Miners strike benefits 1984: Deptford, Woolwich, Old Kent Road with Test Dept, The Mekons and more

There were many fundraising gigs in support of the miners during their 1984/85 strike, including across SE London. One of the most musically significant took place at the Albany in Deptford in September 1984 where Test Dept played with the South Wales Striking Miners Choir - starting a strong relationship between the two that led to the album 'Shoulder to Shoulder'. I've written about that here before, but there's some additional detail in an interview with Test Dept's Graham Cunnington at Electronic Sound. According to Gra:

“Pat Brown, who was in the Deptford Labour Party at the time, was putting on this benefit at the Albany arts centre, but all the bands he’d earmarked to play had pulled out. Jack Balchin, who was our sound guy and who worked in Deptford and Lewisham teaching music to young kids, said we should do it. He went up to Pat and said, ‘I’ve got the band for you’. Pat had never heard of us, but he said OK, and because we were used to putting on our own shows, we said we’d organise the whole thing. We also said we should have some direct involvement with the mining community, not just do a benefit and send the money out'.  I didn't realise that the Choir was originally pulled together for this gig, rehearsing their songs on the bus on the way to London.

Poster for the Albany gig by Brett Turnbull
(sourced from Test Dept facebook group where there are some pics from the gig)

The Ambulance Station squat on the Old Kent Road also hosted gigs. This 'Solidarity with the Miners' punk benefit in August 1984 featured Your Heterosexual Violence, The Unknown Colours, Violet Circuit and State Hate (I saw the latter play there on another occasion). The Ambulance Station building (which seems to have actually been a former fire station) still stands opposite the Tesco supermarket on Old Kent Road.

In November 1984 The Mekons played a miners benefit at Thames Poly cellar bar in Woolwich with 5 Go Down to the Sea, the Eels,  A Popular History of Signs and the Violet Circuit (again)

See previous posts:

Test Dept and the Miners Strike

Lewisham Miners Support Group/Women Against Pit Closures

Supporting the Miners at Goldsmiths

A mix of music from the miners strike I did a while ago:

 

Gizelle - from Lovers Rock to Acid House

Another great episode of DJ Controlled Weirdness' Tales from a Disappearing City podcast, this time featuring DJ Gizelle, aka Rebel Yelle. As I've said before what I like about this series is how it shows the ways people's lives connect together all these different scenes which people see as separate, and Gizelle has had quite a journey.  Growing up in Catford, she talks about buying records in Lewisham model market and the punk/reggae/ska crossover  including seeing The Clash at the Lyceum and seeing Desmond Dekker playing with Madness at Lewisham Odeon (actually the line up for that 1980 gig also included The Go-Go's with Belinda Carlisle).

As a teenager she joined lovers rock group Charisma, signed to Nevil King's King City Records. They rehearsed above the King City record shop at 494 New Cross Road, with the backing band One Blood. Maxi Priest also rehearsed there.

Later Gizelle worked in local pubs included the Mid Kent Tavern in Lewisham and then Winston's bar in Deptford (where exactly was that?), where she started out DJing in around 1987. Soon she was getting into the early acid house scene, and DJ'd at Asylum nights at the Harp Club in New Cross (soon to be renamed the Venue). I've heard of this before but had no idea that Colin Jerwood from anarcho punk band Conflict was involved in putting on these nights, or that Billy Nasty did a chill out/balearic room upstairs there  Later Gizelle was involved in a night at Thames Poly called Shaboo. Funnily enough I once saw Conflict play there, as well as at the Ambulance Station on Old Kent Road.

Looking forward to the next episode of this, no doubt some good stories of moving from playing at acid house clubs like Clink Street through to the London acid techno scene of the 1990s and beyond.

See previously Uncle G on Woolwich B-Boys and Acid House. I was also honoured to do a couple of episodes myself.