The Venue (New Cross, London) Explained

The Venue was a music venue and nightclub in a former cinema located in New Cross, London, England.

History

The building first opened as a cinema named the New Cross Super Kinema in 1925. This was shortened to the New Cross Kinema in 1927,^[1] and further to just Kinema in 1948. During this time the building also housed the New Cross Palais de Danse.^[2] It became the Gaumont New Cross in 1950.^[3]

After this it was an Irish traditional music and Irish country dance hall named The Harp Club.^[4] In the 1970s the club hired out its rooms for reggae nights.^[5] By the late 1980s it had also become a venue for genres such as indie pop, goth, and acid house.^{[6] [7] [8]}

It opened as The Venue in April 1989.^{[9] [10]} Artists to perform there included Oasis,^[11] Pulp,^[12] Suede,^[13] Blur, Lush,^[14] Radiohead,^[15] Chumbawamba,^[16] Teenage Fanclub,^[17] Mudhoney, Hole,^[18] Front Line Assembly,^[19] Current 93,^[20] The Melvins,^[21] Shed 7,^[22] The Cardiacs,^[23] and Subhumans.^[24]

Boxer Dominic Negus was a bouncer there for a time.^[25]

By the 2000s the majority of live concerts there were tribute acts,^[26] and it largely functioned more as a DJ-oriented nightclub.^[27]

Notes and References

1. Book: The Directory of Directors. 1927. Thomas Skinner & Company. 87.
2. Book: The British Isles: A Guide for Overseas Visitors. Ed. J. Burrow & Company. 1929. 9781333638610.
3. Web site: A Brief History of The Venue in New Cross. South London Club. 21 May 2017 . 25 September 2024.
4. Book: Blooming Meadows: The World of Irish Traditional Musicians. Fintan. Vallely. Charlie. Piggott. 1998. 9781860590672. Town House.
5. Book: Warren, Emma. Dance Your Way Home: A Journey Through the Dancefloor. 2023. 9780571366057. Faber & Faber.
6. Book: Collins, Andrew. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now: My Difficult 80s. 141. 2012. 9781448175383. Ebury Publishing.
7. Shock Treatment. The Illustrated London News. 276. 1988. Illustrated London News & Sketch Limited.
8. Web site: Phatmedia old skool flyer archive - Searching flyers by VENUE. Phatmedia.
9. Web site: The lost nightclubs of south east London- from Bon Bonne to the Venue. 7 May 2022. News Shopper. Berk. Uyal. 25 September 2024.
10. Book: Allen, Carl. London Gig Venues. 978-1445658193. 2016. Amberley .
11. Book: McCarroll, Tony. Oasis: The Truth. 2011. John Blake. 9781843588184.
12. Book: Patterson, Sylvia. I'm Not with the Band: A Writer's Life Lost in Music. 2016. 9780751558692. Little, Brown Book Group.
13. Book: Anderson, Brett. Coal Black Mornings. 2018. Little, Brown Book Group. 978-1-4087-1047-0 .
14. Blinded by the light. Sounds. 23 March 1991. 26.
15. Book: Baker, Trevor. Thom Yorke - Radiohead & Trading Solo. 2009. John Blake. 9781784189495.
16. Nightshift. Sounds. 5 January 1991. 40.
17. Jocks Away. Sounds. 12 January 1991. 29.
18. Book: Bollen, Andy. Nirvana - A Tour Diary: My Life on the Road with One of the Greatest Bands of All Time. John Blake. 2013. 9781782196143.
19. Book: Reed, S. Alexander. Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music. 2013. Oxford University Press USA. 9780199832606.
20. Book: Everything Keeps Dissolving: Conversations with Coil. Nick. Soulsby. 2023. 9781913689438. MIT Press.
21. Nightshift. Sounds. 12 January 1991. 36.
22. Power Restored in Polydor's Cast. Billboard. 30 Mar 1996. 145.
23. Book: Bell, Adrian. Aylesbury Bolton Wolverhampton Hove: A Little Man and 101 Cardiacs Gigs. 74. 2011. Adrian Bell . 9780956879509.
24. Book: Glasper, Ian. Silence Is No Reaction: Forty Years of Subhumans. 2023. PM Press. 9781629636955.
25. Book: Out of The Shadows - My Life of Violence In and Out of the Ring. Dominic. Negus. Ivan. Sage. John Blake. 2007. 9781782192732.
26. Billboard. Kings of Homage. 1 Sep 2007. 23. Lars. Brandle.
27. Web site: The Venue nightclub New Cross celebrates 30th anniversary. News Shopper. 25 March 2019. 25 September 2024. Liam. McInerney.