The F Club (later known as Fan Club) was a
punk rock and
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
club night in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
that ran between 1977 and 1982.
It was held at various venues across the city during its tenure, including
Leeds Polytechnic
Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The unive ...
, the Ace of Clubs, the Continental Club and Brannigan's. In Karl and Beverley Spracklen's book ''The Evolution of Goth Culture'' it was described as the space "where
gothic rock was born in the form it is now".
The club was foundational in the emergence of the
goth subculture and led to other high profile clubs in the scene, such as the
Batcave
The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal r ...
. It was frequented by members of many influential post-punk and gothic rock groups such as
the Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...
,
Gang of Four,
The March Violets
The March Violets are an English post-punk/gothic rock band formed in 1981 in Leeds, incorporating singers of both sexes, drum machine rhythms and echo-laden electric guitar, much in the style of fellow Leeds band the Sisters of Mercy. Seven ...
,
New Model Army and
Southern Death Cult
Southern Death Cult were a British post-punk/ gothic rock band in the early 1980s. They are now primarily known for having given their lead singer and parts of the name to the multi-platinum hard rock band the Cult. Despite the similarities in ...
.
History
![Sisters of Mercy - 2019213000724 2019-07-31 Wacken - 0804 - AK8I6578](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Sisters_of_Mercy_-_2019213000724_2019-07-31_Wacken_-_0804_-_AK8I6578.jpg)
Concert promoter John Keenan set up the first F Club night in an available commonroom in
Leeds Polytechnic
Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The unive ...
in 1977. At the time, club membership cost £1. While here, it hosted performances by acts such as
The Slits
The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma R ...
,
XTC
XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...
,
Slaughter & the Dogs
Slaughter and the Dogs are an English punk rock band formed in 1975 in Wythenshawe, Manchester. Their original line-up consisted of singer Wayne Barrett McGrath, rhythm guitar Mick Rossi, drummer Brian "Mad Muffet" Grantham, lead guitarist M ...
and
The Psychedelic Furs
The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...
. However by the end of the summer it was forced to relocate to the Ace of Clubs in
Woodhouse.
While here, the night was host to groups such as
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Sumner and Hook formed the band after atte ...
,
Siouxsie and The Banshees,
the Mekons
The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands.
The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of ...
and
Gang of Four.
In 1978, it moved once again to the Continental Club in
Chapeltown,
where it hosted
the Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
.
During this period, performances were less frequent due
Eddy Morrison
Eddy Morrison (16 July 1949 – 10 June 2020) was a British neo-Nazi political activist, who was involved in a number of movements throughout his career.
Biography
Morrison was involved in the British Movement (BM) and also the National Front ...
's
white power skinhead
White power skinheads, also known as racist skinheads and neo-Nazi skinheads, are members of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations and ...
s bringing performances by many non-
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
groups to a halt.
This led to frequent altercations between the attendees of the club and the far-right. Eventually, it relocated to the basement of Brannigan's on the corner of Call Lane and Lower Briggate, where it changed its name to Fan Club, due to a Levellers leaflet claiming the "F" stood for "
fascist".
It was here that
Andrew Eldritch
Andrew Eldritch (born Andrew William Harvey Taylor, 15 May 1959) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He is the frontman and only remaining original member of the Sisters of Mercy, a band that emerged from the British post-punk scene ...
and
Gary Marx
Gary Marx (born Mark Frederick Pearman) is a British guitarist and musician. He was a founding member of British rock band the Sisters of Mercy and its lead-guitarist and songwriter from 1980 to 1985.
He left the band in 1985 to form Ghost Da ...
, who would go on to be the founding lineup of
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...
first met. In 1981,
The March Violets
The March Violets are an English post-punk/gothic rock band formed in 1981 in Leeds, incorporating singers of both sexes, drum machine rhythms and echo-laden electric guitar, much in the style of fellow Leeds band the Sisters of Mercy. Seven ...
played their first performance at the venue, followed by the Sisters of Mercy's first performance. Bands such as
Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their pla ...
,
New Model Army,
The Danse Society
The Danse Society are an English gothic rock band, formed in Barnsley in 1980. They were originally active until 1987, reforming in 2011. They achieved moderate success during their career. Their lineup included Steve Rawlings (vocals), Paul ...
,
Skeletal Family
Skeletal Family are an English rock band formed in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in December 1982.Kelly, Danny (1985) "Waiter, There's a Bone in my Curry!", ''NME'', 2 February 1985, p. 8 The band was formed from the remaining members of an earlie ...
and
Southern Death Cult
Southern Death Cult were a British post-punk/ gothic rock band in the early 1980s. They are now primarily known for having given their lead singer and parts of the name to the multi-platinum hard rock band the Cult. Despite the similarities in ...
also formed at the club during this period.
On the third and fourth of October 2007, the New Roscoe hosted thirtieth anniversary performance for the club.
On 12 October 2012
Brudenell Social Club
The Brudenell Social Club is a live music venue and social club in Hyde Park, Leeds, England. While being a social enterprise, it retains the "community atmosphere of its origins as a working men's club". The club is split into three areas†...
hosted 35th anniversary concert headlined by
Penetration with support from Expelaires and Knife Edge reforming for the occasion. On 18 August 2018, the
Brudenell Social Club
The Brudenell Social Club is a live music venue and social club in Hyde Park, Leeds, England. While being a social enterprise, it retains the "community atmosphere of its origins as a working men's club". The club is split into three areas†...
hosted forty-first anniversary reunion show for the former members of the club.
References
{{Goth subculture
Goth subculture
Goth venues
Post-punk
Music venues completed in 1977
Music venues in Leeds
1977 establishments in England
Underground punk scene in the United Kingdom
Punk rock venues
Club nights