A7 was a club in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, United States. From 1981 to 1984, it was the unofficial headquarters of the New York hardcore

New York hardcore

New York hardcore refers to hardcore punk and metalcore music created in New York City and to the subculture associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Washington, D.C., by bands such as Bad Brains and Minor Threat. Hardcore '81 is an album by the...

 scene. The tiny space was located on the southeast corner of East 7th Street and Avenue A in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

's East Village

East Village, Manhattan

The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...

. Many bands which later became hardcore icons began at A7. The club was staffed by members of the NYHC scene

New York hardcore

New York hardcore refers to hardcore punk and metalcore music created in New York City and to the subculture associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Washington, D.C., by bands such as Bad Brains and Minor Threat. Hardcore '81 is an album by the...

, including Doug Holland

Doug Holland

Doug Holland played guitar for hardcore punk bands Kraut and the Cro-Mags.He was also a bartender at the A7 in New York City in the early 1980s.-References:*Blush, Steven . American Hardcore. Los Angeles: Feral House. ISBN 0-9229-15-717-7....

 of Kraut

Kraut (band)

Kraut was a New York band who started playing in 1981. Their very first performance was opening for the Clash at Bonds in NYC . Members Include: Davey Gunner , Doug Holland Don Cowan , and Johnny Feedback , and Ryk Oakley, producer...

, Raybeez of Agnostic Front

Agnostic Front

Agnostic Front is an American hardcore band. The band began playing hardcore similar to their contemporaries, and were thrust to the forefront of the burgeoning New York hardcore scene in the mid-1980s with their widely regarded 1984 classic Victim in Pain before evolving to incorporate thrash...

 and Warzone

Warzone (band)

Warzone was an American hardcore punk band formed on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1982. The band helped develop the New York hardcore sound, the hardcore skinhead style and the youth crew subgenre...

, and Jimmy Gestapo

Jimmy Gestapo

James Drescher, better known as Jimmy G or Jimmy Gestapo and also known as Jimmy Spliff, is the lead singer for New York based hardcore punk band Murphy's Law....

 of Murphy's Law

Murphy's Law (band)

Murphy's Law is an American hardcore band from New York City, New York, formed in 1982. While vocalist Jimmy Gestapo remains the only founding member of the band, the line-up has consisted of former members of bands such as Skinnerbox, Danzig, The Bouncing Souls, Mucky Pup, Dog Eat Dog, Hanoi...

. The club operated without a liquor license

Liquor license

-Alberta:In Alberta, liquor licences are issued by the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission.-United Kingdom:Throughout the United Kingdom, the sale of alcohol is restricted—pubs, restaurants, shops and other premises must be licensed by the local authority. The individual responsible for the...

and was often raided by police. A warning spray painted on the outside of the building read: "Out of town bands remember where you are."