F Club
OwnerJohn Keenan
TypeClub-night
Genre(s)
Opened1977
Closed1982

The F Club was a punk rock, post-punk and new wave club night in Leeds that ran between 1977 and 1982.[1][2] Beginning as the Stars of Today in a common room in Leeds Polytechnic, it was held at various venues across the city during its tenure, which also included the Ace of Clubs and Roots. After moving to Brannigan's in 1978, it changed its name to the Fan Club.

In Karl and Beverley Spracklen's book The Evolution of Goth Culture it was described as the space "where gothic rock was born in the form it is now".[3] The club was foundational in the emergence of the goth subculture and led to other high profile clubs in the scene, such as the Batcave.[4] It was frequented by members of many influential post-punk and gothic rock groups such as the Sisters of Mercy,[5] Gang of Four,[6] the March Violets, New Model Army and Southern Death Cult.[3]

History

The original members of the Sisters of Mercy met and had their first performance at the F Club in 1980.

The club night began in the summer of 1977 under the name the Stars of Today. Founded by John Keenan, Graham Cardy and Shaun Cavell, the night originally was hosted in an available commonroom in Leeds Polytechnic.[7] While here, it hosted performances by acts such as the Slits, XTC and Slaughter & the Dogs.[8] When the summer ended, the University did not wish for the night to continue leading to it relocating to the Ace of Clubs in Woodhouse. Here, the club changed its name to the F Club in reference to how to the flyer for the final event at the University read "Let's get the 'F' out of here". In order to keep the attendees through this move, the club introduced a £1 membership scheme, where members would be admitted for cheaper.[9][8] While here, the night was host to groups such as X-Ray Spex, Wayne County & the Electric Chairs, Sham 69,[10] and early performances by the Mekons and Gang of Four.[8] In 1978, it moved once again to Roots in Chapeltown,[11] where it hosted Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and Rich Kids.[12] In August 1978, it relocated to the basement of Brannigan's on the corner of Call Lane and Lower Briggate. With this move it changed its name to the Fan Club, due to a leaflet by the Leveller claiming the "F" stood for "fascist".[9][8][13] Here it hosted the Cure.[3] It was here that Andrew Eldritch and Gary Marx, who would go on to be the founding lineup of the Sisters of Mercy first met. In 1981, the March Violets played their first performance at the venue, followed by the Sisters of Mercy's first performance. Bands such as Soft Cell,[14] New Model Army, the Danse Society, Skeletal Family and Southern Death Cult also formed at the club during this period.[3]

On the third and fourth of October 2007, the New Roscoe hosted thirtieth anniversary performance for the club.[1] On 12 October 2012 Brudenell Social Club hosted 35th anniversary concert headlined by Penetration with support from Expelaires and Knife Edge reforming for the occasion. On 18 August 2018, the Brudenell Social Club hosted forty-first anniversary reunion show for the former members of the club.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "What the F....!!". BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  2. ^ Issitt, Micah. Goths: A Guide to an American Subculture. pp. xix.
  3. ^ a b c d Spracklen, Karl; Spracklen, Beverley. The Evolution of Goth Culture: The Origins and Deeds of the New Goths. p. 46.
  4. ^ Ripped, torn and cut: Pop, politics and punk fanzines from 1976. 2018.
  5. ^ Searle, Maddy. "40 years of Soft Cell - and 5 other Leeds bands worth celebrating". i. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  6. ^ Simpson, Dave. "Pubs, disco and fighting Nazis: how Leeds nurtured British post-punk". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  7. ^ Butt, Gavin (2022). No machos or pop stars: when the Leeds art experiment went punk. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 9781478023234. The Stars of Today club, held at the Polytechnic Common Room over the summer months of 1977, set the template. Established by Graham Cardy, a member of Leeds band Mirror Boys, Polytechnic fine art student Shaun Cavell (later known as Sean Cassette), and soon-to-be legendary promoter John Keenan, Stars of Today set out to promote, and provide a stage for, "new wave" music and bands... In its short run it presented gigs by national and international bands including the Vibrators, Wayne County and the Electric Chairs, and the Slits, as well as local bands s.o.s., Severed Head and the Neck Fuckers, Mirror Boys, and Cheap and Nasty (the latter featuring the first ever stage appearance by Marc Almond at a gig as the band's go-go boy)...The F Club, the more renowned and longer-running successor to Stars of Today beginning in 1977 and continuing into the 1980s, provided a stage for many punk, post-punk, and (in the 1980s) goth bands that otherwise wouldn't have found such a ready place to play. Across various venues over the course of its existence it hosted gigs by Penetration, X-Ray Spex, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Magazine, Big in Japan, and Cyanide.
  8. ^ a b c d "Come As You Are – John Keenan & Dave Baguley". Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  9. ^ a b Liggins, Len (June 2023). "John Keenan interview". Roar Magazine. The beginnings of the club were in the summer of 1977. I had already promoted a few shows at Wakefield Unity Hall (The Heartbreakers / The Vibrators etc.) and at Leeds Poly. A friend of mine, Graham Cardy, had managed to gain hold of the Poly Common Room, in the Arts block. He asked me to come in with him and promote some gigs, as he didn't have any money, I booked the main bands and he added the supports, including a couple of times, his own band The Mirror Boys. Under the banner, 'Stars of Today', I booked The Slits, XTC, The Police, Ed Banger & The Nosebleeds, The Vibrators, The Spitfire Boys and a few more. We had a great crowd, students mixing with townies, but all with similar ideals. I wouldn't say it was a punk club, the music was splitting in all directions, and there were some interesting people attending gigs, talented misfits, but always with character... When the summer break came to an end, the Poly Committee told us to vacate the premises. – I really wanted to keep the group of regulars we had all together, so came up with the idea of a club, £1 to join but with discounts for members. The name came to me in a flash, I wrote a flyer to distribute at the last gig with all the details and finished it with the words: "Let's get the "F" out of here".
    The DJ, Sean, and Graham didn't come with me on the move to The Ace of Clubs, but Claire Shearsby did, she was an integral part of the club until the end... In reality, the club only lasted 9 months under that name. A far left-wing magazine, The Leveller, had printed a story stating that the "F" stood for "Fascist". I promoted The F Club first at The Ace of Clubs, (a former Cabaret club) and next at Roots in Chapeltown, run by a friend of mine, Carl Young. When I moved it to Brannigans in the Autumn of 1978, I renamed it, The FAN Club, but people still refer to it as The F Club to this day.
  10. ^ "46 YEARS OF JFK". Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  11. ^ Jones, Jane Hector. "From the F club to Go4 to proto Goth : Post punk Leeds : and in depth look at how punk impacted on the city". Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  12. ^ "46 YEARS OF JFK". Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  13. ^ Andrews, Mark. "Life Before Alice: Andrew Eldritch, Leeds & The Birth of The Sisters of Mercy". The Quietus. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  14. ^ Electronic Sound. 2015. p. 13.
  15. ^ "The F Club Reunion Show". Retrieved 30 November 2019.
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