The Venue opened in the early 80’s as the Jailhouse. The Venue was host to literally hundreds of great bands, for almost 25 years. The closing party was on 10th June 2006. The message “The Best-R.I.P” daubed by someone on the door after its closure, says it all…….
Site of The Venue 20th April 2009. ©S.S. 2009.
- 1987 8th March The Bhundu Boys
Hanging Rock writes:The gig sold out in advance but so many people without tickets turned up that I had to hastily arrange a second gig the next night at Moray House College Student Union-(which is now the Bongo Club)- it also sold out. The next day we got a call from Madonna asking if they would support her at Wembley. Their album went to No 1 in the indie charts I believe to this day the only African band to achieve this. Cosmos was their sole worldwide agency at the time but with the support on radio of John Peel & Andy Kershaw, not to mention the belief in the band of Gordon Muir & Champion Doug Vietch they went ballistic, though still based in Hawick.
- 1987 19th March The Comsat Angels
1987 25th March Deacon Blue
- 1987 23rd April King Kurt
- 1987 21st May Flesh For Lulu
- 1987 5th June Hue & Cry
- 1987 6th June Sonic Youth, & Firehose
- 1987 8th June Nyah Fearties, & We Free Kings
- 1987 10th June Danny Wilson
Hanging Rock writes:This is the poster for Danny Wilsons first gig at The Venue & in Edinburgh. It was promoted by Cosmos as they were unknown outside Dundee Later they were promoted by Dance Factory then a small Dundee based company (now DF Concerts) & Cosmos became their Scottish agency.
- 1987 11th June (general election night) Gaye Bikers On Acid
- 1987 12th June The Bathers
- 1987 13th June Zero Zero
- 1987 15th June Real Sounds Of Africa (Zimbabwe)
- 1987 18th June Botany 500
- 1987 19th June Steve Earle
- 1987 20th June BMX Bandits
- 1987 22nd June Terry & Gerry, & Deaf Heights Cajun Aces
- 1987 24th June Pioneer Corps
- 1987 25th June Blues Burglers
- 1987 26th June World Domination Enterprises
- 1987 27th June Miaow
- 1987 29th June The Rootsie Tootsie Band
- 1987 1st July Workhouse
- 1987 3rd July Deacon Blue
- 1987 4th July My Bloody Valentine, & Hangmans Beautiful Daughter
- 1987 6th July Blues N Trouble
- 1987 9th July Frenzy
- 1987 11th July The Pastels
- 1987 18th July Tallulah Gosh
- 1987 20th July Steve Marriott (no ticket for this one, as I paid on the door! But I was lucky enough to meet the man himself downstairs and get this autograph!
Hanging Rock writes: When Steve confirmed my suggestion about the origins of the song ‘Itchycoo Park’, as being about Charlton Park in south east London where 60’s mods went on Sundays, also known as comedown park, notorious for its nettles & immortalized also in the film ‘Blow Up’.
- 1987 21st July Makossa
- 1987 23rd July The Thanes
- 1987 24th July Nicky Sudden
- 1987 25th July Nico
- 1987 27th July Le Rue
- 1987 28th July The Cretins
- 1987 29th July James King & Fun Patrol
- 1987 30th July Head
- 1987 31st July The Shop Assistants
- 1987 7th August James
- 1987 1st & 2nd September The Bhundu Boys
Hanging Rock writes: It looks like lead singer Biggie had left the band by then, so guitarist Rise Kagona took over on vocals, he now lives in Edinburgh. He is the founder & only surviving member of the original lineup. Biggie became a preacher in the slums of Zimbabwe & later hung himself, all other original members died of AIDS. The story of the BHUNDU BOYS was a 2 part series on BBC Radio put together by Gordon Muir with contributions from Doug Vietch & George Duffin. There is a Bhundu Boys story in a forthcoming book about the history of Scottish music.
