Situated at 57 Atlantic Road was the Frontline theatre. The Frontline was based in the premises of the Brixton Community Arts Centre.
The centre first sprang to life at the end of 1980, having been set up by a group of unemployed musicians and artists.
The tiny venue was used for amongst other things, music, cabaret and poetry events. However, it also briefly became the home (from November 1982 to late 1983) to The Garage Club. For a short time The Garage Club became home to the emerging garage/trash movement, which was inspired by the likes of 60s garage bands and contemporary bands such as The Cramps.
The scene formed around a nexus of bands such as The Cannibals, The Stingrays and The Milkshakes.
Sounds journalist Ralph Traitor described the club in an April 1983 article thus: “It’s a charming little dump, secreted beneath railway arches through a banged-up wooden door, about twice the dimensions of the average British front room…Lighting is low, beer comes in cans and the damp is pervasive-basically the classic setting for real rock ‘n’ roll music of all eras”.
The club was started by The Cannibals’ Mike Spencer because “Nobody would put us on…we looked around and found this place. It was love at first sight really.”
Thanks to Mike Spenser we also have some footage of bands playing at The Garage on his Youtube channel, such as this version of You Really Got Me by The Directors:
We have listed below the gigs advertised in the music press for the Garage Club in 1982 and 1983. The pool of talent for the genre seems to have been fairly small given the number of repeat performances.
1982
19th Nov-Stingrays/The Changelings
26th Nov-The Milkshakes/The Corvettes
3rd Dec-Stingrays/Killed in Action
10th Dec-Cannibals/The Changelings
17th Dec-Stingrays
1983
7th Jan-Changelings/The Commuters
14th Jan-Stingrays/Wagstaff
21st Jan-Milkshakes/UA
28th Jan-Motor Boys Motor/Killed in Action
4th Feb-Stingrays/Jailbirds
11th Feb-Cannibals/The Commuters
18th Feb-20 Yards Behind/Killer Tomatoes/
4th March-Bad and the Bone/Changelings
18th March-The R&B Band/Sugar Beats/Dandelions
1st April-Unrepentant Garbage/The Stingrays/Some Barracudas
8th April-The Directors/Route 66
15th April-Killed in Action/Avant Gardeners/Earth Band/Bob’s Yer Uncle
22nd April-Stingrays/The Hi-Beats
29th April-Jailbirds/Roadrunners
6th May-Cannibals/Smokestack
13th May-Directors/Busy Beats
20th May-Steve Hooker & The Shakers/Smokestack
27th May-Limehouse/Orson Family/Wendy and the Whippets
3rd June-Stingrays/Jailbirds
24th June-Directors/Jailbirds
1st July-Jailbirds/The Onions
22nd July-Jailbirds/The Onions
26th August-Fractured Nerve
8th July-Milkshakes
15th July-Route 66/Episode 4
29th July-Directors/Downbeats
5th August-Prisoners/Ramblers
19th August-Sweet & Bitter/Jailbirds
1st September-Cannibals
No more adverts for gigs appear for the rest of the year. Then in November 1983 the Melody Maker announced that the Garage Club had now moved to the Clarendon Hotel in Hammersmith.
At the start of 1983, the venue was also briefly used for non garage trash bands, listed below. Not many name bands here apart from comedian Norman Lovett and John Peel favourites Serious Drinking. Culture Shock may have referred to the punk band of the same name or could have been the name of a residency, as it repeats several times.
Non Garage Gigs-1983
8th Jan-The Fluts/Mason Units
3rd Feb-Mambo Jambo/The Sex Kittens/The Ramblers
5th Feb-The Remarkable Family/Jailbirds/A Shade Too Far
10th Feb-Sweet & Bitter/Jailbirds
12th Feb-The Ramblers/Spot Czech
17th Feb-The Ramblers
19th Feb-Spiritual Leaders/Serious Drinking
21st Feb-Thud/Sally Patience/The Great Dantet
3rd March-Norman Lovett/The Ramblers/The Jailbirds
5th March-Ramblers/Exit Stance/Jailbirds
9th April-The Innocents/Rhythmic Itch/Ra Ta Ta Ta
7th May-No Witnesses/Inappropriates
11th May-The Artex Wall/Culture Shock
19th May-The Directors
21st May-No Witnesses/Inappropriates
26th May-Wreck and Ruin
28th May-Rhythmic Iran/Rambles/Garden of Wizardry
2nd June-Little Darlings/Bad Actors
4th June-Sweet & Bitter/Repulsion/The Dossers
9th June-Smokestack/Red Shift
11th June-Culture Shock
18th June-Spiritual Leaders/17 Fish
25th June-Coldharbour Lane/Francis Chappell & Sons (Is this right? Ed)
2nd July-JJs/Pop Ikons
7th July-Culture Shock/Little Darlings
9th July-Remarkable Family/Call Spare
13th July-Culture Shock/Sweet & Bitter/Tony Moorwood
16th July-Emotional Play/Shrinking Violets
20th July-Cosmic High/Innervision/Pete Sinclair
21st July-Little Darlings/Smokestack
23rd July-Route 66/Fractured Nerve
27th July-Culture Shock/Arazoa/JC 3/4 I’ve farted
28th July-Wreck and Ruin/Deadly Sins
30th July-Think it over/Sweet & Bitter/Bruce Harman
3rd August-Abdul and The African Culture/Pete Sinclair
4th August-A Shade Too Far/Timbuktu
6th August-Remarkable Family/New Neopolitans
10th August-JC 3/4 I’ve farted/The Other Man/Atozoa
11th August-Red Cloud
17th August-London Combo/Pete Sinclair
18th August-Monomix/Timbuktu
20th August-Stick It/17 Fish/Bruce Harman
25th August-Drunken Boat
26th August-Fractured Nerve/Street Aliens/Pete Sinclair
28th August-Rhythmic Itch/Monomix
1st September-Johnny Seven
2nd September-Stick It
3rd September-Exit 43/Dancette
10th September-Nan Tuck Five
23rd September-Animation
22nd October-Fractured Nerve
brixtonmusicmemories 