Mothers Club, Erdington, Birmingham
Here are details of Mothers Club which featured in the early British blues Scene, including the artists and bands that performed there and some details on ‘whatever happened to …’, plus readers memories of attending the club. Please note this page is currently being developed and will be updated soon.
‘Mothers’ was THE “home of good sounds”. From 1968-1971 the club carved a niche in the history of rock music. The list of bands that performed there reads like a roll call of rock legends. Pink Floyd recorded Ummagumma at Mothers, The Who performed Tommy and Traffic staged their debut gig.
As DJ John Peel was quoted as saying ‘….. I sometimes get mail from younger people who live in Erdington who are amazed to hear that for a few years, the best club in Britain – and it was, because I went to most of them – was right here in Birmingham.’.
History of Mothers Club
‘Mothers’ (formerly the Carlton Ballroom) was a club in the Erdington district of Birmingham, West Midlands, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. It opened above an old furniture store in Erdington High Street on 9 August 1968. The club, run by John ‘Spud’ Taylor and promoter Phil Myatt, closed its doors on 3 January 1971. Between those dates more than 400 acts performed there, many of whom went on to greater success.
Well-known live recordings made in Mothers include those released by Pink Floyd on Ummagumma, recorded on 27 April 1969, and parts of “Facelift” by Soft Machine, released on Third, recorded on 11 January 1970.
The Who performed their rock opera Tommy there. Traffic’s debut took place at the club, and fledgling heavy metal bands like Deep Purple, Judas Priest (whose vocalist Rob Halford mentions Mothers in a song on his 2000 solo album Resurrection and Black Sabbath played some of their earliest gigs there.
Some of the other well-known rock bands and artists to play Mothers include: Family, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Eclection, Edgar Broughton Band, Free, Roy Harper, Blodwyn Pig, Strawbs, Quintessence, Steppenwolf, the Deviants, Jethro Tull, Jon Hiseman’s Colosseum, Skid Row (with Gary Moore), the Nice, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Elton John, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, The Chicago Transit Authority, Moby Grape, Canned Heat (there is a reference to the club in the sleeve notes of their 1969 compilation Canned Heat Cookbook) and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band.
Mothers was voted the number one rock venue in the world by America’s Billboard magazine. John Peel, a regular DJ at the club, was quoted as saying: “People are amazed to hear that for a few years the best club in Britain was in Erdington.”
A Blue Plaque was unveiled at the former Mothers building on 13 July 2013.
Source: Extract from Wikipedia
Artists and Bands
Here is a YouTube video listing all the artists and bands that performed at Mothers Club from 1968 to 1971:
Video created by Adrian www.erdington.info, 2013
Click here if you would rather watch on YouTube:
Memorabilia
Memorabilia from Mothers Club, including a membership card and their monthly schedule (typed on A5 handouts) with their wonderful heading: ‘Mothers’ Heavy Sounds Organisation – Presents These Goodies For Your Mind.
Memories
Here are some memories of attending gigs at Mothers:
The Experience of “Mothers” Club, Erdington, Birmingham, 1969/70 – The Time of Our Lives!
– by Robert Sumner
Memories of Mothers
– by Alan White
If you have memories of Mothers Club and would like to share them here, please email alan@earlyblues.com .
Reunions
A Mothers Club reunion took place at St. Barnabus Church (oposite the site of Mothers Club) on Saturday 21 February 2015. This was an exhibition of memorabilia by collector Dave Gordon. Click here for some details of the event.
‘Mothers 2’ (the second of what will now be an annual event) took place on 10th May 2019. Here is a link to a video of organiser Dave Gordon to tell you about it and show you some of his his vast collection of Mothers memorabilia:
Further Reading and Reference
‘Mothers (1968 – 1971) The Home of Good Sounds’ by Kevin Duffy (Forward by John Peel)
From 1968 – 1971 Mothers Club, Birmingham carved a niche in the history of rock music , being voted number one venue in the world by America’s Billboard Magazine. This book captures the spirit of the club, telling the story of its rise to fame as the mecca of the ‘underground’ music scene.
Publishers: Birmingham Library Services (1997)
ISBN: 0-7093-0217-7
Note: This book is now out of print but you may find a copy on Ebay or other sources.
Internet references:
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