GIG VENUE, NOTTINGHAM.
As I place I used to frequent a lot, associated with the punk and new wave scene, it has a great part to play in the late seventies music scene in Nottingham. Big shots from Britain and further afield played there but also the local bands who were finding their feet in this new era. It wasn’t a punk club per se, it had been around since 1973, and local heroes Gaffa had played there in late 1975 but it undoubtedly had its heyday from late ’77 onwards. That was when Dave Nettleham, who had been promoting punk and new wave groups at Katies in Beeston, struck a deal with Peter Groves in his search for a city centre venue.
There is a facebook group which gives a great account of those heady days.
History – 1973
The Sandpiper club was opened by Peter Groves on Friday 9th November, 1973. It was a regular late night club billed as a “Restaurant and Nightspot”. It was another addition to Nottingham’s nightlife which had “Scamps”, “Tiffany’s (formerly Intercon), the Ad Lib Club, the Palais and many more. The rock and gig scene was served by The Boat, The Imperial, The University, Moor Farm Inn and any where else they could bag a gig.
The usual diet of a “Ladies night”, “Disco”, “Party Bookings” and “Live entertainment” was on offer along with restaurant and bars. The first house DJ was Alex who was described as “that mad hard to understand Scottish DJ”.
In the first two months at the end of 1973 the new Sandpiper club had live entertainment to entice customers in and the first groups to play were very much in the cabaret style, sometimes playing three nights, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The opening act were Slack Alice, a good choice, who were the exception, in that they were a pub rock, bar room boogie band with the energetic lead singer Alice Spring at the helm sounding similar to Suzi Quatro and I imagine they were good opening nights. A little more on Slack Alice later.
First bands.
The ads don’t quite seem to tally with the dates of Limelight and Western Union but these were the first six acts who played the Sandpiper unless one had to pull out and was replaced by the other. I’m not quite sure.
SLACK ALICE – Friday Nov 9th, Saturday Nov 10th
FAMILY AFFAIR – Thursday Nov 15th, Friday Nov 16, Saturday Nov 17th
LIMELIGHT – Thursday Nov 22nd, Friday Nov 23rd, Saturday Nov 24th
WESTERN UNION – Thursday Nov 29th, Friday Nov 30th, Saturday Dec 1st
CARL’S FABLES – Thursday Dec 6th, Friday Dec 7th, Saturday Dec 8th
FRESH AIRE – Thursday Dec 13th, Friday Dec 14th, Saturday Dec 15th
Monday Dec 31st – New Years Eve Party
Family Affair were an up and coming cabaret act. Mansfield/Nottingham band Limelight were still a cabaret act at this time but would evolve into a heavy rock band by the end of the seventies. Western Union were a country and western act from Liverpool led by Mike Kinney. Carls Fables were a well known and well liked Nottingham group led by Carl Abrams who had had a popular act on the club circuit since the mid sixties. Fresh Aire were a three piece harmony group who would appear on TV.
1974
March
In 1974 the DJ at the Sandpiper club was Kevin “Funky Bunk” Johnson.
August
HOUNDOGS
In August there was a Rock & Roll Revival Show with Nottingham group “Houndogs” who were around for a couple of years between 1973 and 1975. In the early to mid seventies a British rock and roll revival took place, mainly low key but manifested itself chart wise with acts like Alvin Stardust and Shakin’ Stevens. Another rock and roll revival group doing the rounds was “The Earthquakes” (from Derby). The Nottingham group were not the same as the 60’s Nottingham group also called The Hound Dogs.
Sept
December
1975
In October of 1975 Chris Burke’s Jazz Band played some late night spots at the Sandpiper which was still billed as a cabaret club. Nottingham had a long and rich tradition of jazz groups and even by the mid seventies they were still ploughing their trade wherever they could.
Also working for Peter groves at the Sandpiper was D. Nehra as they advertised for business. In the newspaper cutting below, in a strange coincidence, is a gig at the “New Unity Club” in Beeston featuring ever present Nottingham bluesman Colin Staples with his mid seventies group “Staple Diet”. The new Unity Club had previously been the “Manchester Unity” (an Oddfellows society) and would become “Katies” in 1977, that would have a direct link to the Sandpiper club at a later date. More on that story later as they say.
GAFFA
On Thursday November 6th a gig at the Sandpiper featured Nottingham group “Gaffa” and I would say that this was the first down to earth rock gig at the establishment. Gaffa who were formed in 1971 were local favourites throughout the seventies and straddled the era’s of rock, punk and new wave with their no nonsense songs with Nottingham slang and observations. While not being a punk band per se they later garnered admiration from Some Chicken (Nottingham’s first punk group) and trailblazed the difficult terrain of the lack of suitable venues for young Nottingham groups not content with the clubland circuit and safe covers bands. In a bold piece of advertising Gaffa were described as “The group who could do for Trentside what the Beatles did for Merseyside”.
