Mothers (formerly the Carlton Ballroom) was a club in the

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...

district of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, England, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. It opened above an old furniture store in Erdington High Street on 9 August 1968.''Brum Rocked On!'' by Laurie Hornsby, The club, run by John 'Spud' Taylor and promoter Phil Myatt, closed its doors on 3 January 1971. Between those dates more than 400 acts performed there, many of whom went on to great success. Well-known live recordings made in Mothers include those released by Pink Floyd on ''

Ummagumma ''Ummagumma'' is the fourth album by English rock band Pink Floyd. It is a double album and it was released on 7 November 1969 by Harvest Records. The first disc consists of live recordings from concerts at Mothers Club in Birmingham and the Co ...

'', recorded on 27 April 1969, and parts of "Facelift" by Soft Machine, released on '' Third'', recorded on 11 January 1970.

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

performed their rock opera ''

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

'' there.

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffi ...

's debut took place at the club, and fledgling heavy metal bands like Deep Purple, Judas Priest (whose vocalist Rob Halford mentions Mothers in a song on his 2000 solo album ''Resurrection'') and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

played some of their earliest gigs there. Some of the other well-known

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

bands and artists to play Mothers include:

Family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, Fleetwood Mac,

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are an English blues rock band led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall. While never producing a hit of their own, the band has been influential as an incubator for British rock and blues ...

Eclection Eclection were a British-based folk rock band, originally formed in 1967 in London by Norwegian-born Georg Kajanus (then known as Georg Hultgreen), Canadian Michael Rosen, Australians Trevor Lucas and Kerrilee Male, and Briton Gerry Conway. The ...

Edgar Broughton Band The Edgar Broughton Band, founded in Warwick in 1968, were an English rock band. Career The band started their career as a blues group under the name of The Edgar Broughton Blues Band, playing to a small following in the region around t ...

, Free, Roy Harper,

Blodwyn Pig Blodwyn Pig was a British blues rock band, founded in 1968 by guitarist–vocalist–songwriter Mick Abrahams. Career Abrahams left Jethro Tull after their debut album, '' This Was'', was released, due to a falling-out with Tull vocalist Ian A ...

, Strawbs, Quintessence, Steppenwolf, the Deviants, Jethro Tull, Jon Hiseman's Colosseum,

Skid Row A skid row or skid road is an impoverished area, typically urban, in English-speaking North America whose inhabitants are mostly poor people " on the skids". This specifically refers to poor or homeless, considered disreputable, downtrodden or fo ...

(with Gary Moore),

the Nice The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music and were keyboardist Keith Emerson's first commercially successful band. The group was formed in 1967 by Emerson, Lee Jack ...

Tyrannosaurus Rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

, Elton John,

King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

, The Chicago Transit Authority,

Moby Grape Moby Grape is an American rock band founded in 1966, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting, and who collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz with rock and psychedelic music. They were ...

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. The group is noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists and rock music. It was founded by two blues enthusiasts Alan Wilson and Bob ...

(there is a reference to the club in the sleeve notes of their 1969 compilation ''Canned Heat Cookbook'') and the

Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band (also known as The Bonzo Dog Band or The Bonzos) was created by a group of British art-school students in the 1960s. Combining elements of music hall, trad jazz and psychedelia with surreal humour and avant-garde a ...

. While returning home to London from a performance at Mothers on 12 May 1969, Fairport Convention's van crashed on the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...

, killing drummer

Martin Lamble Martin Francis Lamble (28 August 1949 – 12 May 1969) was the drummer for British folk rock band Fairport Convention, from just after their formation in 1967, until his death in the band's van crash in 1969. He joined the band after attending ...

, 19, and Jeannie Franklyn, guitarist Richard Thompson's girlfriend. The rest of the band suffered injuries of varying severity. Mothers was voted the number one rock venue in the world by America's '' Billboard'' magazine. John Peel, a regular DJ at the club, was quoted as saying: "People are amazed to hear that for a few years the best club in Britain was in Erdington." Roy Harper later told '' Brum Beat'' magazine: A Blue Plaque was unveiled at the former Mothers building on 13 July 2013.

References

External links

Brum Rocked On!Mothers' historyMothers (Carlton Ballroom)
{{Authority control Culture in Birmingham, West Midlands 1968 establishments in England 1971 disestablishments in England Music venues in Birmingham, West Midlands Erdington