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The 101Music club 1991-1994, R.I.P!This month, we cast our minds back to the heady and really quite boring days of the early 1990s. There were some great bands that survived the 1980s, a decade which should be described as decayed, as drum machines and programmers ruled the charts.Areosmith, Red hot Chilli Peppers and local lads Cutting crew are amongst those who scraped by with some decorum. And went on to bigger and better things. The full of energy and frustrated youth of East Grinstead, Sussex, UK, had the smaller pubs and clubs to gig in, with the usual bollocks from the fat landlord Turn it down, can you sing and oh, heres 10.00 for your time. Whilst filling his tills with cash. So it was with open arms, thirsty throats and frightening passion that when the crusty old Dorset Arms in the sunny high street threw open its upstairs restaurant, with a hastily assembled bar and stage, house P.A and lights to an assorted collection of waifs and strays. (Thats Musicians to those in the know) and began three years of loud, leery and sweaty rock and roll.
Its easy to look back with rosy, slurred and drunken vision but most bands who played there remember it had a unique atmosphere and was right in the middle of EG town. Very handy.. On one of the first nights a specialist team of pyrotechnic and skilled engineers nearly managed to burn the whole place to the ground, resulting in one member of the team having his hair, eyebrows and face singed to a crisp as a hastily assembled rock and roll bomb ( a firework in a bucket) went off two seconds early. A new smoke machine arrived one day, which no one knew how to turn off, resulting in the whole building being filled with dry ice (carbon dioxide), .I still recall people running out into the street screaming as white gas poured out the windows and roof. For a small and relatively unknown venue it attracted the attentions of music rags NME, Melody Maker and a woman from Island records was reported to be seen, with pen in hand. Or was that our Kate with coke in hand not sure. It was a haven for local bands, Steerpike, 12 Sullivans, Pump, World, the Bullfrogs, The Sons of Ego ( as they were known) and many more regularly gigged their little arses off to a dedicated swarm of followers. Far too many some times. At one point the ceiling in the downstairs bar was bowing with the weight of screaming, jumping students and pieces of plaster crashed down on the pool tables, much to amusement of the players, and near cardiac arrest of the Manager. In the large cellar two rehearsal rooms were created so bands could practice, adding to the general din. And an old fire engine was purchased for publicity purposes, but blew up the first night. Ironically it didnt catch fire. There were rumours that it became an all night drinking den and scenes of debauchery were rife..errrrryep!!!!! I can instantly recall playing the game twister, slightly pissed with two rather fit and naked young ladies lightly greased up with baby oil. There was apparently a thing called the 101 mile high club that had nothing to do with the 8 inch spliffs that pungently hung in the air. (Work it out) It even had its own magazine for a time, formulated and edited by a local fellow under the guise of The Lord of Hog It ripped the piss out of musicians, bands, staff, the manager and the venue with great skill and enthusiasm, and Lord Hogg was saved from a lynching in the car park purely because his observations were always spot on.
Not content with a thriving music venue one night the dedicated (and half pissed) team decided to dig a pond in the back garden, at 2.30 in the morning. The following day 5 ducks, 6 chickens and two sheep appeared which were housed in the outbuildings at night. As Id worked on a local farm it was my duty to open the hatch early morning to let the beasts roam about quite freely. So we now had three signs made up. 1) The 101, live music at its best. 2) The 102, live animals at their smelliest. 3) The 103, semi live staff at their worst. You may be wondering why I rant on about the Dorset Arms so much, its purely because I spent some of the best years of my life there, laughing lots and blasting out loud music. The place closed in May 1994, but I stayed living in the garden flat with one of the most beautiful and fun girls I have ever met, and we had some good times too, ( but thats another story ) until it reopened all shinny and polished in July 1996. For those who remember it was a unique chapter in East Grinsteads long history and will never be repeated. Thankfully. |
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• Home Return back to the homepage • Ghost Story Mr Bonx, Author, previews his chilling story - The Dorset Arms • Music Reviews/Links Read some of Mr Bonx’s insights into music and culture • Pix Set of photos about the life and times of Mr Bonx • Contact Get in touch and leave me a message. • About Mr Bonx Find out about Mr Bonx. Rants Archive December 2005 |
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