Is There Anyone Out There? Documenting Birmingham’s Alternative Music Scene 1986-1996 is a new exhibition co-curated by the Centre for Media & Cultural Research at Birmingham City University and the Birmingham Music Archive.
It’s running from 4th-28th May, Monday to Saturday 9am – 7pm and its free entrance.
Here is the exhibition blurb, it’s going to be great so whether you went to the Click Club, interested in Birmingham music and heritage or fans of Primal Scream, Sea Urchins, Killing Joke, Suicide, Mighty Mighty, James, Sugarcubes (Bjork on Broad St!!!) and many many others, come and see unseen photos, original posters, tickets, contracts (what did Primal Scream ask for in their rider in 1986?) as well as incredible live footage of the bands and what Broad St looked like in 1986.
‘Is There Anyone Out There?’
Documenting Birmingham’s Alternative Music Scene 1986-1990
4-28th May 2016
Parkside Building, Birmingham City University, Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7BD
Established in 1986 by Dave Travis and Steve Coxon, The Click Club was the name of a concert venue and disco associated with Birmingham’s alternative music culture. Located in ‘Burberries’ – a conventional nightclub site in the pre-regeneration city centre, the club showcased a wide variety of acts reflecting the varied culture of the independent and alternative sector.
While capacity was limited to a few hundred attendees on any one night, The Click Club was important locally, nationally and internationally, for the role it played as part of a touring circuit, and for distributors and retailers of independent music. As a central feature in a music scene operating on a DIY-basis, independent of major labels, at the intersection of subcultures it also had enormous cultural value for its participants.
Travis continues to be a key cultural entrepreneur. Known initially as a professional photographer, commissioned by music publications such as NME, Sounds and the local Brumbeat amongst others, he has combined his photographic work with the promotion of live music in the city.
This exhibition draws upon Travis’ personal archive of film, posters, magazines and ephemera that detail a vibrant and dynamic space and time in late 80s Birmingham.
Central to the exhibition is a set of previously unseen images taken by Travis at The Click Club, a small proportion of those produced during a professional life as a music promoter and photographer.
The exhibition draws upon first hand accounts of those who were there and includes loaned artefacts in order to contextualize The Click Club in a historical moment that remains important to its community and to the music and cultural heritage of Birmingham.
The exhibition poses a series of questions: what is the value of this material? What does it tell us beyond confirming the memories of the individuals it concerned? Does such material have wider importance and contributions to make to our understanding of the past?
While the exhibition will appeal to those who attended The Click Club as well as those curious about popular music more generally, it is aimed at a broader audience interested in history, urban life, everyday creativity and the cultural economy.
Conceived and curated by scholars from the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research Paul Long, Jez Collins (founder of Birmingham Music Archive), and Sarah Raine, the exhibition develops themes from BCMCR research clusters in Popular Music Studies and History, Heritage and Archives.
Previous work includes: UK Film Council funded production of: the film ‘Made in Birmingham: Reggae Punk Bhangra’ (www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrVa3v9U8mU); establishment of a project to develop the archival preservation of the production culture of Pebble Mill (www.pebblemill.org); research into the archive of BBC documentarist Philip Donnellan; collaborations with Vivid Projects on the history of The Birmingham Film and Television Workshop and Catapult Club Archive (see: www.vividprojects.org.uk).
If you would like to attend the exhibition Launch Event on the evening of 3rd May please RSVP to: anna.pirvola@bcu.ac.uk
You are welcome to join us over the duration of the exhibition and we would be pleased to welcome you and discuss the project.
We spoke to Steve and Dave about the club, why and how they set it up and about Birmingham at that period. Here’s taster for the Podcast which will be available soon.
For more information and exhibition materials contact us directly.
Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research: www.bcmcr.org
Birmingham Music Archive: www.birminghammusicarchive.com
There Are Currently 5 Comments for this Post
This exhibition looks tremendous – I will gather together a few geriatric groovers and head on down
There was another alternate music scene at the Turks Head pub circa 1988 until 1992 the Birmingham Experimental Music Network was a monthly meeting place and concert showcase for experimental musicians in the underground cassette culture.
Wow…I was actually thinking about you 2 days ago ,and now this !!!. Thanx for the ignited southern comfort back in 88. We’ll have to get involved with this revival matey. All the best…NIC
Have just been reading through, great write up. Rewakened some great times. I was working at Blueberries at this time and could not wait for a Tuesday for the Click Club. There were some great bands that appeared and can remember being chatted up by Damon Albarn who could hardly stand up! From consumption of brandy and coke. Still have a few entry tickets and a whole lot of funny memories! Shame I missed the exhibition only 2 years late
Saw many gigs at “the click club” in that period. One night that really stands out was a Sugarcubes gig . Must have been around 1988/89. I was standing near the bar chatting with friends . When a girl said ” excuse me “, she was carrying a tray of empty pint classes and heading to the bar to refill. On the way back she brushed past me.
It was Bjork !