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Post by Lord Emsworth on Aug 5, 2021 7:16:38 GMT
What are/were your favourite venues?
Which didn't you like?
Then and now
Let's talk gig venues
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Post by personunknown on Aug 5, 2021 8:02:35 GMT
Loads of good ones around the Midlands and South Yorkshire, I'll have a think and get back later. Worst? Probably The Rock Garden, Covent Garden. Not the owners or promoters fault but the times I went, there would be a congregation of right wing boneheads and just before an encore it would kick off. I got smacked in the mouth as we were leaving for absolutely no reason at all.
NB I got some form of revenge a month later when I pushed a NF supporter down an esculator.
The Lyceum on the Strand was great but it was one of the most expensive places for drink. A can of warm lager was over a quid in 1979, back then you could get four cans for 99p. Two drinks in that place was more than the actual ticket.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Aug 5, 2021 8:15:47 GMT
Yes, the Lyceum was fantastic and regularly had great lines ups on a Sunday night.
I have always also always liked the Roundhouse, and Hammersmith Odeon
The Nashville was a goodie too.
And of course the good old 100 Club
Less good...
Earls Court was a big old cavernous place with bad sound. Also Empire Pool Wembley.
Brighton currenty has some great venues... The Concorde 2, Green Door Store, The Albert, The Hope and Ruin, and, for larger gigs, The Dome. All very enjoyable places to watch music.
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Post by stu77 on Aug 5, 2021 11:10:32 GMT
I was too young for iconic Manchester venues like the Gallery , Factory, Hard Rock Cafe, Squat, Electric Circus, Lesser Free Trade Hall and the Ranch - though I did go to legendary punk venue Rafters in a later incarnation. The Hacienda I always found somewhat overrated.
The University venues are probably my favourites. I think one of them is in the Stiff tour documentary that's on Amazon Prime. The Ritz is quite good as is Band on the Wall.
One I really miss is the Boardwalk.
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Post by doug61 on Aug 5, 2021 11:35:31 GMT
Best...Marquee, mainly because it was like a second home to me for a few years.
worst...London Astoria, remember seeing Sigue Sigue Sputnik there and being charged £5 for a single can of pissy lager. (no bitter available)
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Aug 5, 2021 11:51:52 GMT
The Hacienda I always found somewhat overrated The Hacienda was a rubbish live venue. Sound was shocking and it was v uncomfortable place for all the trendy styling worst...London Astoria, remember seeing Sigue Sigue Sputnik there and being charged £5 for a single can of pissy lager. (no bitter available) I thought the Astoria was okay. No Bitter is an outrage though, as were the prices I saw the Beastie Boys there once and it must have been the hottest day of the year. Talk about a sweatbox. |
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Post by doug61 on Aug 5, 2021 15:06:51 GMT
The Hacienda I always found somewhat overrated The Hacienda was a rubbish live venue. Sound was shocking and it was v uncomfortable place for all the trendy styling worst...London Astoria, remember seeing Sigue Sigue Sputnik there and being charged £5 for a single can of pissy lager. (no bitter available) I thought the Astoria was okay. No Bitter is an outrage though, as were the prices I saw the Beastie Boys there once and it must have been the hottest day of the year. Talk about a sweatbox. Actually the worst was "The Tunnel club" by the Blackwall Tunnel. Saw John Otway there around mid 80's and my mate's bird had a coke and it was full of ants. John Otway had to sit on a drinks crate pre gig to chat to us as there were only a couple of chairs and the toilet had black mould all up the wall. A complete and utter shithole. |
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Post by stu77 on Aug 5, 2021 16:11:42 GMT
Did anyone here go to:
The Vortex
Brixton Fridge
Dingwalls
Hammersmith Palais
Wag Club
Speakeasy
The only London venues I ever went to were Brixton Academy, Wembley Arena and Earls Court which as mentioned was a bit rubbish.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Aug 5, 2021 17:25:20 GMT
Did anyone here go to: The Vortex Brixton Fridge Dingwalls Hammersmith Palais Wag Club Speakeasy The only London venues I ever went to were Brixton Academy, Wembley Arena and Earls Court which as mentioned was a bit rubbish. It's a yes to.... Brixton Fridge - saw The Fall there and a few others I forget now. Very nice place Dingwalls - saw loads of groups here including The Damned. Small, intimate place and another great venue Hammersmith Palais - Big old place. V evocative given its history. One time I went it was a rollerskating venue and Bow Wow Wow were playing. Bizarre but good. Wag Club - Small and trendy, but nice place. Expensive drinks. |
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Post by stu77 on Aug 5, 2021 17:28:35 GMT
Thanks LE.
I was just reading that Strummer was one of the investors in the Fridge and that Andy C (Roxy) was also involved.
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Post by jsm on Aug 5, 2021 22:49:59 GMT
The thread title is a bit dyslexic!
Anyway, having never been to England during the punk era, I can offer no opinions. Nevertheless, live recordings and NME advertisements led to some sort of fantasies about venues like the Roxy, the Vortex, the Roundhouse, the Electric Circus, Croydon Greyhound, Nashville Rooms, 100 Club, the Marquee, Hope and Anchor, Erics (Liverpool) etc etc.
They were probably little different to the places I was going to. Most were rooms in pubs, but a few were in clubs. Some were huge barns, many were tiny things, but no matter how big or small, they were regularly overcrowded. In the late 1980s, fire regulations started to be taken seriously and crowd numbers had to be restricted. Lots of venues shut their doors for good then
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Post by jsm on Aug 6, 2021 5:17:13 GMT
Not that it means much to anybody here, but one of my favourite venues was upstairs at the Civic Hotel. It was a run-down 1940 art deco pub. Totally yuppyville today apparently, but a major punk venue in late 1970s-early 1980s. I saw so many bands there: Hitmen, X, Mental As Anything, Radiators, Singles, Popular Mechanics, Clones, Lipstick Killers, Rejex, Numbers, Thought Criminals and many more. International acts played there sometimes as well, I remember Wreckless Eric appearing there.
I used to have the poster below, but lost it somewhere along the line. I used to think it was very evocative of the place
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Aug 6, 2021 6:09:12 GMT
The thread title is a bit dyslexic! Corrected - thanks |
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Aug 6, 2021 6:09:45 GMT
Thanks LE. I was just reading that Strummer was one of the investors in the Fridge and that Andy C (Roxy) was also involved. Yes, that's right It was also a club too as I recall but I only ever went there as a venue |
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Post by zeopold on Aug 9, 2021 16:45:36 GMT
Did anyone here go to: The Vortex Brixton Fridge Dingwalls Hammersmith Palais Wag Club Speakeasy The only London venues I ever went to were Brixton Academy, Wembley Arena and Earls Court which as mentioned was a bit rubbish. I went to the Vortex on the wrong night, when it was just plain old Crackers Discotheque  Also been to the Fridge and Dingwalls, possibly the Wag, although it might have been the Beat Route, memory a bit hazy on that one. I went to the Palais a few times as a punter (PiL was a good show) and once played there with my band, opening for Killing Joke |
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