Picture from Nottingham Post
It was in the local news today that the defunct music venue Junktion 7 is to be knocked down and turned into student flats. For once I am not angry about something being knocked down as the building is a 1960s eyesore, the type favoured by Nottingham Council in the era of cash backhanders to allow the vandalism of beautiful Victoriana in exchange for grey blocks, I am however starting to wonder just what is behind the obsession with turning everything in Nottingham into student accommodation when we only have two Universities and I have never seen a student sleeping rough. I am quite happy to go on record as saying that I believe that Nottingham Council is still infested with people who have more money under the mattress than in their pay packet, it would explain a lot of the stupid decisions that are made.
Anyway, this isn't about how shit and corrupt Nottingham Council is, nor is it about how they still haven't learned their lesson regarding architectural vandalism and apologised. It is about music venues. There are plenty of brilliant venues in the city and there seems to be a new one popping up all the time, such is the pool of musical talent on offer in Nottingham, so it is (I would imagine) reasonably easy for a talented musician to get a gig. Come to think of it you don't always need to be talented, I have watched some real stinkers but I like living in a world where the crap bands get a chance too, it does no harm because they will fade away into obscurity and nobody will remember them. When I want to see live music I am spoilt for choice, so I am not mourning the demise of Junktion 7, in fact I would go so far as to say I couldn't give a shit.
Don't get me wrong, I have no axe to grind with them and I fully understand why it has stirred nostalgic feelings in people, but Junktion 7 made no impact on my life. A few people have asked my opinion on today's news (not the local media obviously because I am invisible to them) and I have told them that I have no connection to it so I can't join in with today's mourning. Facebook and Twitter had a smattering of people who had played or promoted there, and with it as part of your history then it is understandable.
I moved back to Nottingham in 2007 and Junktion 7 closed in 2008 (ignoring the forgettable reboot as Seven) so I went to a few gigs there but they were nothing to write home about. The other factor is that I wasn't involved in the local music scene so had no opportunity to become a regular, in fact the demise of Junktion 7 pre-dates the start of my radio career and the whole Sunday Alternative empire. For some strange reason I can't get sentimental about live music venues because it is what is on stage that counts, of course the best ones are a bit gammy around the edges (let's face it, The Maze is one of my favourite venues but the toilets are a bit of a health hazard) but if they close down I'll just go somewhere else because people won't stop performing.
The Sunday Alternative #55 is available from here.
===
September housekeeping
Please consider making a donation using the PayPal button to help finance ongoing projects such as podcasts, short films, documentaries, comedy sketches and other entertainment that I will make available online free of charge.
Any money made by the sale of products on my shop page also goes into the fund, ideal Christmas presents!
steveEoliver@gmail.com
