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The Roxy was a fashionable nightclub located at 41–43 Neal Street in London's Covent Garden, known for hosting the flowering British punk music scene in its infancy.


History

The premises had formerly been used as a warehouse to serve the Covent Garden wholesale fruit and vegetable market. In 1970 they were converted to a late-night bar called the Chaguaramas Club. At that time it was owned by
record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
Tony Ashfield, who had several hits with 1970s
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
star John Holt, with whom he formed a company called Chaguaramas Recording Productions, probably after
Chaguaramas Bay Chaguaramas (pronounced, in the local English dialect, "shag-gah-rah-muss") lies in the Northwest Peninsula of Trinidad west of Port of Spain; the name is often applied to the entire peninsula, but is sometimes used to refer to its most developed ...
in
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
.
The Roxy Roxy, Roxey, and Roxie may refer to: People * Roxy (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name Places in the United States * Roxie, Mississippi, a town * Roxie, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Music * Roxy ...
was started by Andrew Czezowski, Susan Carrington and Barry Jones. The space was small, and spread out on two levels, which contained little more than a bar and a dance floor. In December 1976, Czezowski organised three gigs at the Roxy. They financed the venture with borrowed money (Jones, a musician, pawned his guitar to stock the bars, and hire sound equipment, etc.). The first show, on 14 December, was
Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s a ...
, a band Czezowski managed. The second on the following night was
the Heartbreakers The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock. History Johnny Thunders (vocals/guitar) and Jerry ...
. The third, on 21 December, featured Siouxsie and the Banshees and Generation X. However, it was
the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...
and
the Heartbreakers The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock. History Johnny Thunders (vocals/guitar) and Jerry ...
that headlined the official gala opening on 1 January 1977 which was filmed by Julien Temple and finally screened on BBC Four on 1 January 2015 as ''The Clash: New Year's Day '77''. Don Letts was the resident DJ at the club and he was instrumental in encouraging punk rockers to embrace
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
. In 1977,
Harvest Records Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969. History Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...
released an album '' Live at the Roxy WC2'', featuring some of the regular acts who performed there, that made the top 20 in the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
. A further live album was released in May 1978 of lesser known acts such as the
UK Subs U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the f ...
, Open Sore, Crabs and the Bears. Since the late 1980s, a number of previously unreleased recordings of Roxy gigs from the late 1970s have been released as live albums including the Buzzcocks (Trojan 1989), the Adverts (Receiver, 1990),
X-Ray Spex X-Ray Spex were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 in London. During their first incarnation (1976–1979), X-Ray Spex released five singles and one album. Their 1977 single " Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and 1978 debut album '' Germfree Adol ...
(Receiver, 1991), and the Boys (Receiver, 1999). DJ Letts recorded many of the band performances in 1977 at the Roxy, some of which were released the following year as ''
The Punk Rock Movie ''The Punk Rock Movie'' (also known as ''The Punk Rock Movie from England'') is a British 1978 film that was assembled from Super 8 camera footage shot by Don Letts, the disc jockey at The Roxy club during the early days of the UK punk rock ...
''. The anarcho-punk band
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 ...
featured the Roxy as the subject of one of their most well known tracks, "Banned from the Roxy", in 1978.


