertainment: Roger Marks’ Armada Jazz Band, performing at 8.30 p.m. with free admission. The pub’s then contact number — 01752 862287 — appeared alongside a note that the Griffinaires Big Band were also playing elsewhere that evening, showing Wembury firmly part of the region’s thriving jazz and swing scene.
Roger Marks, a celebrated trombonist and bandleader from the West Country, was known for keeping traditional New Orleans–style jazz alive through the 1980s and 1990s, touring widely and performing at pubs, festivals, and seaside venues. His Armada Jazz Band blended professional polish with the warmth of small-venue intimacy — perfect for The Odd Wheel’s low-beamed bar and close-up audience.
This era marked a golden age for live pub music in rural Devon. Many villages could still support weekly gigs, folk nights, or jazz sessions that brought together locals and visitors alike. In Wembury, evenings like this one carried the same community spirit that once filled the old Jubilee Inn’s parlour with sea shanties and farm talk a century earlier. The names and rhythms had changed, but the gathering place — and the sense of shared enjoyment — remained much the same.
Source: Western Evening Herald (Plymouth), Wednesday 25 February 1998 — entertainment listings (“Roger Marks’ Armada Jazz Band, The Odd Wheel, Wembury, 8.30 p.m., free admission”).
