Jump to content
Just visiting?

Birmingham's Music Scenes

Marka Ragnos

By Marka Ragnos
in Off Topic

 Share

Recommended Posts

Xela Grand Master

Xela

Posted
Posted

Saw Fergie at Godskitchen one NYE @Morley_crosses_to_Withe - what a night that was. 2002 I think. 

Brum had a great clubbing scene back in the day - Godskitchen, Gatecrasher (formed in Brum before moving to Sheffield), Sundissential, Moneypennys, etc. 

Great venues as well - Que Club, Code, The Sanctuary.

Happy days! 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
danceoftheshamen Experienced

danceoftheshamen

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Morley_crosses_to_Withe said:

Did you ever meet Fergie? It was De Vit who tutored him and help kickstart his career. 

I remember being out in Wobble and a good friend of mine at the time (we’ve lost contact over the years) brought over someone he knew to introduce them. The person in question was Fergie. If I remember correctly, he was still just playing warm up sets in one or two places at the time. 

I followed his career for a while, but eventually became out of touch as I got older and more detached from the scene in general. It was this April that I suddenly became reminded of him. I was strolling along the Vegas strip and saw Fergie’s face and name up in lights to promote his residency at Hakkasan nightclub. What a career he ended up having. 

I did indeed meet Fergie & actually played on the same line up as him a few times. Up in sheffield mainly at Insomniacz where I was a resident in the early days before the promoters had a spat & fell out lol! Fergie actually asked me the name of one of the tunes I had just played as he loved it and wanted to nick it lol! I didn't know him that well but we crossed paths a few times & always exchanged pleasantries etc. Your right though Tony did get him in to Sundissential and his career took off from there pretty much. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
tinker Grand Master

tinker

Posted
  • VT Supporter
Posted
On 29/08/2022 at 19:23, Xela said:

Saw Fergie at Godskitchen one NYE @Morley_crosses_to_Withe - what a night that was. 2002 I think. 

Brum had a great clubbing scene back in the day - Godskitchen, Gatecrasher (formed in Brum before moving to Sheffield), Sundissential, Moneypennys, etc. 

Great venues as well - Que Club, Code, The Sanctuary.

Happy days! 

Cream as well, many a night dancing around some shit hole in hockley. Wobble was a bit special as well, right mixed bunch in there . 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mjmooney Grand Master

mjmooney

Posted
  • VT Supporter
Posted

Just been playing the final Move album (Message From the Country) and the debut ELO album, which were recorded at the same sessions, and then somewhat arbitrarily split into the 'cello tunes' and the 'saxophone' tunes for the two parallel 'bands'. And you know what? They'd make a damn fine double album - the short-lived sweet spot with Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne working together. Like Lennon and McCartney, they went on to more commercial success separately, but for my money were never quite as inventive again. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
bielesibub Proficient

bielesibub

Posted
Posted

Before I left the midlands ('94), I think most of the time I saw bands at the Barrel Organ. Occasionally, The Pen and Wig, The Hummingbird, The Institute. I've got a 'memory' where I think I saw Napalm Death in a pub in Brum, Costermongers? although most probably not and it was some copy band and I was blind drunk at best.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Xela Grand Master

Xela

Posted
Posted
9 hours ago, tinker said:

Cream as well, many a night dancing around some shit hole in hockley. Wobble was a bit special as well, right mixed bunch in there . 

@bickster was a huge fan of Cream in Liverpool :P 

 

  • Confused 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Xela Grand Master

Xela

Posted
Posted

Hey @sidcow,  funny that this article turned up on Birmingham Live, a couple of days after this thread was started! We know newspapers trawl Mumsnet and Tik Tok for stories... looks like they keep an eye on VT as well :D 

 

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/music-videos-show-birmingham-different-24833222

Quote

For a better look at the Rum Runner, we only need go back in time one year. The Beat filmed Mirror In The Bathroom there, and club regulars will remember the bathrooms well.

As a bonus, there's a shot out on the street that uses the reflection of a window. Blink and you'll miss it, but a C&A sign is visible for a couple of seconds, giving away Corporation Street.

Flash forward to 1991, and we have The Wonder Stuff's Caught In My Shadow. The Stourbridge band gathered what looks like a few hundred people to film outside St. Philip's Cathedral, in our beloved Pigeon Park.

