No.2 Glanglasfor was once the address of Le Nautique coffee bar. In early to mid 1960s Le Nautique was a meeting place for teenagers and possibly Rhyl’s smallest live music venue ever. It was hopelessly crowded at times; I recall listening to a 4-piece group while sittingon a flight of stairs.
At the time, Le Nautique may have been in the ownership of the Wright family of cafe and pub operators. It had a nautical ambience, blue lights and fishing nets on the walls. The advert above is from 1964. The Escorts were a Merseybeat group from Liverpool, and The Cresta 4 were a local band.
The black-and-white snapshot was taken at Le Nautique and shows The Cresta 4 (left to right): Jeff Sutton (guitar, vocals), Jimmy Middleton (drums), Colin Lewis (guitar) and Stuart Marshall (bass guitar); the picture was contributed by 'Lennie' to my book Rhyl Music In The Ritz Years 1955-1968.
These days at the Glanglasfor address you would find a bistro/
restaurant named The Topiary, a jolly handy place for a lunch, tel (01745) 336077. On your way in or when passing, look up and see
a plaque on the exterior wall; it says GLANGLASFOR VILLAS 1891. That wouldn’t be much good for a quiz, would it?
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