News - Bid to create punk hall of fame at former Retford nightclub

A CAMPAIGN has been launched by music lovers to turn defunct Retford nightclub The Porterhouse into a Punk Rock Hall of Fame.

A bid to get those with fond memories of the once legendary Retford music venue to come together and buy it has already attracted hundreds of supporters.

Retford man Dean Bell, otherwise known as Xpyda, has launched a move to buy and run the former nightclub in Carolgate as a co-operative, DIY initiative.

His Facebook group has attracted hundreds of supporters who hope to collect enough to bid at an auction next month. The guide price is £60,000 to £90,000.

The Porterhouse, started by former market trader Sammy Jackson, was renowned in the 1970s and 1980s as a Mecca for live music, playing host to some of the top acts of the day, like U2, AC/DC and Madness.

Mr Bell said: "I had an idea to create 'The Punk Rock Hall of Fame' as a co-operative organisation and started a Facebook group when I first saw that the building was up for sale.

"The idea is very simple. The building has a history, but at the moment is doing nothing. If enough people cared, with a small contribution each, we could buy it.

"Punk rock invaded the heart of the country at the Porterhouse

"People from London and Edinburgh used to get on a train to come down for the night – people came from Hull, Lincoln, Manchester, Doncaster, Sheffield too.

"What better place to build the punk rock hall of fame on a sustainable, co-operative, fair trade, DIY principle than here in Retford?"

The fact the Porterhouse is up for sale has sparked fond memories of nights out for some readers.

Ex-Porterhouse DJ Andy Cooke saw some of the club's more memorable nights from the best seat in the house.

He said: "I was the DJ there from about 1978 to 1984 and there were some brilliant nights.

"We had blues band the Honey Drippers, fronted by Robert Plant, who were amazing and Duran Duran stopped off at the Porterhouse about the time they released Planet Earth."

The Porterhouse will go under the hammer on Tuesday, March 8. For more details, call Klair Hill on 01427 616118.

Find the campaign to buy the Porterhouse on Facebook or at www.xpyda.co.uk/porterhouse/index.html

If I could afford it I’d be in – this museum would be a brilliant alternative to the rubbish and doomed from the start Sheffield ‘kettles’, it’ll probably be better than the also saved this week 100 Club in London!. (For those wondering how this got on a history/archaeology website you need to remember that ‘proper punk’ was in the mid 1970’s – over 30 years ago -  it was an important change to the music industry in this country where local kids could start a band and get their songs released on local/independent labels rather than ‘selling out’ to the big corporations) Oh yes and my favourite band of all time is Slaughter & the Dogs :)