 

  • Shocked 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
sidcow Grand Master

sidcow

Posted
  • VT Supporter
Posted
1 minute ago, Xela said:

Hey @sidcow,  funny that this article turned up on Birmingham Live, a couple of days after this thread was started! We know newspapers trawl Mumsnet and Tik Tok for stories... looks like they keep an eye on VT as well :D 

 

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/music-videos-show-birmingham-different-24833222

 

Crikey. We should be getting Royalties. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
tinker Grand Master

tinker

Posted
  • VT Supporter
Posted
3 hours ago, Xela said:

Hey @sidcow,  funny that this article turned up on Birmingham Live, a couple of days after this thread was started! We know newspapers trawl Mumsnet and Tik Tok for stories... looks like they keep an eye on VT as well :D 

 

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/nostalgia/music-videos-show-birmingham-different-24833222

 

Might encourage some decent content, rather than the 'out of a box' news articles they keep running. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cyrusr Mentor

cyrusr

Posted
  • VT Supporter
Posted
32 minutes ago, tinker said:

Might encourage some decent content, rather than the 'out of a box' news articles they keep running. 

If they produce an article on the virtues of gravy on fish I'm going to get mighty suspicious :suspect:

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
It's Your Round Grand Master

It's Your Round

Posted
Posted
On 26/08/2022 at 20:30, Marka Ragnos said:

Birmingham's Music Scenes past and present.  Who are some of your favorites, past and present?

As an outsider looking in, to me Birmingham seems uncommonly blessed with an incredible music history. I'm just obsessed with certain parts of it I know. I don't know why exactly. The whole two-tone thing is the best. Just can't get enough. 

There are so many names I've heard of and love (Dave Wakeling is a favorite of mine), but many are surprises to me. 

 The more obscure the better, even if they're unsigned or pub covers bands and DJs, etc. -- I don't care.  Feel free to expand it out to West Midlands. If you have links to videos, I'd like to see.  

The late Tony DeVit is my third cousin, actually. Sadly died before I met him. 


 

I missed this thread, some great memories from Brum’s best. My memories are all of the club scene variety. I didn’t know TDV like @danceoftheshamen did, but I did see him live on a few occasions. He was the real pioneer of hard house, and I still listen to his music and mixes today. I met Fergie once or twice, and he got me on the guest list for a hard house event in Milton Keynes, nice lad with an enviable record collection.

I spent A LOT of time in the clubs of Birmingham from 1996 to around 2005. Godskitchen and Sundissential were my favourite club nights/days. But special mentions to other nights like Polysexual, Babooshka, Miss Monepenny’s, Kudos, Atomic Jam, Flashback etc… some great times. I’d have to say the Que Club was my favourite venue, such a good place to get lost in. 
 

I don’t know what the club scene is like in Birmingham today, I imagine it’s none existent outside of your cheesy drinking clubs. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
sidcow Grand Master

sidcow

Posted
  • VT Supporter
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Xela said:

Some views of the city in this video

 

You can kind of see why they were tipped to make it but also see why they didn't. 

And to be honest it looks like he casually flicked past a Blancmange record without a second thought there so can **** off anyway. 

Edited by sidcow
  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Marka Ragnos Grand Master

Marka Ragnos

Posted
  • Author
  • VT Supporter
Posted
52 minutes ago, sidcow said:

You can kind of see why they were tipped to make it but also see why they didn't. 

And to be honest it looks like he casually flicked past a Blamanche record without a second thought there so can **** off anyway. 

Kind of hate the production. Too echoey reverby, everything gets a bit washed out. To me they look like English kids trying to act like American kids from the late 90s acting like English kids from the 70s. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sidcow Grand Master

sidcow

Posted
  • VT Supporter
Posted
57 minutes ago, sidcow said:

You can kind of see why they were tipped to make it but also see why they didn't. 

And to be honest it looks like he casually flicked past a Blancmange record without a second thought there so can **** off anyway. 

In fact it was Blind Vision. Scum, pure scum. 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Risso Grand Master

Risso

Posted
Posted
On 09/09/2022 at 18:40, bielesibub said:

Before I left the midlands ('94), I think most of the time I saw bands at the Barrel Organ. Occasionally, The Pen and Wig, The Hummingbird, The Institute. I've got a 'memory' where I think I saw Napalm Death in a pub in Brum, Costermongers? although most probably not and it was some copy band and I was blind drunk at best.

That's when I left Brum too. As well as the places you mention, there was also Edwards No.8.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...
Â