Venue Stories: Narratives, Memories, and Histories from Britain’s Independent Music Spaces

Venue Stories is an anthology of creative non-fiction that remembers, celebrates and reinvigorates our complex and plural relationship with small and independent music spaces. Written by musicians, promoters, fans and academics who have a shared passion for small music venues and musical cultures in all their splendid variety, this anthology features memoir, essays, life writing, historiography and autoethnography. Each chapter is united by a focus on the personal, the sensory and half-remembered. These are stories that cross disciplinary lines and blur distinctions between creativity, reportage and critical analysis. Venue Stories pays a visit to the toilet venues, back rooms and ad-hoc club nights that make up so much of our musical landscape. It spends time in small and local venues and asks what they mean in personal and cultural terms. Writers visit celebrated spots, long forgotten spaces and emergent venues. Whatever the lineage, they are independent, original and wonderfully weird. The stories are memories of seismic gigs and life-altering raves. They are mosaic remembrances and recollections; funny, heart-breaking, rage induced and sometimes a combination of all of these things. This is a collection of stories by and for fans, band members, merch sellers, pint pullers, journalists with a freebie, roadies with a backache and sound techs with an earache.

Foreword Emma Warren, Journalist and Broadcaster Introduction Helen Pleasance, Robert Edgar and Fraser Mann 1. Peripheral Dancing: The Jazz Rooms, Brighton 1984 Helen Pleasance 2. Finding the Dirt: Nesh at Elektrowerkz Fraser Mann 3. Chatting to Jarvis Robert Edgar 4. Fascinating Rhythms Beth Hughes, Writer 5. The Bull & Gate, Kentish Town, London 1987-1991 Polly Hancock, Musician, Photojournalist and Promoter 6. Weapons of Bass Destruction Kevin Narrainen, Musician, Producer and Writer 7. Girls with Guitars Vim Renault and Lene Cortina, Punkgirldiaries 8. (Princess) Charlotte and her 1980s offspring O'Jays Ruth Miller, Musician 9. The Brewery Arts Centre Peter Atkinson, University of Central Lancashire 10. 'Nothing Comes Easy': Small Venue Concerts with The Wedding Present David Lewis Gedge (Musician) and Jon Stewart (Musician and BIMM Institute) 11. In Memory of the Standard: Hard Rock in East London Anna Marie Barry, Historian and Writer 12. The New Breed - 1990s Mod Revival Scene in Leeds Abigail Gaines, Photography Studio Manager 13. Sitting on the Bench in Leicester's Charlotte Ed Garland, Writer 14. Kings Cross, Kentish Town and Kensington Gore via Gallowgate: In Search of the Goldilocks Zone Julianne Regan, Musician and writer 15. Spiritual Auras: Jungle Venues in Birmingham and the West Midlands 1993-7 Penelope Wickson, Art Historian 16. The Wheat from the Chaff Matt Colbeck, University of Sheffield 17. More than a Club: The Genius Loci of Eric's Penny Kiley, Music Journalist 18. Coming of Age at the Warehouse, Liverpool 1981 Dawn Amber Harvey, Writer 19. The Rainbow Venues and Swingamajig: Closing the Doors on the Home of One of Birmingham's Favourite Festivals Chris Inglis, British and Irish Modern Music Institute, Bristol 20. Sold-out, Locked Out, Power Out Tom Hingley, Musician and Writer 21. Mothers Club in Erdington Alan Smith, Writer 22. Music Spaces & Music Memory Anna Elias, Musician and Therapist 23. Glitter, Rubber Ducks, and Dinghies: The Georgian Theatre and the Teesside Gigging Community in the Early-2010s Amy McCarthy, Writer 24. The Rock Garden: Conversations with my Dad, a Punk-rock DJ Tom Jackson, York St John University 25. ...For a Girl Tarryn Watkins, Musician Final word Mark Dafyd, Music Venue Trust,

Table of Contents Foreword Foreword Emma Warren Introduction Fraser Mann, Robert Edgar, Helen Pleasance Chapter 1 Peripheral Dancing: The Jazz Rooms, Brighton, 1984 Helen Pleasance Chapter 2 Finding the Dirt: Nesh at Elektrowerkz  Fraser Mann Chapter 3 Chatting to Jarvis Robert Edgar Chapter 4 Fascinating  Rhythms  Beth Hughes Chapter 5 The Bull and Gate, Kentish Town, London 1987-1989 Polly Hancock Chapter 6 Weapons of Bass Destruction  Kevin Narrainen Chapter 7 Girls with Guitars Vim Renault,Lene Cortina Chapter 8 (Princess) Charlotte and her 1980s Offspring, O’Jays Ruth Miller Chapter 9 The Brewery Arts Centre Peter  Atkinson Chapter 10 ‘Nothing Comes Easy’: Small Venue Concerts with the Wedding Present David Lewis  Gedge,Jon Stewart Chapter 11 In Memory of The Standard: Hard Rock in East London  Anna Maria Barry Chapter 12 The New Breed: 1990s Mod Revival Scene in Leeds Abigail Gaines Chapter 13 Sitting on the Bench in  Leicester’s Charlotte Ed Garland Chapter 14 Kings Cross, Kentish Town and Kensington Gore via Gallowgate: In Search of the Goldilocks Zone Julianne Regan Chapter 15 Spiritual Auras: Jungle Venues in Birmingham and the West Midlands 1993-1997  Penelope Wickson Chapter 16 The Wheat from the Chaff  Matt Colbeck Chapter 17 More than a Club: The Genius Loci of Eric’s  Penny Kiley Chapter 18 Coming of Age at the Warehouse,  Liverpool, 1981 Dawn Amber Harvey Chapter 19 The Rainbow Venues and Swingamajig: Closing the Doors on  the Home of One of Birmingham’s Favourite Festivals Chris Inglis Chapter 20 Sold-out, Locked out, Power out  Tom Hingley Chapter 21 Mothers Club in Erdington Alan G. Smith Chapter 22 Music Spaces and Music  Memory Anna Elias Chapter 23 Glitter, Rubber Ducks, and Dinghies: The Georgian Theatre and the Teesside  Gigging Community in the Early 2010s Amy McCarthy Chapter 24 The Rock Garden: Conversations with My Dad, a Punk-rock DJ Tom Jackson Chapter 25 …for a Girl Tarryn Watkins Conclusion Final Word Mark Davyd

• By (author) Robert Edgar