I unearthed this CD-R, which I compiled and burned on 1st June 2005, featuring "alternative 1980s twelve inch mixes". This got me reminiscing about going to alternative clubs in Bristol, such as Badlands and The Whip. The latter I've discovered has had it's own Facebook page for years...I'm always late to the party! In all honesty, I think the majority of these songs would never had made it near the turntable of most of the clubs I went to at the time. Attempting to play The Icicle Works or U2 would likely have resulted in a Snakebite shower, but Is This The Life, How Soon Is Now?, Uncertain Smile and She Sells Sanctuary were regularly played, along with Fetish by Vicious Pink and Nag Nag Nag by Cabaret Voltaire. I'm not sure if it was always there, but I remember Badlands being in a small room above a huge club called Busbys (maybe Ritzys by that time), so there was always the fun of 'mingling' with the mainstream crowd on the way in and out. The Whip was even more fun in that respect as it was in The Studio, in a small room off the main club area, and you had to run the gauntlet of pissed up lager louts dancing to Stock, Aitken & Waterman to get to and from the bogs. A limbering up session at The Bunch Of Goths on Denmark Street usually got you ready for the long night (& morning) ahead, followed by an 'all back to mine' at someone's place in Stokes Croft or a 'keep going til the dawn' refresher at the wonderful Jamaican Good Food in St. Pauls. Great times.
1) The Love Parade (12" Version): The Undertones (1983)
2) Is This The Life (12" Version): Cardiacs (1988)
3) Summertime (Extended Version): Fun Boy Three (1982)
4) Hollow Horse (Long Version: The Icicle Works (1984)
5) She Sells Sanctuary (Long Version): The Cult (1985)
6) Finest Worksong (Lengthy Club Mix): R.E.M. (1987)
7) Two Tribes (Carnage): Frankie Goes To Hollywood (1984)
8) How Soon Is Now? (12" Version): The Smiths (1984)
9) Driving Away From Home (I Mean After All It's Only 'Dead Man's Curve'): It's Immaterial (1986)
10) Two Hearts Beat As One (Club Version): U2 (1983)
11) Skin Deep (Extended Version): The Stranglers (1984)
12) Uncertain Smile (Extended Version): The The (1982)
It was indeed great times..the difficulty was how to dress! Me and my mates used to allocate time to both - eg go into the whip for certain times as the songs were like the ones on your playlist and then go mainstream for part of the night. You had the pastel shirts brigade who were likely to be fighting in the main bit and the sullen gothmeisters in the whip. I loved the contrast tbh. Also can you remember the stairs to the studio - bit of a lottery as to whether you got beaten up on the way up or down if you didn't look the part..
ReplyDeleteThere were definitely times when as much time was spent getting ready to go out as actually going out...! Yes, I'm with you on the split appeal of the Studio. The Shamen's Pro>gen (or Move Any Mountain, as it was re-titled) was guaranteed to get me on the main dancefloor, although I was looking decidedly less Goth by 1991. Yes, I remember the stairs well, though I was fortunate enough to avoid a kicking. I'm pretty sure the ice rink was still open as we were queuing to get in, to add to the surreal experience.
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