Riverside was a music venue in Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, United Kingdom which ran between 1985 and 1999. It is the subject of a book, Riverside: Newcastle's Legendary Alternative Music Venue by Hazel Plater and Carl Taylor, published by Tonto Books on 6 October 2011.

The venue was significant for a number of reasons:

The Co-operative

It was set up as a left wing co-operative, Riverside Entertainments Ltd, using funding from Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...

's government. Each member had a share and a vote on how the venue was run.

Significant Appearances

Artists who played included Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...

, Billy Bragg

Billy Bragg

Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...

, The Primitives

The Primitives

The Primitives are a British indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash".-Biography:The Primitives were part of the indie music scene of the mid-1980s alongside bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, the Soup...

, Michelle Shocked

Michelle Shocked

Michelle Shocked is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.-History:Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes .Her first U.S...

, Pop Will Eat Itself

Pop Will Eat Itself

Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band, originally formed in Stourbridge in 1986, with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a Grebo act, their style changed to incorporate sample driven indie and industrial rock...

, Doctor and the Medics

Doctor and the Medics

Doctor and the Medics are a London based psychedelic rock band which enjoyed greatest success in the 1980s and are best known for their UK No. 1 song, "Spirit in the Sky"...

, The Fall, James

James (band)

James are a British rock band from Manchester, England. They formed in 1982 and were active throughout the 1980s, but most successful during the 1990s. Their hit singles include "Come Home", "Sit Down", and "She's a Star" as well as their American College Radio hit "Laid"...

, The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...

, Happy Mondays

Happy Mondays

Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...

, Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...

, Nirvana

Nirvana (band)

Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...

 (Riverside was their first live show outside North America), Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...

, Oasis

Oasis (band)

Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...

 (famously cut short due to a fracas whilst broadcast live on BBC Radio One), Super Furry Animals

Super Furry Animals

Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...

, Catatonia

Catatonia (band)

Catatonia were an alternative rock band from Wales who gained a national following in the United Kingdom in the mid to late 1990s. The band consisted of Cerys Matthews on vocals, Mark Roberts on guitar, Paul Jones on bass , Owen Powell on...

, Faithless

Faithless

Faithless were a British electronica band consisting of Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo. The group is best known for their dance songs . Faithless recorded six albums. During their career they sold over 15 million records worldwide...

 and David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

 (at 890 capacity, it was the smallest venue on his 1997 tour).

TV Show

In 1991 Riverside had its own, self titled, Tyne Tees Television

Tyne Tees Television

Tyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and parts of North Yorkshire. As of 2009, it forms part of a non-franchise ITV Tyne Tees & Border region, shared with the ITV Border region...

 produced 'fly-on-the-wall

Fly on the wall

Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in filmmaking and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them...

' TV show, when the genre was still new.

Club Nights

The venue was also renowned for its club nights; Bliss, Woosh, The Bing Bong Rooms, Scarlet Weasel, The Palace, Viva and, most notably, house night Shindig. In an interview with The Crack magazine, Shindig promoter and DJ, Scott Bradford said that the best days of Shindig were those the club night spent at Riverside, between 1994 and 1999.

Changes and Sale

Riverside ceased to be a co-operative and became a limited company - Riverside Operations Ltd in 1994. The venue continued to trade until the building was sold in 1999. Foundation nightclub then ran on the same site, from 2000-2005. The building is now office space with a private gym where the venue once was. Since 2010, Newcastle upon Tyne has a new venue called 'Riverside' on the site of the former 'Sea' night club - this is not connected to the original Riverside venue.

The Book

In 2010, Hazel Plater (who worked at the venue) and Carl Taylor (an enthusiastic attendee) began work on a definitive book about the venue, 'Riverside: Newcastle's Legendary Alternative Music Venue'. A preview of the book appeared in the September 2011 edition of The Crack magazine: link to preview