Katies – Notts Music Archive

Club in Beeston, Nottingham particularly remembered for being Nottingham’s first punk club.

In context at Punk in Nottingham 1970’s

Katie’s was a club on Middle Street, Beeston which is best remembered as one of the first venues in Nottingham where punk groups would appear regularly, in late 1977. Called Katies from August 1977 onwards, the place had been the New Unity Club from 1974 and the Manchester Unity before that. Dating back to the 18th Century the “Manchester Unity” was an organisation/lodge called Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity Friendly Society Limited.

During 1976 and 1977 M.A. Stubbins (Mascari) ran the club and it was sometimes known as “Mascari’s”. He also owned Mascari’s Snack Bar on Trent Bridge.

In 1977 Dave Nettleham started promoting punk and new wave bands at the venue. This was also alongside some regular bands of the time. Not everything was punk and new wave! David Sketchley DJ’ed sometimes.

A LOT OF GIGS THAT WERE BILLED DIDN’T HAPPEN OR DATES WERE CHANGED

Tom Robinson, The Fall, XTC, The Lurkers and The Depressions played there. Local groups like Some Chicken and Gaffa played there.

In December 1977 Dave Nettleham struck a deal with Peter groves and moved his concern to the Sandpiper club in the Lace Market. When Dave moved to the Sandpiper it didn’t mean that Katie’s stopped having gigs and it carried on putting on events into 1978 at least.

Personally, I had spent my first four working years in Beeston at Plessey (74-78) so I knew the New Unity Club already, which had been a bit of a biker hang out. It was strange seeing some of these new groups in such a place.

Eddie Quarton remembers his one and only visit to see a gig at Katies.

‘I’d seen the Clash at the Palais, and shortly after I saw The Damned and The Adverts at Nottingham University. I heard about X-Ray Spex playing at Katies. I knew about it because I was desperate to see bands. So I cycled from Stapleford to Beeston, it’s only a couple of miles. I padlocked my bike round the corner and went walking over but they saw me and they wouldn’t let me in. I was 16 but looked about 12, I was very freshed faced. So I climbed on the roof because I thought I might get some vantage point where I could see. Dave Nettleham came out and saw me and said ‘what are you bloody doing up there. Get down.’. I explained I want to see the band. He said ‘if you go round the back, Some Chicken will be there and if you help them carry the gear then your in’. I helped carry an amp in and dumped it on the stage and I was in. I never got in again but he told me he was moving his operations to the Sandpiper in Nottingham, if you have any problems getting in he said just ask for me‘.

List of some advertised gigs. That doesn’t mean they took place!! An incomplete list. I’ve put all the dates that turn up ie. 3 for XTC. I’ll try to make a concise list another time.

1974
Saturday 12th Oct – COTTAGE (Probably Rainbow Cottage)
Sunday 13th Oct – BITTER SUITE (Sheffield Group)

1975
Sunday 15th June – DESPERATE DANN (Lunchtime) (Nottm Group)

1976
Sunday 22nd Feb – GAFFA (Lunchtime) (Nottm Group)
Sunday 12th Sept – ELKO (Lunchtime) (Nottm Group)

1977
Saturday 18th June – NED LUDD (Nottm Group)

Saturday 24th Sept – Crazy Night Disco
Sunday 25th Sept – GAFFA, Support Disco Heavy Reggae and New Wave Sounds (Nottm Group)

Thursday 6th Oct – XTC,
Sunday 9th Oct – XTC, FLYING ACES
Saturday 15th Oct – LEFT HAND DRIVE
Sunday 16th Oct – THE DRAINS (Nottm Group), THE SECRET (London/Nottm Group), TRANSMITTERS (Nottm Group)
Thursday 20th Oct – THE FALL
Thursday 27th Oct – THE DRONES, V2
Sunday 30th Oct – STEEL PULSE

Thursday 3rd Nov – RADIO STARS / or maybe it was BLITZ KIDS & EXECUTORS
Saturday 5th Nov – NIGHTRIDE
Sunday 6th November – X-RAY SPEX, SOME CHICKEN (Nottm Group) (X-Ray Spex to be recorded live by Radio Nottingham)
Thursday 10th Nov – BUZZCOCKS, THE LURKERS (Moved to the Sandpiper)
Saturday 12th Nov – VENOM (Billed as ‘Leicester’s top rock band’)
Sunday 13th Nov – BETHNAL
Thursday 17th Nov – SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES
Saturday 19th Nov – QUORUM (Rock band)
Sunday 20th Nov – SHAM 69, BLITZ KIDZ
Thursday 24th Nov – ADVERTISING, BLITZ KIDZ
Saturday 26th Nov – THE DRAINS (Nottm Group), plus support
Sunday 27th Nov – XTC, THE GT’S (Nottm Group), SOME CHICKEN (Nottm Group)

Thursday 1st Dec – 999
Sunday 4th Dec – THE DOCTORS (formely Doctors of Madness)
Friday 9th Dec – RACE AGAINST TIME (Nottm Group)
Saturday 10th Dec – THE BOYS
31st Dec – THE DOCTORS (formely Doctors of Madness)

1978
Thursday 19th Jan – KYRO (Nottm Group)

Sunday March 19th – RACE AGAINST TIME (Nottm Group)

other gigs that did happen, I think.
LURKERS
DEPRESSIONS
TOM ROBINSON

Gigs that didn’t happen, I think.
THE CLASH
THE RICH KIDS