Cover Keith Goodman (left) and John Prymmer (Photo: Affa Chan/Tatler Hong Kong)

Hong Kong’s oldest independent livehouse returns with a new address—and a foodie twist gig-goers might not expect

The address 54 Jaffe Road will forever be sacred among lovers of live music. For 33 years, it was the location of The Wanch, a historic venue that earned a reputation as the CBGB of Hong Kong, likened to the iconic New York music club. It stood in its namesake district of Wan Chai through the decades, weathering innumerable changes to the city and a shifting cultural landscape until pandemic restrictions prohibiting live music forced its owners to close its doors in 2020.

Now, more than 18 months later, the venue has returned at a new, larger location at 90-92 Jaffe Road, with the addition of food to fortify the business for the future. Although at the time of reopening, there was no indication of whether performances would be allowed to return in time, business partners John Prymmer and Keith Goodman went ahead with the relaunch, focusing instead on promoting their menu.

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Above The interior of the new venue, which now includes dining tables and chairs and an expanded stage

The small size of the previous location meant gigs felt intimate, but space was an issue, and bands fought for elbow room with audience members. The new, 125-capacity venue features an entryway bar leading upstairs to a main room and larger bar area with seating for 92 people. The addition of a stage isn’t the only upgrade: this Wanch includes a full kitchen equipped with pizza and rotisserie ovens. Having a food licence will not only help the venue stay open in case of future pandemic closures; it will also bring in lunch and dinner clientele who may not have otherwise given the place a try. The pair poured substantial effort into making the food a draw, which required calling on experts. As well as recruiting chef Kwan Chu and general manager Neil Drummond, both of the now-closed Mexican restaurant Coyote, the duo worked with Neil Tomes, the group development chef for burger chain Beef and Liberty, who created a gastropub-style menu featuring elevated classics, such as a fish and chips made with vodka batter and served with edamame beans. There’s also a carefully selected wine list, and the team will work with local breweries to represent Hong Kong beers on the taps. 

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“It was about keeping all the good stuff but trying to make everything a bit better,” Goodman says. “We’re confident in the music and booze space but we don’t know anything about food. I want old fans to come for the music and go away going, ‘It’s all brilliant’, and for new fans to come because it’s a nice bar with decent food and you can have a good evening.”

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Above Keith Goodman, who performs with The Sleeves, entered into a partnership and took over The Wanch in 2010 (Photo: Affa Chan/Tatler Hong Kong)
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After 18 months in Australia due to pandemic-related travel bans, rocker and venue co-owner John Prymmer set about relaunching The Wanch with Goodman. (Photo: Affa Chan)
Above After 18 months in Australia due to pandemic-related travel bans, rocker and venue co-owner John Prymmer set about relaunching The Wanch with Goodman (Photo: Affa Chan/Tatler Hong Kong)

The Wanch had been open for just 34 days of the six months since Covid-19 started upending Hong Kong life when Prymmer announced its closure on Facebook in August 2020. “We are committed to reopening The Wanch when the time is right,” he wrote. They were flooded with offers of money to keep doors open but instead decided to lie in wait. Prymmer ended up stuck in Australia for 18 months due to closed borders, with live music coming back onto the calendar and off again as authorities grappled with a stubborn zero-covid policy.

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This image shows the exterior of The Wanch in Wan Chai. 11SEP15 [2015 FEATURES] (Photo by Bruce Yan/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)
Above The small size of the old venue kept gigs intimate, but meant that gig-goers would often have to stand outside to hear the music on busy nights. (Photo: Getty Images)
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This image shows the interior of The Wanch while a band playing in Wan Chai. 11SEP15 [2015 FEATURES] (Photo by Bruce Yan/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)
Above The Wanch, pictured in 2015, replete with music memorabilia and Hong Kong ephemera. (Photo: Getty Images)

Prymmer, from Ohio, is managing director of a major electronic components distributor, and Goodman, a British CFO of several advertising, marketing and events companies. Both have long performed as frontmen in bands and were regulars of The Wanch before taking up the reins for themselves. Originally named the Wan Chai Folk Club, the venue dates back to 1987, when original owners Howard McKay and Rowland Hastings sought to establish an unpretentious setting for live music that differed from neighbouring bars in the area’s red-light district. It changed hands first in 2005 and again in 2010, when Prymmer, Goodman and former partners Bridget Toon and Steve Turner took over together and “breathed new life” into it by increasing the number of acts performing each night and fostering an all-comers atmosphere. Before 2010, the city’s musical landscape revolved around house bands performing covers, and there were few places for new acts to play. The Wanch never had a cover charge or entry fee, and the diversity of the acts brought a different energy to every evening. As Prymmer is fond of saying, “The rule is that there are no rules.”

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“We wanted to show Hong Kong that there are people here who create good music. And that’s exactly what we did. Here was this whole space all of a sudden, where you could come in and play what you want,” says Prymmer. “Deep down, I’d committed to bringing The Wanch back because it had been here for 30 years, man, and I thought, ‘No, it’s not going to die, not on our watch.’ So we brought it back.” 

Goodman cuts in: “If The Wanch died, a piece of John would have died with it.”

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Above The band Pleasure Productions performs at The Wanch in 1992
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Prymmer (centre) performs with his band Don't Panic during the H2 Festival in 2017. (Photo: Hong Kong Rocks)
Above Prymmer (centre) performs with his band Don't Panic during the H2 Festival in 2017 (Photo: Hong Kong Rocks)
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Above The original exterior of the former venue, which stood at 54 Jaffe Road, in Wan Chai
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Above The original venue decor had a maritime theme before successive owners filled it with music memorabilia

Last September, amid relaxing restrictions and no indication of the coming fifth wave, the pair set about talking to new landlords about new premises, after finding out the previous location would be redeveloped. Once Prymmer returned late that year, they signed a lease on a former sports bar and set about an extensive refurbishment while ensuring that enough of the previous venue was salvaged by incorporating old decor. “We hope that people come up those stairs and see the posters and it already feels like The Wanch,” says Goodman. “We’ve fixated on preserving that spirit and sense of community.”

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Above The duo are committed to keeping The Wanch as a go-to venue for music-lovers in Hong Kong. (Photo: Affa Chan/Tatler Hong Kong)

The entertainment industry, particularly professional musicians, has been among the hardest hit by pandemic restrictions, issued in waves from 2020. When bars got the green light to reopen in May, they were not allowed to feature live performers. A lack of support for professional musicians during the pandemic spurred promoter, festival organiser and musician Chris Bowers (known as “Chris B” in the music scene) to launch Musicians’ Foundation to provide financial relief to musicians while lobbying the government to allow live performances. For her, the return of The Wanch is a welcome sign. “The last few years have been brutal for live music in Hong Kong, and The Wanch’s reopening means so much to all the bands here,” she says. When music eventually returns, The Wanch will be ready to welcome old friends and new faces—bands and audiences alike.

Music is “escapism”, Goodman says. “A city needs a soul. Hong Kong is a stressful place to live and people need to have something other than work. We need to be able to let off steam and just relax.”

Prymmer adds: “There’s no better way to do that than to plug in to a Marshall, pick up your Les Paul, and”—he takes a deep breath—“One, two, three, four!”

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