![]() In south London, there's The Bird’s Nest in Deptford, a friendly boozer-turned-hostel hosting bands, art and lively conversation, and the New Cross Inn in Lewisham. Reggae, mod, ska, punk – it’s got the lot. Outside of Camden, there’s a community centre in Tottenham called T Chances that regularly hosts gigs, art class and dance workshops – a scroll through its varied calendar of events is a sonic journey through the UK’s youth subcultures. He describes Garageland as "showcasing up-and-coming '77-style punk rock and garage punk bands, with three to four bands playing live and DJs spinning early punk and garage vinyl." Garageland takes place on the second Friday of every month at The Unicorn in Camden and entry is free, but donations are encouraged. Promoter and photographer Spike Valtzer launched this club night in 2010 as a return to London's 1977 punk rock roots. To hear the sounds of this subculture, look no further than Garageland. "Every punk, young or old, has a story of a band that shaped them, of a song that grabs them by the stomach and made them think about the world in a different light, and it’s these bands and these songs that drive people to take action." Keep an eye on for upcoming gigs. ![]() The beach of the river Thames, for example, is an area that the public have a right to access but it is essentially private property owned by the Queen through Crown Estates." Trespass is about reclaiming that space and using it to promote progressive causes – the last gave a platform to TCOS, the campaign against the Garden Bridge.įor Kerr, it all starts with music. “The Trespass Gigs are a definite reaction to that. "We all feel the pressure of a changing city, a sense that the powers that be are constantly pushing the undesirable elements out to the fringes, whether that’s in terms of race, class, or subculture,” he says. The gigs are organised by Jay Kerr, who champions the "socially conscious" element of punk culture. For the last two years the foreshore has become a mosh-pit for mohawked DM-wearers as bands thrash it out on a makeshift pallet stage, just a stone’s throw from the Oxo Tower and ITV Studios. But it’s also become an unlikely music venue. The Thames foreshore: patrolled by seagulls, made pretty by the occasional sand sculpture, but mostly a collection point for fag ends and whatever else South Bank tourists leave. Punk Ethics: Trespass gigs May Mansur performing at a Trespass gig on the Thames beach in September. ![]() There's a handful of indie promoters and venues who still host gigs here and around the city, sometimes in places you might not expect. Camden – where The Clash shot the moody, glaring alleyway pic for the cover of their debut album – is slowly being colonised by high street chains, but it hasn’t lost its gritty charm completely. Yes, it’s true London’s venues have been closing at an alarming rate (in the past ten years, 40% have kicked out their last punter for the final time) and punks have felt that loss keenly. Whether it’s an angry lyric and a raucous beat at a gig, a two-fingers-to-the-establishment attitude at a political protest, a DIY aesthetic you can’t buy in Urban Outfitters, or – crucially – a fierce sense of comradeship, you’ll find it all still going strong in London's punk scene. But if you were paying attention to social media you'd have noticed that the punk community, which is very much alive and kicking, don't all agree with Corré's "bonfire of the vanities", as one critic called it.*Īlthough most of the original spaces where punk erupted – squats, art schools, colleges, venues and rehearsal studios – might have gone, there are still pockets of London that show that punk isn’t just an artefact to be peered at inside a perspex box. The son of late Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and designer Vivienne Westwood marked the 40th anniversary of the movement by burning £5m worth of memorabilia to protest its endorsement by the likes of Boris Johnson and the very establishment it set out to tear up. Or so lingerie salesman Joe Corré would have you believe. Friends at Dead and Buried, a regular club night which specialises in "Old School Goth, Deathrock, Post Punk, Gothabilly, Punk and Electropunk" Photo: Chris Low (2016)
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