Warzone Collective was formed in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, in 1984. It is an anarchopunk group which set up a self-managed social centre called Giro's in 1986. The project moved to a bigger premises in 1991 and became known as the Warzone Centre. The project closed down in 2003 and the collective folded, only to reform in 2009 and open another iteration of the social centre in 2011. This project closed down in 2018 and the collective continues.

Background

1980s Belfast was greatly affected by the

Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

, a sustained military conflict between many different parties. The name ''Warzone'' is a reference to this background. ''Giro's'' is a reference to the Giro bank transfer by which unemployment benefit was distributed. The punks of Warzone took a stance which was indifferent to religion and anyone was welcome at the

social centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

, whether they were atheist, Catholic or Protestant. In the early 1980s, punks would meet at Fountain Street and Cornmarket in Belfast, and at the short-lived Anarchy Centre. They were inspired by bands like

Crass Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a lifestylism, way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the ...

and

The Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradle ...

. After the Warzone Collective formed in 1984, a social centre with a café, rehearsal space and a screen printing room known as Giro's was set up in 1986. The space was used for meetings by anarchist, animal rights, lesbian and gay groups.

Warzone Centre

In 1991, the social centre moved to a larger place (on Donegal Lane) and became known as the Warzone Centre. The café continued and there was also a

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

all ages ''All Ages'' is a compilation album by the American punk rock band Bad Religion. It was released on July 26, 1995, through Epitaph Records. The compilation contains songs from '' How Could Hell Be Any Worse?'' to '' Generator'', and two live trac ...

punk venue. It hosted many gigs before closing in 2003. Warzone became a fixture for touring bands, including

Bluetip Bluetip was an American rock band from Washington, D.C., forming in March 1995 by ex-members of Swiz. They released four albums, an EP, and a number of singles before splitting up in January 2002. Originally, the band was to be named The Ohio Blu ...

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the title Fall of Because but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals and programming) and G. C. Gre ...

, Hard Skin, Jawbreaker and

Los Crudos Los Crudos is an American hardcore punk band from Chicago, Illinois active from 1991 to 1998 and from 2006 onward. Comprising all Latino members, the band paved the way for later Spanish-speaking punk bands in the United States and helped to ...

. Local bands included Stalag 17 and

Toxic Waste Toxic waste is any unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm (e.g. by being inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin). Mostly generated by industry, consumer products like televisions, computers, and phones contain toxic chemi ...

. Warzone was similar to many other self-managed projects worldwide such as the

1 in 12 Club The 1 in 12 Club refers to both a members' club and the building in which it is based, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Owned and run by its membership as a collective based upon anarchist principles, its activities include social and pol ...

in Bradford and the

924 Gilman Street The Alternative Music Foundation located at 924 Gilman Street, often referred to by its fans simply as "Gilman", is a non-profit, all-ages, collectively organized music club. It is located in the West Berkeley area of Berkeley, California, about ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

. Photographer Ricky Adam published a book called ''Belfast Punk'' in 2017 which profiled the punk scene based around Warzone in the 1990s. The collective reformed in 2009 and opened a new social centre (also called Warzone Centre or just the Centre) at a new location on Little Victoria Street in 2011. The centre had a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

café (still called Giro's) and hosted gigs. It also put on documentary film nights and provided a meeting space for different groups, for example

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pr ...

and guerilla gardening. The centre was evicted in 2018 and the building was demolished.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Website
Social centres in the United Kingdom Anarchism in Europe Punk rock Anarcho-punk venues Veganism in the United Kingdom Anarchist organisations in the United Kingdom 1984 establishments in Northern Ireland 2011 establishments in Northern Ireland 2003 disestablishments in Northern Ireland 2018 disestablishments in Northern Ireland