The 688 Club was a popular alternative music venue in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, located at 688 Spring Street, near the intersection of Spring and 3rd Streets. The 688 Club opened in May 1980 and closed in November 1986. The club was operated by Steve May. The club was co-owned by Tony Evans, John Wicker, and in its final years by Mike Hendry. Cathy Hendrix served as the club's music director. During its brief lifetime, the 688 played host to hundreds of punk rock, new wave and

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

bands, many of whom would later become well known. During the early 1980s, the 688 Club was the primary place for up-and-coming bands from Atlanta and

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the ...

, to get noticed. Among the groups that regularly played there were R.E.M. and Pylon. The club spun off an independent record label, 688 Records, which survived for a time even after 688 Club had closed.

Dash Rip Rock Dash Rip Rock is an American rock band. Originally playing rockabilly and country music, the band is best known for its cowpunk sound, which mixes punk rock, rockabilly, hard rock, country and boogie. ''The New York Times'' stated that Dash Rip ...

's self-titled debut LP was the first album released by 688 Records.

After 688 Club

The club re-opened as the "686 Club" on December 31, 1986, but was renamed "The Rollick" the next day. By 1990, the space was occupied by a club called "Weekends". The club was operated by an Atlanta attorney as an industrial/ goth club known as Tyranny from 1995 - 2000. The space was later occupied by Outa Control Inc. Sometime thereafter, the original building was extensively remodeled, and houses a

Concentra Concentra Inc., is a national health care establishment founded in 1979 in Amarillo, Texas. The headquarters of the corporation is in Addison, Texas and runs approximately 520 urgent care locations across 44 states. The company is linked with ove ...

urgent care An urgent care center (UCC), also known as an urgent treatment centre in the United Kingdom, is a type of walk-in clinic focused on the delivery of urgent ambulatory care in a dedicated medical facility outside of a traditional emergency departme ...

medical facility.

List of performers

A partial list of notable bands and artists that appeared at the 688 Club between

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

: *

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* 999 *

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(

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) *

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(as "Mr. Crowe's Garden") * Black Flag *

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* Joe "King" Carrasco * John Cale *

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and

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* Jonathan Richman * Kevin McFoy Dunn *

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* Love Tractor *

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* The Method Actors * Minutemen * Mr. Crowe's Garden * New Order * The Nightporters * Now Explosion * Oh OK *

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* The Plague * The Plastics * The Plazza Drugs *

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* Public Image Ltd. * Pylon * Ramones *

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* RuPaul *

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* The Side Effects * Siouxsie and the Banshees *

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* Uncle Green *

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* X-teens

References

External links

{{Authority control Music venues in Atlanta Former music venues in the United States 1980 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 1986 disestablishments in the United States