1977 cont. from Sept. Archive: There was an atmosphere of chaos and disorder, though there was a mad, vibrant energy about it all. It was exciting: anything could happen around a band and frequently did. Going down to the Vault was like entering another realm beneath the ground. There was a feeling of being on the outside of mainstream society yet part of a mysterious underworld where there seemed to be no limits or constraints. What were the rules? Were there any rules? Pete Lyon, keyboard player with The Vandells, put it in plain English "The Vault made you feel dead even if you weren't". What a corker!

Among the first local bands to perform there were Joby & the Hooligans, Wrist Action, the Piranhas, Peter & The Test Tube Babies, the Depressions, Flesh, Laughing Gass and Joe Cool & the Killers. There was no sophisticated PA system and hardly any mixing equipment. You plugged in, turned up the volume and played.

While middle-of-the-road groups like Brotherhood of Man were performing just down the road at the Dome, these ‘underground’ bands were putting up with being spat at on the tiny Vault stage, playing to a packed house of about fifty, hot, sweaty po-going punk fans. There was hardly room to swing a cat when it was empty, let alone packed to the rafters. There was no bar, you brought your own. Either in a pint class direct from the Three Jolly Butchers or the Windsor Tavern (who weren’t too happy about this), or in cans and bottles from the offy in Trafalgar Street. Since then it’s been plastic glasses all round.

Two requests this month:
from Alex Ogg: "I'm trying to put together some sleevenotes for the Mobiles, who obviously come from outside of the period under discussion. But I wonder if you had any contact info with former members? I have obviously googled myself silly already, but there isn't a lot out there." - and from Chris Anderson (Lemon Boys) "Can you help me through your site to locate a guy called Jason Caulfield?" To read their mail in full click on the 'best emails' button