clair056

Blackheath Cavern, also known as Jack Cade's Cavern, was a  series of caves under Blackheath Hill in Greenwich South East London (presumably still there but no longer accessible). In the mid-19th century it was used for social events, including 'For one night only' on 'Monday November 16th 1846' a 'Grand Bal Masque' -  'The effect of Music in the Cavern is truly wonderful'. The advert promised that the cavern was to be turned into 'A capacious ball room, capable of holding 1500 persons', with a  'powerful quadrille band' providing the music at this 'Carnival in the Bowels of the Earth' (West Kent Guardian, 7 November 1846). The following month the same promoter, Mr Richard Fyffe, put on another Masquerade at the St Helena Tavern, a pleasure gardens in Lower Road, Rotherhithe. Seemingly the Blackheath event had not gone well due to 'bad ventilation and excessive crowed. At St Helena Tavern, a 'Fashionable Place of Amuse...

It's getting hot - time to take the fields and beaches people. Wicklow (Ireland) - Herald.Ie 18 July 2012 Raves are regularly taking place on the outskirts of the capital, it has emerged. The illegal parties in remote rural and wooded areas in Wicklow have become commonplace despite efforts by gardai to stop them. The raves have been held in areas such as Devil's Glen and Mahermore Beach since 2001 and there have been several already this summer according to one organiser, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Gardai are working with locals to prevent these raves but are "playing catch-up" according to Rathnew councillor John Snell.  "What you're trying to deal with now is social media. Word spreads so quickly that in more cases than not the event is over before the gardai get a handle on them." He described the nature of the parties as "cloak and dagger kind of stuff... There aren't any posters for these events. Unless you're mixing in the...

Somebody else can write the cultural history of how the punk look was gradually domesticated in mainstream hairdressing during the 1980s - for now I will just say 'great hair'! These examples all from Alan and Linda Stewart's Rainbow Room (and Rainbow Room Education) in Glasgow. From Hairdressers Journal : '1986 Blonde Cropped 'Its Band Aid for your Easter Bonnet', Anne Simpson, Glasgow Herald, 23 April 1984) From Hairdressers Journa l: '1984 Punk Quiff'

Last week I had the opportunity to visit a rarely opened archive in South London. The basement of New Cross Learning (the volunteer-run library/community space in New Cross Road) holds the collection of the Lewisham Local History Society, an eclectic assortment of specifically local artifacts and general 'old things' assembled over the years with an aim of one day forming the basis of a museum collection.  Naturally I was intrigued by some of the musical items, including this metal sign for the old 'Music for Pleasure ' label. I spent some of my teenage wages from working in the library and Debenhams (like someone in a Belle & Sebastian song) on these budget LPs, often consisting of early material or live recordings from well known bands.  My favourite was 'Relics', a fantastic compilation of Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd. The archive also include various bits of semi-obsolete technology stacked up on the shelves. Here's an Alba gramophone: Most evocative...

Interesting short article on mid-1980s London pirate radio and hip-hop: Soul pirate on the air waves By Jaswinder Bancil (South London Press, 13 July 1984) "Steve Devonne is, by his own admission, one of the major figures in London's hip-hop scene. As a regualr broadcaster on the soul pirate station Invicta, Steve was among the first to introduce scratch and mix sounds over the air waves in the capital. Most of the exposure given to this type of record has largely been confimed to clubs. But hip-hop is not the only sound the 26-year-old DJ plays. His slot at the Maze club in Soho every Friday night is strictly soul. He explained, 'I'm still a soul and funk man, but I also believe I have a wide enough perspective to cover hip-hop. Already established soul artists like Herbie Hancock and Shannon are showing obvious hip-hop influences on their records. It's going to continue to have an effect on mainstream music'. Born in Lambeth, but raised in Wandsworth, Steve h...

It's now been four months since Maria Alyokhina, Yekaterina Santsevich and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were arrested and detained in Russia. Their alleged  'crime' was to perform an anti-Putin song with their punk band Pussy Riot in an unauthorised pop-up performance at a Moscow cathedral. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova Last week they started a hunger strike in protest at the authorities threatening to put them on trial at short notice without them having time to view the 'evidence' against them. Back in the Cold War, people locked up for expressing their political views in the USSR were hailed as heroic dissidents by Western leaders.  Now David Cameron sucks up to Putin while the latter locks up his opponents. Putin is likely to come to London on a 'private visit' during the Olympics . I imagine that anybody trying to demonstrate against him will also find themselves behind bars.

' Punk's Dead' is a book of photographs by Simon Barker (Six), with an exhibition of some of the photos at Divus Temporary, 4 Wilkes Street, London E1 until July 7th. Jordan 'In 1976, when I moved into the St. James Hotel in London, I bought myself one of the cheapest pocket cameras available. Fully automatic, with no controls or settings, it just required a simple slot-in film cartridge. An idiot could use it - and I did. | I knew I did'nt want to be like other photographers, so I chose never to take a black and white photograph or focus the camera. Subconsciously I concentrated on the women and artists at the heart of what would later be known as 'punk' in London.  Women such as JORDAN, SIOUXSIE, DEBBIE JUVENILE, TRACIE O'KEEFE, ARI UP, POLY STYRENE and NICO . Artists and writers such as MALCOLM MCLAREN, HELEN WELLINGTON-LLOYD aka HELEN OF TROY, BERTIE MARSHALL aka BERLIN and DEREK JARMAN. The book PUNK'S DEAD is a product of that camera and those ...