AROUND 1,200 people braved worsening weather in Newport yesterday to pay their last respects to John Sicolo, the owner of the city's legendary TJ's bar.

The funeral procession and service for the 66-year-old were bookended by loud and long applause and cheers as the cortege paused outside TJ's, and later as it left St Paul's Church.

This was a very fond public farewell, musicians and music fans joining family, friends, and former Merchant Navy colleagues to say a last goodbye.

Members of Newport band Goldie Lookin' Chain were among several hundred people forced to listen to the 30-minute funeral service outside the church, on Commercial Street, as the rain grew heavier.

This was in many respects a gathering of opposites, traditional black mourning dress mingling with the black jeans and t-shirts beloved of generations of music fans. But all were united in tribute to Mr Sicolo, who died on Sunday March 14.

Inside, priest-in-charge at St Paul's, the Reverend Justin Groves, told a packed congregation that Mr Sicolo "will be remembered for all the good he did and tried to do for Newport and for south Wales."

Everyone who had been to TJ’s, he said, would have "fantastic memories of fantastic bands and a fantastic atmosphere, and of a welcoming and generous man.

"This is an opportunity to reflect and give thanks, and to cherish treasured memories."

Earlier the funeral cortege, stopping traffic for a few seconds on Clarence Place, had paused at TJ's while the crowd that had gathered outside applauded the man who had owned the club in its various guises for decades.

'I felt I had to come today'

THE funeral service ended with the rare combination of the Last Post, followed by the classic Monty Python song Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.

Reverend Groves said it was a day of great loss but also of great celebration for a life that touched so many people.

Many of them were inside and outside St Paul's, and they gave one last round of applause as the cortege left for St Woolos Cemetery.

One, Steff Broadwell, from Bristol, attended TJ’s gigs more than 20 years ago.

"I used to come over regularly then, it was great," he said.

"I just felt I had to come today, because before John died, I'd read about the problems with the possible closure.

"It's sad. It feels like the end of an era, but I hope it isn't."