Inside Out West visits Songs from the Shed near Clevedon

The shed near Clevedon in North Somerset is a former army billet

A rickety garden shed in North Somerset has become a surprise session venue for musicians and bands.

Performances in Jon Earl's shed can only be seen online as the venue is too small for an audience.

The idea for Songs from the Shed came about when friends met to discuss how to make use of the building, and one suggested inviting a musician to play.

"Something in the back of my mind went click and away we went," Jon told BBC Inside Out West.

'It's about going back to the roots of music,' says Jon

The whole set-up is low-tech and back-to-basics, with Jon filming and recording the acoustic gigs on his compact digital camera.

"You put the loudest musician at the back and the quietest ones at the front," he explained.

"It throws some of them [the bands] slightly when they first come in as they're used to sound checks and that sort of thing, but they quickly get used to the idea that they're in a shed and it's about the moment, not about perfection."

Initially, Jon just expected local bands to play in the shed and he was amazed when professionals began asking if they could arrange a session there.

Jon thinks the success is down to the shed's sheer simplicity.

"There's no setting up. They arrive, they take their instruments out of their vehicle, they come into the shed.

"Some of them take an hour, some are in and out in 15 minutes.

"It's about going back to the roots of music."

Inside Out captured one music star of the 1970s going back to his musical roots.

Steve Harley plans to blog about his shed gig in his online diary

Steve Harley, who had massive chart success with Come Up and See Me (Make Me Smile) in 1975, took time out of his tour schedule to head for the shed.

Jon Earl filmed Steve strumming the original version of his hit song and the rock star clearly enjoyed his visit to the unusual venue.

"This is just as exciting to me as going round the Hermitage at St Petersburg, which I do when I play there.

"This is Jon's little shed... and for me, seeing it, being invited in, is special.

"It'll go in my diary - I post a diary online on my website - and it'll be as good a read as anything I've done on the tour."

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You can see BBC One's Inside Out West on Monday, 10 January at 7.30pm, and on the BBC iPlayer for seven days after transmission.