St Asaph is a city in Denbighshire, North Wales on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales, it the second-smallest city in Britain in terms of population and urban area. Harry Hippie, Stripey, The Toilets, The Alarm, Mike Peters (solo), Coloursound have played live at venues in St Asaph. The city of St Asaph is surrounded by countryside and views of the Vale of Clwyd. It is situated close to a number of busy coastal towns such as Rhyl, Prestatyn, Abergele, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno. The historic castles of Denbigh and Rhuddlan are also nearby. An episode of Songs Of Praise which features Mike and Jules Peters was recorded at St Asaph Cathedral and first broadcast on BBC TV in 2017 in the UK.

(v) 4th October 1975 : Harry Hippie – Stables nightclub, Talardy Hotel, St Aspah Wales
Mike’s musical debut came on 6 October 1975, when he fronted Harry Hippie, a band formed with his schoolmates to perform at his sister’s birthday party. The 1st Song performed was If You Think You Know How To Love Me by Smokie

1975-1976 : Stripey played a few gigs in the Rhyl area including the 6th form discos at the Stables nightclub, Talardy Hotel, St Aspah Wales. Louis Parker, the owner,  let them rehearse at the Talardy Hotel on Sundays.

(v) 15th September 1977 : The Toilets – Punk Night at The Stables Bar, Talardy Hotel, St. Asaph, Wales
Band line up : Richard ‘O’Malley’ Jones, Glyn Crossley, Mike Peters, Nigel Buckle
Supporting The Slits
The Slits playing in North Wales is big news; but back in 1977 it barely made the papers. Supporting them was Rhyl’s very own pioneering punk band The Toilets. It wasn’t known if this actually happened. Apart from a brief reference on a punk website there is little evidence. This was picked up by Rhys Mwyn, who in turn asked me. Rhys was / is / may have been Viv Albertine’s manager / PA. He asked her if she recalled playing up here and she couldn’t remember.
‘The gig was in the Stables bar at the side of the Talardy Hotel and the reason I remember the date so well is that the gig was a watershed moment for me in the way I perceived female performers – quite frankly, Ari Up terrified me!!! The band had amazing energy, none more so than Palmolive who was the driving force musically, but they refused to pander to sexual stereotypes in the way that the likes of The Runaways were doing. They were genuinely down to earth and approachable. Saw Don Letts in the Talardy itself before the gig but didn’t see him in the gig itself. Seem to remember it was booked by John Sox – Source Steve Rastin

(v) 30th June 1981 : The Alarm – The Stables Bar, Talardy Hotel, St. Asaph, Wales
Band line up : Mike Peters, Dave Sharp, Eddie Macdonald, Nigel Twist
Set list : Shout To The Devil, Marching On, Third Light, Across The Border, Mr. Jones (Only known performance), Up For Murder, Second Generation, Unsafe Building, Sixty Eight Guns


2017 : Mike Peters and Jules Jones-Peters appear on an episode of BBC TV Songs of Praise which was partly recorded at St Asaph Cathedral

(Page updated 16/11/2025)