Soundwaves: Music in Newham

Celebrating 60 years of Newham’s musical heritage with Rendezvous Projects

Soundwaves: Music in Newham celebrates 60 years of the boroughs rich and diverse musical heritage, from the minds of Lucy Harrison and Katherine Green at Rendezvous Projects. Soundwaves dives into the histories of over 70 venues, many of them now unfortunately closed, and explores their many and varied contributions to the musical heritage of East London and the UK. Using archive photos, videos, and oral histories the team had gathered, I created 15 films about some of the venues profiled, ranging from The Princess Alice, where the first Rock Against Racism gig was held, BB’s social club, a music venue run by Belford Butler from his home, Bridge House which saw early Depeche Mode performances, which then became Bentley’s, one of East London’s most influential Black-led venues, The Ruskin Arms where heavy metal fans gathered for Iron Maiden gigs, Club Afrique, one of East London’s most significant African music venues, and Fold, a community-driven nightclub on an industrial estate in Canning Town.

You can explore all the venues on their stunning website www.soundwavesnewham.co.uk

With thanks to all at Rendezvous for their patient support in pulling together a huge amount of content, particularly Jan Cullen for bringing me on board.