Back in 1982, the original Goth club opened over at Soho in London (most notably at the building that housed Gossips, at the club formally known as Billy’s, located on 69 Dean St) This was an event organized by the members of the dark and glamorous Specimen, and featured Dj’s such as Hamish Macdonald with his project Sexbeat, and Anni Hogan, who would become a long time collaborator with Marc Almond, who was also a regular attendee.

In fact, this was a club attended by nearly every Post-Punk musician in London at the time, such as Robert Smith of The Cure, members Siouxsie and The Banshees (Note that Steven Severin and Robert Smith wrote music for Marc Almond and Anni Hogan’s project Marc and the Mambas, this, along with The Glove was surely a collaboration inspired by hanging out at The Batcave), Nick Cave, Nik Fiend (Alien Sex Fiend), Andi Sex Gang (Sex Gang Children), Ian Astbury of Southern Death Cult—they all haunted this club.

Indeed, the Batcave was the place to be, and the highly stylized dark glamour of the attendees went on to define what would be considered the “Gothic” subculture, even connecting with bands in Los Angeles, such as Christian Death, and with the legendary Danceteria nightclub in New York.

Watch the Riverside Halloween special on The Batcave below, and as a bonus, we’ve included two more videos on Specimen and The Batcave as well…

Happy Halloween!

Plus Danielle Dax | Pariah

Photo of Nick Cave and Nik Fiend by Mick Mercer