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The Joiners Arms
Public House itself dates from the 1850s when, in a bustling and rough part of
town, sailors, dock workers and prostitutes would have piled through the doors
- the precursors to the punks, heavy metallers, bluesmen, folkies, indie-kids,
britpoppers and techno-heads when the Joiners eventually became an exclusively
music venue.
It's gone through highs and lows, but the music heritage
of the Joiners goes back almost three decades.
Back
in the 1970s, the Joiners was already one of the top pub gig venues in Southampton.
It
was a 'spit and sawdust' bar, with an infamously manky carpet and a back music
room that then put on all kinds of music - chiefly jazz, blues and folk.
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| A piece of
Joiners history - the mural of Rocksoff - now in the Bent Brief in Lodge Road. |
On
a typical night, reggae bands like Doris and the Dots would have got the place
jumping and the legendary Rocksoff (Bruce Roberts on guitar, Pete Hunt on drums
and Ronnie Taylor on sax) played regularly during a particularly lively time in
Southampton's music scene - so popular, they were immortalised in a wall mural,
which found its way to the Bent Brief on Lodge Road where it can still be seen
today.
New-wavers like Games to Avoid, Lip Moves, Laughter in the Garden
and reggae band, Ebony Rockers, in which Craig David's father, George, played
bass, were also regulars at the Joiners.
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| Brigitta
Fazekas | Brigitta
Fazekas played in various bands in the Joiners in the 1980s, including First Light,
The Blues Band and Zebra:"I first went there when I was 18, there was always
a lot of people there, it was very intimate and very packed - we all got to love
and respect each other, and I met a lot of wonderful people. You could sit there
and have a laugh. The Joiners was like a second home - I took my dog down there
- he loved the music, you could see him close his eyes and get into it!"
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| American
blues stars at the Joiners | Blues
also played a big part in the life of the Joiners during the 70s and 80s. Veteran
Southampton Blues guitarist Bob Pearce and his band played a regular busy gig
on a Sunday night. Bob was known for his 'bar walking', taking a stroll along
the bar beside the stage while still playing guitar.
As well as the big
names in the local blues scene like Bruce Roberts and Vernon Shooter, American
blues stars were also brought over to play - big names included Louisiana Redd,
Phil Guy (Buddy Guy's brother) and Carey and Lurrie Bell.
The
tremors of the punk explosion that rocked Britain reached Southampton in the 70s
and early 80s. Because of the bad press that followed them, punks initially unwelcome.
A music magazine of the time said: "If you're thinking of going to the Joiners
with spiky hair, don't bother, you won't get in".
However successive
landlords, albeit with slight trepidation, began allowing bands to book the back
room. Southampton punk groups like Stratejacket and Catch 22 joined the Joiners'
eclectic mix, having previously forced to play church halls and scout huts.
What
it did was to establish the Joiners as a live music venue for the alternative
and rock scene, set apart from other pubs in the area. As Stratejacket's
Terry O'Brien said: "The legacy of Southampton's punk scene, was that place,
the Joiners."
There
was also a regular Folk night on a Friday. But the folkies reputedly didn’t get
on too well with the landlord (they complained when the till rang in the bar).
Matters came to a head when the landlord wanted to book erstwhile Rolling
Stone Mick Taylor to perform on a Friday – the folkies kicked up a stink and were
kicked out. Mick didn't turn up in any case, but the way was clear for the man
who was to revolutionise the Southampton music scene during one of the most exciting
eras in British music - known simply as Mint.
Read more about 'The Mint Years' |