- 1987 13th November Mammas Boys
- 1987 5th December Loop
- 1987 7th December The Styng Rites
- 1987 8th December Cat Burgers
- 1987 10th December Roman Ha
- 1987 11th December The Jazz defectors
- 1987 12th December Finitribe & Tackhead
- 1987 14th December Sex Gods(ex Wah, Teardrop, Black, Echo, Psychedelic Furs) & Mirrors Over Kiev
- 1987 16th December The Daintees
- 1987 17th December Zeke Manyika
- 1987 18th December Lyin Rampant
- 1987 19th December The Television Personalities
- 1988 19th March Danny Wilson
- 1988 22nd March Pere Ubu, & The Mekons
- 1988 9th June Lyle Lovett
- 1988 1st October Underground Club
- 1988 3rd October The James Taylor Quartet, & The Holidaymakers
- 1988 4th & 5th October Love & Money
- 1988 6th October Just Add Water
- 1988 7th October Win
- 1988 8th October Vixen, & Hard Rock Cafe
- 1988 10th October Rapeman, Dinosaur Jnr, & Band Of Susans
- 1988 12th October Underground Club
- 1988 13th October D.C. Ellis
- 1988 14th October House Of Love
- 1988 15th October The Flatmates, & Underground Club
- 1988 17th October Anne Turners No Mercy, & Boxing Clever
- 1988 19th October Spacemen 3, and Underground Club
- 1988 20th October Salvation, & Good N Gone
- 1988 21st October The Cropdusters, & Dancing Bears
- 1988 22nd October Wrathchild, & Hard Rock Cafe
- 1988 24th October The Silencers
- 1988 27th October Guana Bats, & Radium Cats
- 1988 28th October The Cateran
- 1988 29th October Dogs D’ Amour, & Baby’s Got A Gun
- 1988 31st October Musicians Collective
- 1988 2nd November Napalm Death, & Godflesh
- 1988 3rd November Skin Games
- 1988 4th November The Macc Lads, & The Cretins
- 1988 5th November Tatooed Love Boys, & Hard Rock Cafe
- 1988 7th November The Chills, & Jesse Garron & The Desperados
- 1988 10th November Dinosaur Jnr
- 1988 14th November Pendragon
- 1988 17th November Loop
- 1988 18th November Rose Of Avalanche
- 1988 19th November Hard Rock Cafe
- 1988 24th November Stump
- 1988 25th November Weather Prophets
- 1988 26th November The Crows
- 1988 28th November The Groundhogs
- 1988 30th November Pop Will Eat Itself
- 1988 11th December Stones Roses
- 1988 31st December Tackhead Sound System
- 1989 22nd January Janes Addiction
- 1989 12th February The Shamen
- 1989 31st May The Bible
- 1989 1st June Pauline Murray
- 1989 2nd June Underground Club
- 1989 3rd June Baby’s Got A Gun, & Rock Cafe
- 1989 4th June Sabatt, & Toronaga, & Moshpit Thrash Club
- 1989 7th June King Of The Slums, & Dub Sex
- 1989 8th June Christian Death
- 1989 9th June The Toasters, & Zoot Club Unity Express
- 1989 10th June Strategy, & Rock Cafe
- 1989 11th June General Damage
- 1989 14th June A Guy Called Gerald
- 1989 15th June Head
- 1989 16th June Underground Club
- 1989 17th June Heat, & Rock Cafe
- 1989 18th June Reanimator, & Moshpit Thrash Club
- 1989 19th June The Beautiful South
- 1989 21st June Stone Roses, & Shy Reptiles
- 1989 22nd June Bradford
- 1989 23rd June Rose Of Avalanche, & Underground Club
- 1989 24th June Lisa Dominique, & Rock Cafe
- 1989 25th June Napalm Death
- 1989 17th August Del Amitri
- 1989 23rd August Gong
- 1989 28th October The Quireboys
- 1990 12th February The Thanes, Ruth Ellis, The Radium Cats, & The Wendys
- 1990 17th February The Almighty