Site

The site later became the flagship store for the swimwear brand
Speedo Speedo International Limited is a distributor of swimwear and swim-related accessories based in Nottingham, England, known for its swim briefs. The company has roots in Australia but is no longer based there. Founded in Sydney in 1914 by A ...
. On Tuesday 25 April 2017, a 'People's Plaque' was unveiled by the Seven Dials Trust and invited unveilers - Andrew Czezowski and Susan Carrington, the founders of the ROXY (with Barry Jones), Gaye Black ( The Adverts),
Pauline Murray Pauline Murray (born 8 March 1958) is best known as the lead vocalist of the punk rock band Penetration, originally formed in 1976. Early years Pauline Murray was born on 8 March 1958 in Waterhouses, County Durham, England, and her parents late ...
(Penetration), Tessa Pollitt (
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 ...
) and
Jordan Mooney Pamela Rooke (23 June 1955 – 3 April 2022), also known as Jordan and Jordan Mooney, was an English model and actress known for her work with Vivienne Westwood and the SEX boutique in the Kings Road area of London in the mid-1970s, and for ...
(who worked for Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's
Sex (boutique) Sex (stylised SEX) was a boutique run by Vivienne Westwood and her former partner Malcolm McLaren at 430 King's Road, London between 1974 and 1976. It specialised in clothing that defined the look of the punk movement. Paradise Garage From 19 ...
/Seditionaries shop on the
King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...
). The plaque is at first-floor level on
Neal Street Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site ...
, marking the site of 'The Roxy: legendary punk club, 1976–78'. Andrew Czezowski and Susan Carrington, guests and members of the original bands who played at the club then went onto attend the PV of 'Fear & Loathing at the ROXY' an exhibition of photographs taken mainly during the club's first 100 nights, commissioned by Shaftesbury Plc and curated by artist and historian Jane Palm-Gold. The exhibition comprised the works of
Derek Ridgers Derek Ridgers (born 20 October 1950) is a British photographer known for his photography of music, film and club/street culture. He has photographed people including James Brown, the Spice Girls, Clint Eastwood and Johnny Depp, as well as polit ...
,
Ray Stevenson George Raymond Stevenson (born 25 May 1964) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He is known for playing Dagonet in the film ''King Arthur'' (2004) and Titus Pullo in the BBC/ HBO television series ''Rome'' (2005–2007). He has portrayed two M ...
, Jeremy Gibbs and Rebecca Hale and ran for 3 weeks.


Bands that played at the Roxy in its first 100 days

Aside from four bands mentioned above in connection with the December 1976 gigs and the gala opening, other bands that appeared there in the first four months of the club's life (January 1977 to April) included:Thompson, D. (2000) ''Punk'', Collector's Guide Publication, Ontario, Canada, p. 61 – 62 * The Adverts * Alternative TV * The Boys * Buzzcocks *
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
* Cock Sparrer *
The Cortinas The Cortinas were a Bristol-based punk rock band, originally active between 1976 and 1978. Guitarist Nick Sheppard went on to play with the Clash. In 2001, the band's debut single, "Fascist Dictator" (originally released in June 1977), was ...
*
Wayne County & the Electric Chairs Wayne County & the Electric Chairs were part of the first wave of punk bands from the 1970s. The band was headed by Georgia-born singer Jayne County and became known for their campy, foul-mouthed ballads, glam punk inspired songs and image which ...
* The Damned * The Drones * Eater *
Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s a ...
*
The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1 ...
*
The Lurkers The Lurkers are a British punk rock band from Uxbridge, West London. They are notable for being the first group ever on Beggars Banquet Records for whom they released two albums, the first of which charted in the UK Albums Chart, while five si ...
*
Masterswitch Masterswitch was an English rock band active in the late 1970s. Band members The band consisted of four members: *Jimmy Edwards (vocals, guitar) *Stephen Wilkin (guitar) *Mark Steed (bass guitar) *Martin Lee (drums) Formation (1976) Lifelong f ...
* The Models (formerly "Beastly Cads") *
Johnny Moped Johnny Moped are an English punk rock group formed in South London in the mid-1970s, who once had Chrissie Hynde (later of the Pretenders) and Captain Sensible (later of the Damned) as members. Biography Formed in Croydon in May 1974, the b ...
* The Only Ones * Penetration *
The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
* The Rejects * Sham 69 * Siouxsie and the Banshees *
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origin ...
*
Subway Sect Subway Sect were one of the first British punk bands. Although their commercial success was limited by the small amount of recorded material they released, they have been credited as highly influential on the Postcard Records scene and the in ...
*
The Vibrators The Vibrators are a British punk rock band that formed in 1976. Early career The Vibrators were founded by Ian ' Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice ...
* Cherry Vanilla *
Wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...
*
X-Ray Spex X-Ray Spex were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 in London. During their first incarnation (1976–1979), X-Ray Spex released five singles and one album. Their 1977 single " Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and 1978 debut album '' Germfree Adol ...
* XTC


References


Sources

*


Further reading

* www.roxyclub.co.uk *100 Nights at The ROXY republished in 2016 a stunning photographic essay of the famous ROXY London Covent Garden ISBN 978-0-9956129-1-4 * * *


External links


history
Stereo Society
3:AM interview with Andy Czezowski (pt.2)
* https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/czezowski-carrington
The Roxy Facebook groupRoxy Club MyspaceThe Roxy review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roxy, The Nightclubs in London Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Camden Former music venues in London Music venues completed in 1977 1977 establishments in England British punk music New wave music