The Star and Garter, Massive Attack and DJ Derek’s spiritual home, is set to reopen after fears it would be sold for flats

The graffiti-covered Star and Garter pub at the foot of Bristol’s precipitous Montpelier neighbourhood is dark and lifeless – apart from a gleefully vandalised estate agent board stating: “Site acquired… to stay a pub.”

The late-night reggae tavern, which inspired the likes of Massive Attack and DJ Derek, has been closed since February after the sudden death of its larger-than-life owner Louis “Dutty Ken” Hayles.

After it was put up for sale, rumours circulated that the music landmark was going to be turned into a development of luxury flats.

But its new owner Malcolm Haynes, who oversaw the successful return of St Pauls African-Caribbean carnival in July after a three-year gap and has a wealth of experience as a music promoter in the city, has pledged to maintain the venue as a pub – and, crucially, also its vibe.

He stated in a jubilant Facebook post last week: “I’ve been asked to run the legendary Star and Garter pub with my family. It requires a bit of renovation so we can keep the vibe the same. Re-opening in the spring. Apologies to all those who wanted it turned into flats.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Grant Marshall, stage name Daddy G, left, and Robert Del Naja, (3D), of Bristol band Massive Attack. Photograph: Maya Hautefeuille/AFP/Getty Images

The Star and Garter was not just a late-night drinking venue – it also launched the careers of a host of talented DJs and musicians. DJ Derek, real name Derek Serpell-Morris, whose disappearance in 2015 sparked heartfelt tributes from across the city, first started spinning his favourite rocksteady, reggae, ska and dancehall records in the pub in the late 1970s.

Derek, who went on to achieve cult status with regular slots at the Glastonbury festival, took refuge in the Star and Garter after the breakup of his second marriage. His great-niece Jennifer Griffiths, who fronted the nationwide search for the 73-year-old former Cadbury accountant until his body was discovered in 2016, said: “The Star and Garter was his home and it was where he started out. He asked one night if he could play some tunes and it just kicked off from there.”

Griffiths says Massive Attack’s Grant Marshall, stage name Daddy G, was inspired by Derek’s marathon DJ sessions from midday to closing time at the Star and Garter. “Massive Attack were quite young when Derek started playing there. He remembered Grant Marshall and the others standing outside listening to him play. They were so inspired they got Massive Attack together,” she says.

Last week, as locals made their way through Montpelier’s narrow Georgian and Victorian lanes, many expressed excitement at the prospect of the pub reopening.

Jen Siaghi, who grew up in the diverse area, which merges into the historic heart of the city’s African-Caribbean community in St Pauls, said: “This is far more important than luxury flats. It is an institution. You could walk past here at three or four in the morning and still get a drink in there. It was my last port of call.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest DJ Derek began playing his Sweet Memory Sounds at the Star in the late 1970s and went on to be a festival favourite across the UK. Photograph: Simon Chapman/Lnp/Rex/Shutterstock

Sita Calvert-Ennals also had fond memories of the pub. “I’d go there at the end of an evening. It was a fun and welcoming place. They always played great reggae and there’d be some goat curry,” she said. “There just aren’t enough pubs around now that bring communities together. It was a really mixed crowd.”

And they were not the only ones enthused by the pub. Miranda Rae, who grew up in St Pauls and now works as a DJ on Bristol’s African-Caribbean community radio station, Ujima, first went to the Star and Garter in her teens. “I started going for the music. Reggae was my first love. It’s funny to say that as a white girl but living in central Bristol it’s kind of where I came from,” she said. “It was part of that reggae vibe that everybody was welcome.”

Bristol has lost a series of music venues over the past two years, so the revival of one was something to be celebrated, she said. “In this time when so many clubs and pubs are closing, it’s just brilliant to hear the Star and Garter is going to be renovated.”