Many bands have played at the Amersham Arms in New Cross over the years, and upstairs in the pub a few of them seem to be commemorated with their promotional photos framed on the wall (click to enlarge). Bit of a random collection - from top there's Beki Bond (also known as Beki Bondage from punk band Vice Squad); Attila the Stockbroker & John Otway; and The Barely Works.
Naturally this selection has got my musical archaeologist brain working. Obviously these photos date from the pre-internet days when a band's idea of self-promotion amounted to sending round black and white glossy pictures of themselves. London folkies The Barely Works existed from 1988 to 1993, so that narrows it down to a five year period. The caption on the Beki photo says Beki Bond (Bombshells) - the band she played with after Vice Squad and Ligotage from 1986 afterwards. Otway and Attila have been gigging for decades around London, separately and sometimes together. But in 1991 they made an album together called 'Cheryl, a Rock Opera'. So I am guessing that the Amersham Arms photo collection dates from around then.
Anyway back to the future, American songwriting legend Jonathan Richman is playing at the Amersham Arms on October 9th. Expect to hear the words 'One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six...'
Hugely looking forward to the Jonathan Richman gig - so happy that he's visiting our little corner of London. Does the £20 ticket price qualify this as most expensive scuzzy night out in SE London 2010? :)
ReplyDeleteIt does sound a lot for a gig in the Amersham Arms, then again it is an intimate gig with a global legend.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it was free admission to see and hear the band that I was the drummer for when we played the Amersham Arms, on 1st December 1968. Our name was The Blades and we did have promotional photos that we handed out, although I doubt if you will find one upstairs at the Amersham Arms. Our manager's previous proteges (Jaymes Fenda & The Vulcans) released a single in 1964, after appearing on the TV show 'Ready, Steady - Win!'. We had our sights set much lower and were quite happy playing pubs and social clubs.
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