Preston Venue 5 – Caribbean Club Part 1

Located on the corner of Kent and Canute St buried in the back streets of Deepdale, near a couple of old battered boozers you would have found the Caribbean Club (formerly the Twang Club). It was basically an old social club and had one side for members and the other for functions and gigs. It had excellent bar staff and the capacity was probably around 400. I frequented it four times between 1985 and 1992. The venue closed in 2009.

One of those visits was my first gig of a new decade on 05/01/90 to see Snuff, a South London Ska/Punk band. I had been bought their debut album for Christmas. I would contend that the album title is the longest one in history, namely –‘Snuffsaidgorblimeyguysstonemeifhedidn’tthrowawobblerchachachachachachachachachachachayou’regoinghomeinacosmicambience’.

John, Uncle George and I were in attendance and we met in the Moorbrook pub. John had the night before interviewed the then PNE chairman Keith Leeming for the club fanzine ’53 Miles West of Venus’.

I cannot recall the name of the first band, but they did covers of Prong songs. Blammo were the main support and were fronted by a Mark E Smith lookalike. I bought a 50p flexi disc afterwards and I may still have it somewhere.

Snuff came on about 11.15 and they did a combination of original tracks and astutely chosen cover versions. ‘Somehow’ and ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ were standout tracks. They were and remain a great live act and were very crowd interactive. They also played Bran Flakes (They’re tasty!) and Shake N Vac jingles at 100mph. They played to 12.15 and I remember a chap approached them afterwards with a computer printout of every venue they had played – obviously a kindred spirit!

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Snuff, pictured in 1990. Image Credit blogspot.com

Now at a couple of other gigs I have just been out of the frame on crowd pictures on NME gig reviews, namely Screaming Blue Messiahs and F—-d Up. However, my moment of fame had arrived as the NME review afterwards outlined it as a great gig despite a couple of slightly dodgy individuals pogoing away in front of the stage, I am so proud of that reference etched forever in black and white print!

My last attendance was on 08/02/91 to see the Membranes. I was living in various grotty rented rooms from 1989-1993 and didn’t attend many gigs in that period due to lack of funds. This state of play was exemplified by this being my first gig for 5 months. On the Friday afternoon of the gig I bought my first car from a friend of mine – a classy Beige Allegro!

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A not dissimilar looking motor, but not me driving! Image Credit flickr

Quick car tale – I recall once being on the motorway and encountering two other Allegro’s following each in the inside lane so I joined on the back to create a convoy of three Allegro’s for a few miles – hopefully providing a quirky sighting for motorists speeding past.

Prior to the Membranes gig, there was a works outing I joined up with in the Exchange pub at 5pm. Later that evening there was a split in the fellowship as a good portion heading off to another do at Grasshoppers Rugby Club. Myself, George and a couple of other lads via Pickwicks Tavern landed at the gig about 9.30, with admission fee of £2.50.

Support was an anarchist band called Archbishop Kebab, whose name was the best thing about them as their lead singer was pretty woeful. Between bands the DJ spun one of the Husker Du’s finest tunes, their bracing cover of Byrds ‘Eight Miles High. Big Al and Gordon from Action Records wandered in to the venue at this stage.

Membranes are a post punk band from Blackpool formed in 1977 fronted by John Robb and were at that stage a three-piece. They broke up shortly after this gig and reformed in 2009 and are still on the circuit.  They were very loud and decent and played to 12.15. They were maybe a tad too industrial for my tastes, but a good time was had in the moshpit.

We had been out for a fair spell so were all flagging so wended our way home. Woke up next morning, no hangover and buzzing, got outside, car wouldn’t start…………  

To complete the Allegro tale, it finally gave up the ghost about three years later and was towed unceremoniously to the scrap yard which happened to be about 200 yards from the location of the Caribbean Club!

London Second Trip

In October 1987 my brother and I headed off on a sally to London and attended a flurry of gigs in a similar vein to Mr Heaton Hibs comment on London First trip. We travelled down by train on Saturday 24th October and swiftly dropped the bags at our lodgings, the Calvados Hotel in Victoria. We then scarpered off to take part in an Anti-Apartheid rally with 75,000 other participants. On arrival at the final destination of the march at Hyde Park, where Rolling Stones once played a famous free concert in 1969. There were various speakers but also a short enjoyable set from the Bhundu Boys.

That evening we headed up to Harlesden, an Irish enclave in North West London. There was some fine Guinness on tap in the pubs, one had about 20 pints already half pulled in preparation for the incoming orders. Our terminus was the Mean Fiddler, a honky tonk venue run by Vince Power, who went on run the Leeds/Reading festivals. It was opened in 1982 taking over from a dubious drinking club run by boxer Terry Downes, the venue subsequently closed in 2002.

It is was a fabulous venue with very laid-back country music booming out. We saw Townes Van Zandt there who was significantly inebriated but was enjoyable nonetheless and played to 11.25pm. He was support to the Dave Kelly Band, but we had to leave before then to catch the last tube which managed to get us to within a mile walk of the digs.

We had a gig free day on the Sunday. On the Monday afternoon we had a double bill of movies watching The Untouchables and then Rivers Edge featuring Dennis Hopper and a very young Keanu Reeves. We headed into Camden later that day to visit Camden Dingwalls. The venue first opened in June 1973 and was home to Blondie’s first ever UK gig and remains a venue to this day, in fact I was in the bar there for a cheeky beer about a year ago and it is significantly more gentrified nowadays.

It was a £1.50 entrance fee and was a bit of a battered venue in those days. I recall purchasing a scooby snack of some fine cheese salad butties. The first band were Brilliant Corners who were pure pop music and they were superb. I recall them playing ‘Brian Rix’ and the excellent ‘Delilah Sands’, I still own the 12-inch version. They were supporting the Happy Mondays who weren’t great and I was never really a fan, but 12 months later they were huge…

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Brilliant Corners. Image credit danicanto.com

The original plan for the Tuesday was to see Michelle Shocked but it was a Mexican Restaurant gig so we hunted down an alternative gig. After visiting the Forbidden Planet comic store, we travelled over to Angel Tube station. We visited a couple of hostelries on what was a windswept night and then headed over to City University on Northampton Square. The venue was on the second floor of the University, full of long corridors. The first band was Raw Herbs who were somewhat appropriately very studenty but enjoyable. Corn Dollies were on second, Janice Long reportedly a fan, who had to cut their set to 30 minutes to meet the 11pm curfew. Both were East London bands.

The City University venue is nearby the Lexington, a venue twice in recent times I have tried to attend, both without success, but I am nothing but perseverant so I will get there eventually.

By our last day in London on the Wednesday we were proper jaded. We bought tickets for our farewell gig from a ticket outlet in Camden at lunchtime and then went to view Blue Velvet, a surreal David Lynch movie. A stock take at the digs revealed we had £15.50 in the coffers thus funds were running perilously low. Off to Kentish Tube we weaved heading into the Town and Country Club at 10pm to see the Bhundu Boys again. The venue had that name between 1985 and 1993 and is now badged the O2 Forum.

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Bhundu Boys. Image Credit blogspot.com

I do recall a bloke at the bar offering to buy us a round, thinking back now he probably thought I was a waif and stray who he may be able to take advantage of. More fool him as I gratefully accepted the beers and strode back off to the sprung dancefloor.

It was an excellent venue with winding steps leading up to packed balconies with a responsive audience dancing and swaying away to the Zimbabwean vibes. I managed to get within four rows of the front and they were excellent with the lead singer tipping his hat after every tune. We had earlier won on the bandit so we could rather decadently buy a Chinese each, some fags for my brother and have £3 left in our pocket!