...Places of Punk Significance...
Heroes at The YMCA, Chelmsford
...Some First Hand Testimonies...
Punk Rock
Heroes Punk Club at The YMCA, ChelmsfordCrispin Coulson
Heroes at the YMCA was the one of the first special music nights in early 80's Chelmsford unless you count the Folk Club at the Civic! Inspired by the the Bowie / Blitz / Studio 21 / Rum Runner scene, Heroes was a great place to pose and see your mates in bands. My claim to fame is that I designed the logo for Heroes, but that's another story. What memories do you have of those heady sweaty nights at Heroes?

Donald Rodie
I seem to remember Nelly playing some pretty bizarre stuff when he was behind the decks. I think we had the Who's Cobwebs and Strange once.

Richard Chester
I used to help out and DJ at Heroes always trying to get the most obscure sounds possible. I'm still after the album that featured the reconstructed instruments found in an archaeological dig, made from the entire skeleton of a wooly mammoth and played by the Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra. Anyone got a copy?. I remember one of the best gigs there being Coil, who played a blinding set to about 4 of us.

Karen Everitt
Some excellent bands played there, my fave being The Lurkers. The Addicts played several times but I appear to remember only myself and Moulde actually liking them! Memories of Friday nights - ah - Horris attempting to drown himself in the sink of the men's toilets (!), Neil hanging by his finger tips from the window threatening to jump.

Helen Drever
I remember going to Heroes on my own for the first time at age 15, my family had just moved down to Essex from Lincolnshire and I was missing my old friends and making the transition from ponies to punk...liked it so much more than barndances and young farmers in their best wellies...time moves on and now I find myself organising a Devon church barndance and developing an interest in old farmers...hopeless bumpkin...not very convincing punk either...I do remember Ian Fortnum coming over to talk to me...always ready to help out a young woman alone : )

Kevin Orrin
I don't remember trying to drown in a sink. But it is possible!!!!

Ian Fortnam
Am I right in thinking that you had a miniature anchor eye-pencilled onto your cheek that first night Helen? And I'm sure the Horriss/sink interface occurred at the Triangle Club. And then later at the multi-storey car park. But that, as Crispin might put it, is another story. I also seem to remember that Molde used to regularly light up the Heroes dance floor with Les Vampyrettes' Biomutanten and Suzi 'Jordan' Pinns' version of Rule Britannia. Not to mention Neil Rushton's legendary Adam Ant routine. Happy days indeed...
Text Care Of Chelmsford Wild Youth
Punk Rock

 

 

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