Although Gaffa may have provided a genuine rock gig at the Sandpiper it was, nevertheless, still a cabaret club and the resident group at the end of 1975 was “Crystal Clear”.
1976
1977
July
November
The launch of the new wave club.
Dave Nettleham had been promoting punk and new wave bands at Katies in Beeston during 1977 but was actively looking for a city centre location for his gigs. He persuaded Peter Groves that live gigs would be a boon to his club and as a business man willing to try something new he said yes. The gig on the 10th November 1977, The Buzzcocks, originally billed at Katies was to become the first at the new Sandpiper venue.
List of punk/new wave gigs at the Sandpiper. (Gigs prior to this opening date are listed as they happened in the lead up story).
Lets see if we can get a complete list of all the gigs that happened. I went to lots but my mind is probably just as fuzzy as yours so fingers crossed.
Lets start like this. Gary Dorrington from punkmusiccatalogue has sent me this list up to the end of 1978. He admits there is some uncertainty or conflict of dates and he has just marked them as unsure. If I can substantiate or disregard any I’ll change them later.
10/11/1977 Buzzcocks, Lurkers
16/12/1977 Steel Pulse
22/12/1977 Crabs
23/12/1977 Penetration
26/12/1977 Wayne County & The Electric Chairs
29/12/1977 Black Slate
30/12/1977 Some Chicken
04/01/1978 Depressions
05/01/1978 Merger
06/01/1978 Stukas
11/01/1978 Sham 69, Siouxsie & The Banshees
12/01/1978 Nut Roast
13/01/1978 Skin Patrol, Slaughter & The Dogs
19/01/1978 Reggae Regular
20/01/1978 Suburban Studs
25/01/1978 Magazine, Some Chicken
26/01/1978 Earthquake, Merger
27/01/1978 Prefects, Some Chicken
01/02/1978 Eyes, Tyla Gang
02/02/1978 Tradition
03/02/1978 Advertising, Crabs (unsure), Pre-De’s
04/02/1978 Some Chicken (unsure)
08/02/1978 Matt Black & the Pin Ups, Wire
09/02/1978 Black Slate, Café Jacques, Eyes
10/02/1978 Bethnal, Ultimate
15/02/1978 Boyfriends, Pre-De’s, Skin Patrol
16/02/1978 Exodus
17/02/1978 Depressions, Psycho Normal & His Stiff Victims
18/02/1978 Some Chicken (unsure)
22/02/1978 Drones, John Cooper Clarke, Slugs
23/02/1978 Favourites
24/02/1978 Penetration, Transmitters
02/03/1978 Bernie Torme, Boys
03/03/1978 Adam & The Ants
04/03/1978 Press, Some Chicken
08/03/1978 Sham 69
09/03/1978 Ventilators (Ventz)
10/03/1978 Adam & The Ants Lou’s, Pre-De’s, Subway Sect
14/03/1978 Sham 69
16/03/1978 Vibrators
17/03/1978 Levi & The Rockats, Wayne County & The Electric Chairs
18/03/1978 Press, Some Chicken
19/03/1978 Slaughter & the Dogs (unsure)
23/03/1978 Slaughter & the Dogs
24/03/1978 Depressions (unsure), Pyscho Normal
25/03/1978 Penetration
27/03/1978 Depressions
30/03/1978 Deaf School, Pirates
31/03/1978 Depressions (unsure), Pre-De’s, Ultimate, X Ray Spex (unsure), Suburban Studs (unsure)
01/04/1978 Patrik Fitzgerald, Some Chicken
06/04/1978 Smirks
07/04/1978 Gloria Mundi
13/04/1978 Adam & The Ants
14/04/1978 Bernie Torme
15/04/1978 Patrik Fitzgerald, Some Chicken
20/04/1978 Screens
21/04/1978 Sham 69
22/04/1978 Doctors Of Madness
27/04/1978 Banned
28/04/1978 Depressions
29/04/1978 Jaywalkers, Some Chicken
03/05/1978 Dead Fingers Talk
04/05/1978 Café Jacques, Yachts
05/05/1978 Automatics
06/05/1978 Blitzkrieg Bop, Eater, Slaughter & The Dogs (Do It Dog Style Tour)
10/05/1978 John Otway
11/05/1978 Johnny Moped, Penetration
12/05/1978 Cherry Vanilla
13/05/1978 Some Chicken
17/05/1978 Adverts, Cortinas (unsure)
