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OTHER
SOUTH EAST LONDON GIGS
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LATEST
UPDATE, August 2003 - after being closed for the last time on March
17th 2003 after a ludicrous police raid, the pub is now reopened as
yet another yuppie student facility in the Borough of Goldsmiths, selling
'naughty cocktails', overpriced food, and 'salsa' evenings twice a week
for people who find it hard to talk to the opposite sex except about
the price of property
Below is the report
of the old Goldsmiths Tavern we published last year.
Perhaps this was the last legal venue
in South East London where the local underground culture had any form
of free expression. An open door policy which mixed home-counties students
(from Goldsmiths College) with local ragamuffins, crusties, burnt-out
bohos and various faces from the local cultural underworld.
Sadly this venue was
closed down at the beginning of March 2003, for refurbishment; and apparently,
it's re-invention as a yuppie watering hole.
Up to now the landlords
have held back from replacing any of the 200-year old flea-bitten furniture,
or doing much more than cleaning any visible dried blood or vomit of the
floor, with the remarkable excuse that they "didn't want to alienate the
clientele", but the endless supply of giros and student grants has apparently
paid off.
Despite the paucity
of the surroundings (which most people are too caned to notice), the Tavern
- as it is popularly known amongst the drinking circles of New Cross -
has been the meeting-place for many different parts of the local community,
permanent and temporary, for many years.
Music & Desire Crew (DJ Verb, MC Maestro,
MC Siza, DJ VENOM) from Battersea - Live at the Goldsmiths 13th June
and 20th June 2002. You can also hear them on Delight FM 103 (Mon 12midnight-2.00am
- Jungle, Jump-up, Ragga, D&B)
With a license to carry on rocking until
2.00 am every night except Sunday, and entry free on the door, the place
rarely fills up until 11.30 most nights, but within an hour is often changed
from it's previously bleak emptiness to a heaving mass of sweat-drenched
bodies.
Although the pump-beer is of variable quality,
they have recently branched out to selling Hoegaarden, and you can always
stick to bottles.
Nights worth getting down for are Wednesday
(Lizzies Techno Night), Thursday (Bev's Drum & Bass Night) and Fridays
for the ever-popular skanking ska show.
Despite one or two nasty incidents, which most self-respecting
South-East London venues can boast of, the vibe is generally good-natured
inebriated. This is no doubt helped by the ability to skin a quick one
up when the staff aren't around, and the absolutely unjudgemental atmosphere
of both staff and punters.
The range of artists who have performed there over
the years include RDF, Geezer and Dave the Drummer, PAIN, The Innerterrestials,
and many others lost in the blur of time and disintegrating short-term
memory. A couple of years ago, for instance, Gil Scott Heron turned up
for a drink and ended up returning to do a gig.
The stalwart soundman, Bevan Burke, is trying to
organise a get-together of all the DJ's who played over the years for
June 30th 2002, and maybe even a similar day for bands.
But sadly, it looks as if yet another bastion of
difference in a bland corporate world is going to slip under, and be replaced
by the replicant; steel and chrome, cappuccinos, £10 on the door
or you don't get in, another off-the-street hangout for the those for
whom all that matters is the clothes, the pose, and what's up your nose.
Sad.
Like all good venues, the audience
were the real stars at the old Goldsmiths Tavern
all
photos copyright SJSomerset
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