Continuing the recent theme, here are some of my preferred music venues from over the years:

Fairfield Halls – Croydon

I can’t say this is a particularly favourite venue (its early 1960s brutalist architecture doesn’t help), and it’s more than 40 years since I was last there. But it’s where my gig-going all began, and I recall the acoustics were excellent. It’s where I saw two of my first gigs – 10cc (at the height of their mid-70s success) and Procul Harum (not quite past their best, but hardly troubling the charts in those days).

Electric Ballroom – Camden

Without doubt, this is a venerable institution, starting as a ballroom in the 1930s, and operating under its current name since 1978. The venue for two of my favourite gigs: Joy Division supported by Scritti Politti, Monochrome Set and A Certain Ratio; and Talking Heads supported by OMD and U2. Hopefully the facilities have been upgraded since then.

F-Club – Leeds

Not so much a venue, as a club residency at various locations across the city centre. It was a regular destination while I was a student at Leeds University. It was where I saw U2 play to about 50 people in late 1980 – Bono doing the same “I can’t believe I am smoking this cigarette I bummed off someone in the audience” routine he did when I saw him the previous year. F-Club was also where I saw New Order on one of their first gigs, in early 1981. The list of bands I saw there include Teardrop Explodes, Echo & the Bunnymen, Orange Juice, Josef K, Aztec Camera, Thompson Twins, Wah! Heat, Blue Orchids, Nico, Frantic Elevators (Mick Hucknall’s band before Simply Red), Rip Rig & Panic, Gang Of Four, Delta 5, The Three Johns, Mekons, Sisters of Mercy, A Certain Ratio… Glorious times.

Clarendon Ballroom – Hammersmith

Beginning as a pub in the 1860s (my great uncle recalled going to dances there in his youth), by the 1980s it was a noted venue for seeing punk and new wave bands who weren’t quite big enough to play at the nearby Palais or Odeon. In the mid-1980s it played a significant role in bringing the so-called Paisley Underground to London, where I saw Rain Parade, Green on Red, True West and Long Ryders in quick succession.

Town & Country Club – Kentish Town

For most of the 1980s and early 1990s, the T&C was the favoured North London venue for bands who had outgrown the pub and club circuit, but didn’t qualify (or desire) to play the characterless stadium arenas. It’s where I saw the likes of Pixies and Nick Cave, plus numerous UK-indie bands of the era. The added bonus was Friday nights, when Wendy May’s Locomotion continued the music, dancing and drinking after the bands had packed up, and before London’s 24-hour drinking culture….

Lyceum Ballroom – Strand

For a short period in 1980, the Lyceum appeared to be a key venue for the post-punk and new wave era. Within a few weeks of each other I saw three concerts there, the sort of multi-band bills that you don’t see these days outside of 80s revival package tours: Joy Division, Killing Joke, Section 25 and A Certain Ratio; Psychedelic Furs, Echo & The Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, A Certain Ratio, Manicured Noise, Eric Random; Magazine, DAF, Bauhaus. That don’t make ’em like that any more.

The Corner Hotel – Richmond

Conveniently located within spitting distance of where I currently live, The Corner Hotel has provided the setting for a number of memorable gigs over the past 15 years or more. For a relatively small venue, it manages to draw some big international names in independent music, among them Mogwai, Low, Tindersticks, Wire, Gang of Four, Michael Rother, The Pop Group, Tortoise, Wooden Shjips, Gang Gang Dance, Mouse on Mars and Ariel Pink. Notable Australian bands that I have seen at The Corner include: Severed Heads, Black Cab, Underground Lovers and Machine Translation. And the rooftop bar and restaurant does a mean chicken parma – what more could you want?

The Refectory – Leeds University

This is not your usual student venue (and not the only gig facility on the campus, which in my day also included the Riley-Smith Hall, and the Tartan Bar – all with subsidised student union beer on tap). Concerts at The Refectory were typically organised by a full-time Entertainments Officer – sometimes a stepping stone to a career in music and broadcasting. Apart from Elvis Costello (twice) and The Cure, I saw a stream of early 80s chart acts play at The Refectory, such as Rezillos, Undertones, Altered Images, Bow Wow Wow, Haircut 100…. and Kajagoogoo.

The Forum – Melbourne

Featuring a proscenium arch combining design elements inspired by the Roman Empire and Victorian Gothic, The Forum is probably my favourite large venue in Melbourne. It has a sloping auditorium and a wide vista giving excellent views of the stage. I saw LCD Soundsystem play an amazing gig here, as well as Tortoise, Faust and Mulatu Astatke. It also boasts a smaller auditorium and cinema space upstairs, which is a key part of the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Brixton Academy

Parts of the The Forum in Melbourne resemble London’s Brixton Academy – similar proscenium arch design, and wide-vision perspective of the stage. Since the mid-1980s, Nick Cave has made the Academy a regular fixture on his UK tours – no doubt it’s the Gothic influence….

Next week: Startup Vic’s Secret Pitch Night