‘Thekla runs a tight ship’: Bristol’s floating venue marks 40 years at dock

One of Banksy’s most famous paintings, the Grim Reaper, was removed from the hull in 2014 because of erosion concerns. Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian

It started life as a cargo ship transporting timber around the Baltic Sea, but for the last four decades it has been moored in the Mud Dock area of Bristol’s floating harbour, hosting music acts from Pulp to Stormzy, helping launch the city’s drum‘n’bass and trip-hop scenes and providing a bobbing canvas for the street artist Banksy.

Thekla, one of south-west England’s most beloved and vibrant venues, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this week with a series of shows, an exhibition and the publication of a book marking the ups and downs (literally – the vessel did once run aground) of the grand old boat.