We’ve had another dip into our extensive Brixton photo archives and pulled out this selection from ten years ago.
Above: Passengers heading to Brixton tube on Bank Holiday Monday were met by the worrying sight of armed police, Alsatian dogs and knife arches in attendance.
Passengers entering the tube station were subjected to bag searches and were forced to walk through a metal detecting arch.
Locals weren’t happy about this, especially as no explanation was given (our only guess was that it was related to the Notting Hill Carnival).
The sad sight of the boarded up King Of Sardinia pub at 21 Somers Road, SW2
Known locally as the ‘King of Sardines’, there was a pub on this site since Victorian times, with the pub being listed in the 1881 census.
Archive photo of the pub.
This pub was rebuilt in the 1935, but has now been converted into private flats.
Read more about the King of Sardinia here.
Starting up in the Ritzy back in Feb 2004, Brixton’s Offline Club continues to host free nights all around the area.
Hoofed out of their original venue because of noise complaints from Screen 5 patrons, the club moved to the Dogstar, and then started putting on similar nights at the Prince Albert and Jamm as well.
With Brixton being well off the tourist’s map, the Prince Albert was a much quieter place in 2006, with the place being almost exclusively patronised by locals, squatters from across the road, passing eccentrics and new friends lured in by urban75.
Now that is a haircut.
This would have been considered a fairly busy night in the Albert ten years ago!
The equipment in the Albert was notoriously flaky!
The Thursday night Offline club events at Jamm were much bigger affairs, with bands, spoken word, performance and DJs. They were always free.
This bill featured a two-room line up, with an eclectic bill in store.
Above can be seen experimental, hurdy-gurdy powered acoustic folksters, Salt And Blue.
Hosting the cabaret was Birmingham’s very own Mark Mace Smith.
There was a big crowd in for the night, with award winning comedian Robert Newman headlining the show. He was very funny indeed.
It Hugs Back onstage.
British Asian poets/performance artists D’Archetypes were sensationally good.
See more Brixton history:
On this site
On the boards
On the comprehensive urban75 Brixton history archives
Find out about the lost pubs of Brixton
Offline Club – upcoming gigs