- 1990 26th March The Chills, special guests The Wolfhounds
- 1990 19th May Slide
- 1990 2nd November Galaxie 500
- 1991 1st May Manic Street Preachers
- 1991 20th & 21st October Gillan, & special guests Roadhouse
- 1991 28th October Firehose
- 1992 26th January American Music Club, & Pure Blind Panic
- 1992 3rd March Therapy
- 1992 8th March The Bhundu Boys
- 1992 29th March Mercury Rev
- 1992 18th May Wishbone Ash
- 1992 16th July Pavement
- 1992 2nd September The Bhundu Boys
- 1992 25th September Radiohead
- 1992 28th September The Godfathers
- 1992 4th October Sugar
- 1992 6th October Suede, support band The Auteurs
- 1992 11th October Lemonheads, & Walt Mink
- 1992 19th October Meat Beat Manifesto
- 1993 8th May That Petrol Emotion & Miraclehead
- 1993 21st May Verve, & Superstar
- 1993 24th May Corduroy
- 1993 3rd June Sebadoh
- 1993 9th June The Buzzcocks
- 1993 18th October Pitchshifter, & Inversus
- 1993 9th November Hairy Apes, Sunbconscious, & Liquid Pub Dugs
- 1994 28th February Gunshot
- 1994 5th March The Posies, Magnapop, & Flop
- 1994 1st April Sabresonic at Pure
- 1994 6th April Madder Rose
- 1994 18th April Skyclad
- 1994 27th April Credit To The Nation, & Collapsed Lung
- 1994 2nd May XC-NN, & Sunshot
- 1994 6th May Ritchie Hawtin at Pure
- 1994 28th May Magnapop, & Voodoo Queens
- 1994 12th June Compulsion
- 1994 8th July Laurent Garnier, T & B, & Dribbler at Pure
- 1994 25th July Skin
- 1994 7th October Psychik Warriors Of Gaia, Abraxas, & Re:Search at Pure
- 1994 18th October Renegade Soundwave
- 1994 28th October The Damned, support band The Gin Goblins
- 1994 4th November Peter Perrett
1994 8th November Alice Donut, The Zephyrs & Sawyer
- 1994 19th December Grandmothers Of Invention
- 1995 13th January Juan Atkins at Pure
- 1995 25th January The Lightening Seeds, & Cast
- 1995 29th June Napoleon Starfish
- 1995 1st August Midge Ure
- 1995 4th October The Dickies
- 1995 15th October The Bluetones
- 1995 24th October Add N To X
- 1995 29th October Boss Hog
- 1995 15th November Hugh Cornwall
- 1996 16th January Rocket From The Crypt
- 1996 29th March The Men They Couldn’t Hang
- 1996 21st May Ian Mcnabb, & The Trashcan Sinatras
- 1996 3rd December Kenickie, support band The Stereophonics
- 1996 15th December The Gyres
- 1997 10th March The Stereophonics
- 1997 18th April The Misfits (rescheduled from 19th March)
- 1997 31st May Ian Hunter Band
- 1997 27th September The Stereophonics
- 1997 30th October Ozric Tentacles
- 1997 9th December The Damned
- 1999 11th April Pitchshifter
- 1999 4th October The Buzzcocks
- 2001 19th June The Strokes, & Mull Historical Society
- 2001 15th September Knuckledust, Unite, & Decimate
- 2001 26th September Preston School Of Industry, & Obaben
- 2002 29th November Michael Bruce (Alice Cooper’s original guitarist and composer of most of the big hits).
- 2003 3rd September Sigue Sigue Sputnik
- 2004 14th February Scissor Sisters
- 2004 22nd February The Fall, with John Cooper Clarke
- 2004 23rd May Ian Hunter, special guest Mick Ralphs
- 2004 4th June Carbon/Silicon
- 2004 28th October Bill Nelson And The Lost Satellites
- 2005 29th April LCD Soundsystem, Optimo DJ’s, Hot Chip, Akufen, Brooks
- 2006 10th June Last Night Ever Party
