The bandwagon club
Encyclopedia
The Bandwagon was a club night held on the first Saturday of every month at the Zanzibar club on Seel Street, Liverpool
from 2001 to 2005. The Bandwagon night was run by John Robinson and Gary Murphy, members of the now defunct Liverpool band The Bandits
.
The Bandwagon was seen as a focal part of the local music scene, dubbed the Cosmic Scouse Scene by the NME
, which emerged in Liverpool in the early 2000s. The Coral
, The Zutons
, The Stands
, The Basement, Tramp Attack
and The Hokum Clones
were all Bandwagon regulars, who forged their reputations at the night. The Bandwagon also played host to The Libertines
and Noel Gallagher
.
The Bandwagon drew attention from the media, particularly the NME
, and was the subject of a feature on Channel Four’s 4music who filmed in the venue on a night when members of The Stands, The Bandits and The Hokum Clones joined on stage to play a cover of Bob Dylan’s Maggie’s Farm. The Bandwagon played a guest night at the Knitting Factory
in New York in October 2003.
The Bandwagon club night ended as a regular night in 2005 when The Bandits broke up, and has continued only sporadically since then. A similar night called Bandwagonesque, now takes place in The Metropolitan on Berry Street, some 150 yards (137.2 m) away from the previous venue.
A promotional sticker for the Bandwagon club night is found on an entry in Pete Doherty’s
journal, Books of Albion
in an entry detailing a night out he had with John Robinson and Gary Murphy of The Bandits.
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
from 2001 to 2005. The Bandwagon night was run by John Robinson and Gary Murphy, members of the now defunct Liverpool band The Bandits
The Bandits
The Bandits were an English blues rock band from Liverpool. They are most notable for the singles "Take it and Run" and "2 Step Rock", which both reached the Top 40 on the UK Singles Chart.-History:...
.
The Bandwagon was seen as a focal part of the local music scene, dubbed the Cosmic Scouse Scene by the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, which emerged in Liverpool in the early 2000s. The Coral
The Coral
The Coral are an English band formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula in England. The band first emerged during the early 2000s and found success with their debut album The Coral and follow up Magic and Medicine...
, The Zutons
The Zutons
The Zutons are an English indie rock band from Liverpool. They were formed in 2001 but did not release their first album, Who Killed...... The Zutons?, until May 2004. They achieved their biggest hits with "Why Won't You Give Me Your Love?" and "Valerie", both taken from their second studio album...
, The Stands
The Stands
The Stands were an English band from Liverpool.-Biography:The Stands were formed by Howie Payne in 2002. There was no fixed line up in the band originally and local musicians Martyn Campbell Sean Payne Russel Pritchard and Robby Stevenson all contributed to early shows...
, The Basement, Tramp Attack
Tramp Attack
Tramp Attack are an English rock band from Liverpool.-History:Tramp Attack formed in Liverpool at the turn of the century, and the original lineup included the future leader of The Zutons Dave McCabe; as well as Hollyoaks and Brookside actor Kristian Ealey....
and The Hokum Clones
The Hokum Clones
The Hokum Clones was a blues rock acoustic guitar duo from Liverpool, England, and considered by most to be the Greatest band in the entire history of western culture.-History:...
were all Bandwagon regulars, who forged their reputations at the night. The Bandwagon also played host to The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
and Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
.
The Bandwagon drew attention from the media, particularly the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, and was the subject of a feature on Channel Four’s 4music who filmed in the venue on a night when members of The Stands, The Bandits and The Hokum Clones joined on stage to play a cover of Bob Dylan’s Maggie’s Farm. The Bandwagon played a guest night at the Knitting Factory
Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a music venue and concert house with locations in Brooklyn, Boise, Reno, and Spokane. The club originally specialized in jazz and experimental music and has expanded to showcasing all genres of music, performing arts and comedy....
in New York in October 2003.
The Bandwagon club night ended as a regular night in 2005 when The Bandits broke up, and has continued only sporadically since then. A similar night called Bandwagonesque, now takes place in The Metropolitan on Berry Street, some 150 yards (137.2 m) away from the previous venue.
A promotional sticker for the Bandwagon club night is found on an entry in Pete Doherty’s
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
journal, Books of Albion
Books of Albion
The Books of Albion, or Journals: The Collected Writings of Peter Doherty, is an anthology of the poetry and diary entries of English musician and poet Pete Doherty, currently of The Libertines. He is also currently a member of the group Babyshambles but is now working as a member of The...
in an entry detailing a night out he had with John Robinson and Gary Murphy of The Bandits.