Anyone who walks down Great Charlotte Street in Liverpool city centre at weekends is likely to be greeted by a wall of sound coming from the pubs and bars lining the road.
And one of them will certainly be Tess Rileys, which has repositioned itself as a live music venue and now has professional singers queueing up to perform in front of punters. This sets it apart from karaoke pubs, where anyone and everyone is encouraged to get up and have a go.
Whereas Mathew Street caters mainly for tourists and Concert Square for students and the younger crowd, the pubs in the area around Great Charlotte Street - several of which are Irish-themed - are aimed squarely at an older clientele, some of whom have been drinking in these pubs for decades.
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Among the permanent roster of around a dozen performers at Tess Rileys are former Britain's Got Talent semi-finalists Martin Gregory-Lambert and his daughter Faye. This major shift in emphasis to live singers has come from the current owners, husband and wife team Paula and Kenny Smith, who together have been in charge at the pub for the past decade. Daughter Meg and son Thomas are also on the staff.
Tess Rileys was named after a renowned Liverpool landlady who once ran a number of pubs, including the one which still bears her name. Although it no longer has any connection to the family, Kenny Smith's links to the pub go back to the time of the Rileys. He began working there as a chef in 1996, before taking over the lease in 2012.
Kenny, 53, said: "When we took over 10 years ago, the place was dead, it was on its knees. Now we stay open later at weekends and it's changed the whole concept of the street. It's been hard work, especially through covid.
"We've now readjusted so we no longer do food but have music on earlier in the day. All the singers are very good at what they do and we're very particular about who we put on. They love to sing here because of the atmosphere."
Among the pub's regular customers are the "Tuesday club", originally made up of ex-Arriva bus drivers who used to meet at the old Cellar Bar in Hockenhall Alley off Dale Street. The Tuesday club's former home is now the Exdirectory, a cocktail bar also run by the Smiths and catering for a very different crowd than Tess Rileys.
Kenny's wife Paula. 57, said: "People have been coming here for years. It's a staple. The age range goes from 30-plus to parties with balloons for 60th and 70th birthdays. Older people feel safe in here, we have the best entertainment and the bar staff are nice.
"It's chocca in here at weekends and it's a great ambience. There's a lot of singing and dancing, and the live music is all free."
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