18/05/1978 Crabs, Mik Bostik, Press
19/05/1978 Invaders (Yorkshire band)
24/05/1978 Pirates
25/05/1978 999, Young Ones
26/05/1978 Bernie Torme, Young Bucks
27/05/1978 Trapeze
29/05/1978 Gruppo Sportivo
01/06/1978 Sham 69 (cancelled), Soft Boys
02/06/1978 Accelerators
03/06/1978 Strife
07/06/1978 Only Ones
08/06/1978 Cortinas
09/06/1978 Apostrophe, Raw Deal (Leicester band)
15/06/1978 Subway Sect
16/06/1978 Lurkers (unsure), Turbines
23/06/1978 Cyanide, Jack Knife
30/06/1978 Chelsea, Those Naughty Lumps
01/07/1978 Straight Eight, Tyla Gang
05/07/1978 Bram Tchaikovsky’s Battleaxe (debut gig)
07/07/1978 Some Chicken, White Cats (Rat Scabies)
08/07/1978 Gloria Mundi, Patrik Fitzgerald
14/07/1978 Soft Boys
18/07/1978 Shirts (USA), Tourists
21/07/1978 Advertising (unsure)
22/07/1978 Limelight
24/07/1978 Smirks
28/07/1978 Lurkers, Two Timers
29/07/1978 Dodgers
02/08/1978 Spizzoil
04/08/1978 Blitzkrieg Bop (unsure), Satan’s Rats, Whirlwind (cancelled)
10/08/1978 Joker
11/08/1978 Gang Of Four, Rezillos
12/08/1978 Zhain
15/08/1978 Bram Tchaikovsky’s Battleaxe
16/08/1978 Dole (unsure)
17/08/1978 Destructors, Stadium Dogs
18/08/1978 Dole, Spasm(s)
19/08/1978 Dead Fingers Talk, Luxhound Deluxe (Out Of Nowhere)
22/08/1978 Bitch, Skrewdriver
23/08/1978 Turbines
24/08/1978 Tiger Ashby
25/08/1978 Turbines
26/08/1978 Agnes Strange
28/08/1978 C Gas 5
31/08/1978 Punishment Of Luxury
01/09/1978 Intellektuals, Miami Dolphins
02/09/1978 Strange Mist
06/09/1978 Atlas
15/09/1978 Jolt, RBQ, Remus Down Boulevard (unsure), VIP’s
Chris remembers
“Looking up the band listing for the Sandpiper Club and saw RBQ, the band I was in, mentioned on 15/9/78 with Jolt. I seem to remember only playing there once and we were supporting the Chris Millar Band, who we had never heard of, until the man himself got behind the kit and we realised it was Rat Scabies. Not sure whether I got my dates wrong but it was round that time”.
“I remember it being ‘The Chris Millar Band’ but I may have the date wrong and was going by the date on the listing were I saw RBQ mentioned. That said, it would have been around that time. We played our set and then carted the gear back to the van when CMB were setting up their stuff and that’s when we realised who it was and we left shortly after getting paid, about £20-25. So I think it was just a solo thing of his especially billed as Chris Millar Band. I remember the place being quite small and I seem to recall going downstairs to get to it but that might have been elsewhere”.
16/09/1978 Tanz Der Youth
20/09/1978 Turbines, Ultravox
21/09/1978 Yachts
22/09/1978 Chelsea, Those Naughty Lumps
25/09/1978 Whizz Kids (UK band)
27/09/1978 After The Fire
29/09/1978 Armitage Shanks, Eater
30/09/1978 Smiffy
02/10/1978 Gaffa, Slip Hazard & The Blizzards, Tourists (Rock Against Racism)
05/10/1978 999, Razar
07/10/1978 Cheap Flights
12/10/1978 Nu Crabs (Crabs), Neon Hearts
13/10/1978 Invaders (Yorkshire band)
14/10/1978 Limelight
15/10/1978 Whizz Kids (UK band)
19/10/1978 Smirks
23/10/1978 Wire
26/10/1978 Benny & The Jets, Directors
27/10/1978 Wayne County & The Electric Chairs
03/11/1978 VIP’s
04/11/1978 Paralex (NWOBHM)
09/11/1978 C Gas 5
10/11/1978 Gloria Mundi
11/11/1978 Sucker
16/11/1978 Squeeze
17/11/1978 Stadium Dogs
18/11/1978 Samson
20/11/1978 Wire
23/11/1978 Butterflies, DP’s (Depressions)
24/11/1978 Art Failures, Gang Of Four
25/11/1978 Special Clinic
16/12/1978 Tiger Ashby
29/12/1978 999 (unsure)
Much more later …..