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As one of the new owners of Exeter FM radio, perhaps it’s only right and proper that i’m constantly thinking about music, particularly some of those great tunes from what i consider to be ‘my era’, the late 70’s and early 80’s !
I promise you that i won’t be mentioning my favourites in this column every time, but following my reference to the ‘Jam’ last week, another classic from 30 years ago came crashing into my head a couple of days ago. Ghost Town by the Specials is one of those songs that really transports you back to another age, but if you’ve walked through the Harlequins centre in Exeter in recent weeks you’ll understand why it’s so appropriate right now. I couldn’t believe how many empty shop units there are there. At a rough estimate I’d say that 50% are currently vacant.  We all know that this centre has had its up and downs over the years, particularly in its lower shopping area down the stairs, but it shocked me to see how much of the top area is now going to waste too.  Much of this middle section is totally uninhabited apart from a nail salon and one of those places where you stick your feet into a tank of fish (this seems to be a very popular pastime, although i’m not rushing to have a go).
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand why the units are empty. I have no idea what the rents are, but clearly retailers are not reaping sufficient profits to make trading viable there. The footfall is considerably less than the nearby Guildhall for starters, and, in my opinion, the Harlequins Centre demise is a direct result of the Princesshay development. The shopping heart of the city has shifted along the High Street, and I suspect that many shoppers do what i do when they drive into the city, use the car parks in Princesshay and Southernhay, and then, for the most part, stay and spend their money up there.
I hope that somehow this situation can be put right. The powers that be really need to come up with a plan to get the Harlequins full again. Major incentives will be needed to make it work, probably financial, and I hope there’s enough flexibility to make it happen.
I’m not confident. Wherever you look in the main part of the city centre there are enormous contrasts. For a long time now there has been a clear division between the High Street and the roads that lead off it at either end. If you cross the traffic lights into Sidwell Street you move into what seems to be a completely different world. To say it looks tired, outdated and in desperate need of a lift, would be a massive understatement. John Lewis will do much to invigorate the area, including Paris Street which has also compared poorly over the last couple of years to the brand new, modern, shiny Princesshay next door.

It’s all very well for planners to welcome the big name stores with open arms, but please let’s really make more effort with the rest of the city centre. Fore Street has some wonderful, eclectic shops, but is another example of a street that cries out for massive investment.
Clearly, market forces will play a huge part in what’s going to happen. I’m just making a plea for some joined up thinking and creativity to ensure that the success at the heart doesn’t come at the expense of the surrounding areas.

So a press release arrived in the Exeter FM office this week.  The headline went something along the lines of “£17 million comes into the region thanks to three major events”. They were the Tour of Britain Cycling, The Americas Cup and Agatha Christie week. Apparently the pro cycling stage between Exeter and Exmouth...via Dartmoor...accounted for £5 million of that according to Devon County Council. Now forgive me if i’m being extremely thick, but how on earth do they work it all out. Are all the extra visitors and anyone connected with the event issued with an expenses type sheet as they leave the region so that they can detail their expenditure...adding receipts as final proof... OK I know i’m being flippant, but, really, please explain to me how it stacks up. Or, dare I suggest it ... it’s all a bit of a guess !  I don’t blame the Council. It cost them £175,000 to bring the race here and there are plenty who feel that money should have been spent in others areas and certainly not on a bunch of cyclists who closed off roads across the region and then had the audacity to speed by in seconds without so much as a wave.  The Council clearly needs to prove it was excellent value for money.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not for one minute suggesting we shouldn’t have staged the event.
It was fantastic to see the riders like Mark Cavendish as you walked through Princesshay. This was the base for the team trucks and warm up areas, and I can think of no other sport where you can get so ‘up close and personal’ with top international sports stars just minutes before the start. You could literally smell the riders as they pushed their machines down to Cathedral Yard. The stench of deep heat certainly added to the unique atmosphere as thousands gathered to cheer the race off. It was a great ‘free’ show, but I would have gladly paid good money just to watch Devon County Councillor Stuart Hughes flag the riders away in typically flamboyant style. His old Monster Raving Looney union jack outfit got dusted off especially for the occasion !

People keep telling me that they’re still not that thrilled at the prospect of the Olympics coming next year. I know we’re not going to be at the heart of the action down here, but seeing the reaction of Exonians last week makes me confident that we will be excited next summer.  What made it extra special was that it wasn’t just your seasoned sports fans who were there cheering. The majority of the crowd seemed like casual observers who got dragged into the drama of it all. That’s the power of sport.

I suppose my point, and I knew I’d get around to it eventually, is that you really can’t put a monetary value on something like this. We may, or may not, have got more back than it cost, but it’s left a legacy of memories and inspired many of us to oil our chains and get back into the saddle. How refreshing to hear all those youngsters talking about Cavendish and Renshaw rather than Carroll or Rooney! You don’t have to read that press release...because it’s priceless !

Anyone who knows me will tell you i’m a massive fan of the ‘The Jam’. One of their biggest hits was ‘That’s Entertainment’.... but if Paul Weller and the boys were still going strong you could pretty much guarantee that they’d never be entertaining anyone in Exeter.
The best we could hope for would be Plymouth, or Bournemouth, or even Bristol !

Our city seems to have fallen off the map when it comes to attracting the top singers and bands. In the 1990’s Westpoint hosted Bryan Adams, Oasis and the Corrs. Even David Bowie played a surreal ‘experimental’ gig there...deeming the acoustics in a glorified cowshed good enough to reward his South West fans with a local performance ! (I didn’t enjoy it much by the way !)

For some reason, yet to be satisfactorily explained to me, Westpoint is no longer on the circuit for the big name acts. It’s a shame, because the annual Holiday on Ice extravaganza is always a cracking week...and you should experience the atmosphere there for the Premier league darts at least once ! It’s great to see people coming from far and wide to enjoy these events, and it proves that we do indeed have a massive catchment area. 
That’s why I get so annoyed when I have to make that 90 mile round trip to Plymouth Pavilions to see the major stars and the really big shows. The argument that the Pavilions works as a venue because it has a larger catchment area doesn’t stack up for me. For goodness sake, Exeter University’s favourite son Will Young is by-passing Devon’s capital to perform in Plymouth later this year. How can that be right?

It’s the same with theatre. Why on earth could Exeter not sustain something of similar size to Plymouth’s Theatre Royal? I’m not going to knock the Northcott. It does a valiant job with limited resources, but it’s the major shows with a West End feel that really put bums on seats and gives the financial freedom to also stage some less profitable productions. Even Torquay’s old fashioned Princess Theatre pulls an audience down from Exeter.
Don’t get me wrong. I am certainly not denegrating the talented local performers or music venues like Mama Stones, Corn Exchange and the Phoenix, or theatres such as the Northcott, Barnfield and Cygnet. I’m talking about the really major shows and the big star names !

While we’re at it, we could certainly do with a ‘one stop shop’ entertainment guide, a kind of ‘Time out’ for Exeter. At the moment we need to pick up a handful of brochures in order to build our own schedule ! This new weekly Echo will surely come to the rescue.
Let’s face it,  we have a thriving airport, Premiership rugby, League one football, and a magnificent Cathedral. We are on the national map with the Met Office and Flybe. John Lewis is about to build one of its flagship stores here.  Is it too much to ask that we can can emerge, kicking and screaming, from the entertainment dark age?

This a great city. It’s ahead of the game in so many ways. Entertainment, sadly, is not one of them !