Beneath the riotously entertaining tales of wild nights (Swans' show in 1987 sounds particularly special/sonically traumatising), Harry Sword's Guardian article on legendary Birmingham boozer the Mermaid underlines the way in which grassroots gig venues can be both creative hubs and safe havens of inestimable value to their local music communities.
In doing so, the piece helps to make the Music Venue Trust's case that a proportion of the cash harvested by arenas (and, I should add, ticketing companies) should be redistributed to keep places like the Mermaid and Cardiff's very own Moon afloat.
I've previously written in praise of Lisa Meyer of Capsule/Supersonic for setting up the project Home Of Metal, which seeks to recognise and celebrate the connection between metal and Birmingham/the Black Country. Drawing attention to the region's musical heritage and the Mermaid's integral part in the story of Napalm Death, as well as the grindcore/punk scene as a whole, through a four-part podcast and a publication fits the project's remit perfectly.
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