Brady's, Liverpool: A Flock of Seagulls, Dead or Alive, Siouxsie,1980
Eric's becomes Brady's. "The place is full of weirdos. It’s good to be back."
Brady’s was the new Liverpool venue that took over where the legendary Eric’s club left off. A few months after Eric’s closed down, the building reopened under new management and a new name.
It looked the same, apart from the Space Invaders machine next to the jukebox – it was the 1980s now – but it didn’t have the same atmosphere, and the last line of my article turned out to be over-optimistic. This proves that all the talk about ley lines and so on was rubbish: Eric’s was special because of the people.
Nonetheless, Brady’s put Liverpool back on the touring circuit and I saw a lot of good bands there.
This is a news article rather than a review, and covers the two opening nights. I seem to have got names a bit mixed up – Pete Burns’ band Dead Or Alive used to be called Nightmares in Wax and as both are mentioned on the press advert I’m guessing the name change must have been fairly recent.
This excellent archive blog tells me that the club opened on Friday 8th August 1980 with Motion Pictures, A Flock of Seagulls, Tin Ethics and Snapshots. The Saturday bill was Dead or Alive (Nightmares in Wax), The Room, Visual Aids and Chinese Religion. Again, not quite what was in my piece: as always, I blame the copy takers.
I wonder which was the band that I described as “unbearably professional”…
For Eric's read Brady's
Melody Maker, August 23, 1980
The club that was once Liverpool Eric's opened its doors for the first time as Brady's this weekend, and only the name over the door was different.
Here familiar faces and familiar decor happily were not to be dragged upmarket, and there is little noticeable alteration, just a few improvements – a bit of paint, a bit of plumbing, and a Space Invader machine by the jukebox.
It’s been a lonely five months while the club stood empty, but it’s had one good effect – a monopoly’s been broken and other clubs in the city have begun to open their doors to groups. Brady’s success in the face of this competition now depends very much on its booking policy, which also depends on keeping alive the atmosphere that made Eric’s what it was.
New brooms must bring change (“Every Tuesday Heavy Metal” says a new poster), but not too many.
An opportunity to see eight local groups in two nights is an appropriate way to start. So a quick name check: For Tin Essex, A Flock of Sea Gulls, Motion Pictures, Snapshots, Visual Aids, Chinese Religion, The Room, and Dead Or Alive.
There’s still unlimited activity if not unlimited talent in this otherwise impoverished city, and this selection ranges from unbearably amateur to unbearably professional, from the imaginative to the entertaining, and from the serious to the outrageous.
Some at least you’ll be hearing about again. But that’s not really important; what matters is that they are playing here and this is where they belong.
Competition is fierce. Visual Aids has to follow the very visual Nightmares in Wax, and the lead singer makes special effort for impact with a pair of startlingly tight trousers. Dead Or Alive lead singer Pete Burns effortlessly upstages him by going on stage in no trousers at all. The place is full of weirdos.
It’s good to be back.
Listen to Siouxsie at Brady’s
An early gig at Brady’s that’s gone down in history was the not-so-secret show from “Janet and the Icebergs” aka Siouxsie and the Banshees. There’s an audio-only recording on YouTube.
Coming soon
Dead Or Alive supported the Damned at Futurama 4 in September 1982, and made a big impact. Stick around for my review of the festival in a few weeks’ time.
And next week, we’ve got an early appearance by Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
I like that story, it honors the music and its optimistic tone is refreshing... even if there were some anomalies.
Always thought The Stranglers opened Brady’s just like they did Erics? Were they the first non local/real opening then?