Red Rag was a radical newsletter published in Reading from around 1979 to the mid-1980s. Somebody is currently doing a great service by gradually scanning in back issues, with a wealth of information not only about the Thames Valley area but also wider radical movements in that period.
Here, from May 26th 1985, is a report of a mainly anarcho-punk squat gig at Bracknell cinema which featured bands including No Defences, Slave Dance, Pro Patria Mori, Barcelona Bus Company and the Magic Mushroom Band.
From the same scene and the same year (I think), a report of a 'free festival benefit gig' at the Paradise Club in Reading, featuring Karma Sutra, Barcelona Bus Company and Cosmetic Plague. Not sure of the source of this report but it is reproduced in the booklet for Karma Sutra's retrospective album 'Be Cruel With Your Past And All Who Seek To Keep You There'
Hey that's cool to hear about squatting in Bracknell in the 1980s! Here in Brighton, i've been trawling through the Voice archives [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_Voice] looking for squatnews. They have the whole run in bound volumes at the Brighton Library, so that made it a lot easier than I thought it would be...
ReplyDeleteHi I was at the first event with a few friends and remember watching Pro Patria Mori who were great had a great time,i Also remember some one eating rat poison by mistake
ReplyDeleteMy Uncle was the projectionist at the cinema for 20 years
I was at that gig hitched down from Nottingham … can’t remember much … can’t remember if I stayed over or how I got back ..I was sure there was a band called Dorkwind
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