Batcave

The Batcave was a weekly club-night in central London’s Soho, launched in 1982 at 69 Dean Street. It began in the Gargoyle Club’s basement theatre and moved later to Leicester Square. The night gave its name to the Batcavers, early goth fans who wore batwing coffin necklaces. Olli Wisdom, lead singer of Specimen, ran the event with guitarist Jon Klein as art director. Hugh Jones helped organise the first months before the club changed venues.

The club became the birthplace of the Southern English goth subculture. Bands like Bauhaus, the Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees played there early on. Alien Sex Fiend, Specimen and Sex Gang Children all performed live sets. DJ Hamish MacDonald spun four-hour records while 8mm films played in the old theatre. The night also hosted cabaret acts such as Mr Swing the Fakir and occasional mud-wrestling.

Visitors found a dim, theatrical space where glam rock met early goth. The music shifted from new wave to darker gothic rock over five months. A guest DJ once spun upstairs beside a US Army jeep parked by the bar. The club’s spirit drew freaks, weirdos and sexual deviants who wanted something brighter than the suburbs. Its legacy shaped goth fashion and the gothic rock genre that followed.