Leathers,
long hair and air guitars…rock club returns after a two-year absence
We're back in black!
Where does a headbanger go for those air guitar thrills?
The
city's metal-heads have been bereft since Brightons' most popular rock club,
the Hungry Years, closed nearly two years ago.
But now a fan of the old venue is launching a new club at Hove Town Hall tomorrow.
Chris Stevens was a fan of the "Years" but it closed its doors for
the last time in July 2000.
He said: "On the last night I asked as many people as possible to let me
know if they wanted an alternative venue to the Years.
I just handed out my email address and said, let me know.
Since then everyone has said the same thing-that they want a rock club in Brighton
and it has to be on a Saturday night."
The success of the Years Showed that even in a city as dance-oriented as Brighton
and Hove, there was a massive demand for good, honest, headbanging music, ranging
from old- fashioned classic rock to grunge and every genre in between.
The
Hungry Years Gathering Place in Marine Parade was the unchallenged HQ of hairy
central for a quarter of a century.
It was eventually shut when owners John and Pipa Christoforou retired. The couple
who bought the building in 1976, sold it to Bass, who have converted it to a
gay venue.
Twice a week the venue would be packed for air guitar classics by the likes
of AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Guns'N'Roses and Nirvana.
Chris Said: "For the last year I've been hunting around for the right venue.
"What I want to do is promote rock in Brighton generally. There have been
a few small rock venues open up which cater for a hundred people or so, but
nowhere bigger.
"Hove Town Hall has the capacity for up to 900 and has two bars and a balcony.
There seems to be a bit of a rock resurgence at the moment which is really nice."
Other rock promoters with nights in Brighton have agreed to turn up, hoping
to push the scene back into the mainstream with the city.
Chris said: "There used to be an Old Gits' Night at the Years and I'm aiming
for something like that.
I'll be playing things from the Seventies to the current day, so there could
be a few people turning up with a little less hair than before!
"I'm trying to get some real ale down to the town hall to keep some of
the old rockers happy."
Initially, the event will take place once a month on a Saturday, from 10pm to
2am, for the next six months. Admission is £6, which includes free membership.
BY SAM RELPH