Local History

With such a range of bands playing, it's no surprise the Joiners has become a home-from-home for self-confessed live music obsessives - like Winchester writer Oliver Gray, author of Volume.

Oliver Gray

As Oliver puts it: "I've seen David Gray and Coldplay playing to very small crowds - and you could tell, 'wow, I'm very privileged to be here'. It's the privilege of seeing such consistently high quality stuff in an atmosphere that is completely conducive to the music. The Joiners is all about the music, and nothing else, and that's what makes it such a special place to be."

"Welcome to our front room..."

...so began the gig from American band Big Dipper, and they're not the only people to remark on the Joiners' intimate and homely nature. It may not have been home to a Southern Beatles, but The Joiners is rightly referred to as "Southampton’s Cavern Club", And just like any good music venue, it does have some rather special characteristics.

As Mint says: "There’s rock music in every brick in the place – it’s what holding it together!"

As there is no backstage area, the bands have to walk through the crowd to get to the small stage. And as Oliver Gray says: "It brings ANY band down to street level...you feel you have a good relationship with the band if they've just walked past you and said 'excuse me mate' on their way to the stage."

The beer might not be the best and the toilets may be prone to the odd flood, but they are covered in fliers and posters of bands from the last decade so there is something to distract you from the the task in hand: "If you can take a leak surrounded by stickers and posters of bands who have played there over the last 20 years, that's part of the fun." says Oliver.

The legendary graffitied dressing room

Former frontman of Kula Shaka, Crispian Mills, (now with The Jeevas) said: "I've played there twice and they were both excellent gigs. They create the illusion that there's this cosy dressing room, but on closer inspection you can see a big pipe from the gents toilet which runs along the back wall and sometimes leaks! If you can tolerate that then you'll have a great gig."

Another aspect of the venue that is legendary in music circles is the graffitied underground 'dressing room'. Bands are invited to leave their signatures, stickers or logos on the walls. Although some famous names were painted over by a landlady having a clean-up several years ago, it still documents some of the up-and-coming names in rock.

More than music

But it is more than just watching bands do their stuff - within the confines of the back room couples have got together, split up, friendships have been made, birthdays and exam results celebrated and sorrows drowned. There have been memorable shows and instantly forgettable ones, but nights at the Joiners are part of the lives of countless Southampton music lovers.

The Kills V.V (aka Alison Mosshart)

Oliver Gray even proposed to his wife in The Joiners - and two decades later, his daughter's band Sense played one of their first gigs there: "That was a matter of extreme satisfaction to me ... I got very emotional, it was great to see them on that wonderful stage. It was exciting, as despite being a regular for so many years, I finally got to get into the dressing room downstairs which I'd never been before which was fun - it put a new perspective on it!"

Woody is another regular who liked going to the Joiners so much, he moved into a flat just behind the venue: "Mint used to live here and when he moved out he told me about the flat and I thought, 'why not', it was a lucky convenience. It's great because I can pick and choose any bands I've read about in NME, I can dive across and see what they're like!"

The death of Curt Cubain in 1994 was one of the defining moments in the lives of a generation of musicians. The lead singer of Indie band Blessed Ethel, Sara, announced the suicide of the Nirvana front-man to a shocked Joiners audience. Ged Babey remembers that: "The party-mood vibe evaporated instantaneously - the rumour had become fact." Incidentally the support band that night, who were equally shell-shocked by the news, were a group of three 16 year-old- lads from Northern Ireland called Ash.

New York band, Ambulance Ltd

John Clare ran Henry's Records in St Mary's Street for 15 years before emigrating to Perth in Australia. The shop was as much a part of the alternative scene of the time as the Joiners was and he remembers some great jam sessions during the blues nights:

"The number was the old blues song, Going Down and there was Bruce Roberts, Vernon Shooter and Paul Briar, all trying to literally blow each other off the stage. These guitar solos went on for about half an hour and the place was getting hotter and hotter until Bruce just played a really simple like series of notes and the rest conceded and said 'well done Bruce, we can't follow that'. That was a fantastic night!"

The future's bright?

Situated in the heart of the St Mary's district of Southampton, the Joiners' fortunes have ebbed and flowed as much as the community it is in the midst of. It's witnessed football riots, economic depressions and battles with breweries. But with the current regeneration of the area, and a dedicated team running the place, its survival continues. It's even had a lick of paint and a new PA system.

The Joiners has continued promoting touring bands and is now one of the few local venues regularly showcasing local emerging talent. Hopefully this generation will keep providing the sort of new music that is adored by the aficionados who can't imagine life without the Joiners on St Mary's Street.