Batcave (club)

The Batcave was a nightclub in London, England at Meard Street, Soho. It is considered to be the birthplace of the English goth subculture. As one of the most famous meeting points for early goths, it lent its name to the term Batcaver, used to describe fans of the original gothic rock music. The term Batcave is also still used by Europeans to refer to Gothic music with a prominent Post-Punk sound and spooky atmospheres.

The club opened in July 1982. Originally specialising in New Wave and Glam rock, it later focused on Gothic rock. Ollie Wisdom, the lead singer in the house band, Specimen, ran the club with Specimen's Jon Klein as Art Director, and initially with the assistance of production manager Hugh Jones. Famous regulars at the Batcave included legends such as Robert Smith, Siouxsie Sioux, Steve Severin, Foetus, Marc Almond and Nick Cave.

A diverse array of bands would play at the club, backed up by their resident DJs Hamish 'the paranoid' McDonald and Annie Hogan (Marc Almond band member). The bands involved included electronic leading act Alien Sex Fiend. The host's band Specimen, who took ample influence from 1970s glam rock and Sex Gang Children, is a group that would go on to prove influential in the gothic rock, dark cabaret and deathrock movements. The club also showed 8mm movies in the old theatre and occasionally featured unusual cabaret such as Mr Swing the fakir. Much of the image and fashion used by the subculture can be traced back to the bands who played at the Batcave.

In 1983, a vinyl record entitled "The Bat Cave, Young Limbs & Numb Hymns" was released on the London recording label. The compilation included Specimen (Dead Mans Autochop), Sexbeat (Sex Beat), Test Dept. (Shockwork), Patti Palladin (The Nuns New Clothes), James T. Pursey (Eyes Shine Killidiscope), Meat of Youth (Meat of Youth), Brilliant (Coming Up For The Downstroke), Alien Sex Fiend (R.I.P.), and The Venomettes (The Dance of Death). The inside notes: "Look past the slow black rain of a chill night in Soho; Ignore the lures of a thousand neon fire-flies, fall deft to the sighs of street corner sirens — come walk with me between heaven and hell. Here there is a club lost in its own feverish limbo, where sin becomes salvation and only the dark angels tread. For here is a BATCAVE. This screaming legend of blasphemy, Lechery, and Blood persists in the face of adversity. For some the Batcave has become an icon, but for those that know it is an iconoclast, it is the avenging spirit of nightlife's badlands — its shadow looms large over London's demi-Monde: It is a challenge to the false Idol. It Will Endure."

In 2008 Specimen played live at a 25th Anniversary Batcave party in London. The show was recorded as a live album 'Specimen Alive at the Batcave' and released on Eyeswideshut/Metropolis records. In 2009 Specimen's Jonny Slut and Jon Klein appeared at New Yorks Fashion Institute of Technology following the exhibition 'Gothic Dark Glamour', which featured Jon Klein's 1983 'Pigeon Shit' DIY stage outfit alongside high fashion designers such as Christian Dior and Alexander McQueen. The Fashion Symposium acknowledged the Batcave as a major influence on current high fashion.

See also

  • Goth subculture
  • Gothic rock

External links

Listed in the following categories:
Post a comment
Tips & Hints
Arrange By:
Andreas  Staford
28 February 2018
он еще существует? серьезно? если так, то надо туда прогуляться
Load more comments
foursquare.com

Hotels nearby

See all hotels See all
Spectacular Strand 2 bed apartment!!

starting $0

Amba Hotel Charing Cross

starting $645

1 Compton

starting $0

Clarendon Serviced Apartments - Chandos Place

starting $0

The Grand at Trafalgar Square

starting $418

Amba Hotel Charing Cross

starting $0

Recommended sights nearby

See all See all
Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Marquee Club

}}The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street,

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Soho Theatre

The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Prince Edward Theatre

The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Queen's Theatre

The Queen's Theatre is a West End theatre located in Shaftesbury

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Gielgud Theatre

The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Soho Square

Soho Square is a square in Soho, London, England, with a park and

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Apollo Theatre

The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Lyric Theatre, London

The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the

Similar tourist attractions

See all See all
Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Rumelihisarı

Rumelihisarı (Rumelian Castle) is a fortress located in Istanbul,

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Fox Oakland Theatre

The Fox Oakland Theatre is a 2,800-seat concert hall, a former movie

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Teatro Municipal (Rio de Janeiro)

The Theatro Municipal (Municipal Theatre) of Rio de Janeiro is located

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure in Red Rocks Park near

Add to wishlist
I've been here
Visited
La Fenice

Teatro La Fenice (Шаблон:IPA-it, 'The Phoenix') is an opera house

See all similar places