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Roger McGough

Alive and Gigging

Part of Festival of Voice

This event has passed.

Raise the Bar proudly presents Roger McGough’s Bristol performance of Alive and Gigging.

Roger McGough, the ‘Living proof of himself’ and President of the Poetry Society, not only helped kickstart the musical careers of Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix, but inspired hundreds, if not thousands of young poets (well, quite a few), on their poetic journeys.

85 years old and at that awkward age now between birth and death, he puts on a brave face and takes to the stage with a show featuring new poems as well as old favourites.


The event will also feature local support acts. Interval included. Roger’s performance will be followed by a book sale and signing.

Poet, performer and broadcaster, Roger McGough has published over 100 poetry books for adults and children and has been called ‘the patron saint of poetry’ and ‘the godfather of modern poetry’. He was one of the Liverpool poets, alongside Adrian Henri and Brian Patten who influenced popular culture in the sixties. The Mersey Sound published in 1967 is one of the bestselling poetry anthologies of all time, selling over a million copies. In the 1960’s with John Gorman, and Mike McGear he formed The Scaffold, performing a combination of comic songs, poetry and sketches who had several top 20 singles including the hit song ‘Lily the Pink’.

He has won numerous awards including The Cholmondeley Award in 1988, received the Freedom of the City of Liverpool in 2001, and was awarded a CBE in 2004. A Fellow of The Royal Society and President of The Poetry Society he presents the popular Radio 4 Poetry Please series. His most recent books include Safety in Numbers written during the covid pandemic, as well as books for children, including Over to You, Crocodile Tears and Money Go Round.

Presented by Raise the Bar, the South West’s leading live poetry night, running spoken word events in Bristol and beyond since 2014.

Pre-event Food & Drink

Enjoy delicious drinks and light bites from our Café Bar ahead of the event.

Available to pre-order when booking your tickets, you can choose from a selection of house drinks on arrival, accompanied by a board of bread, olives and dips (all Vegetarian). Just select which option – for one or two people – you would like, before checkout.

Your pre-ordered food and drink will be available to collect from the Café Bar from 60 minutes before the event. It’s the perfect way to begin your event experience at St George’s!