RGG May 2016 - p.12
A reunion concert to celebrate 45 years since this iconic
Birminghammusic venue closed its doors featuring:
Steve Gibbons Band, Terry Reid,
Edgar Broughton and Del Bromham
Mothers Music Venue
Erdington, Birmingham
1968 – 1971
MOTHERS MUSIC VENUE
A BRIEF HISTORY
Mothers (formerly the Carlton Ballroom) opened above
an old furniture store in Erdington High Street on
August
The club run by John 'Spud' Taylor and
promoter Phil Myatt closed its doors on January
Between these times more than
acts performed
there many of whom went on to greater success
Well known live recordings that took place in Mothers
were the recordings that Pink Floyd released on
Ummagumma recorded on April
and parts of
"Facelift" by Soft Machine released on Third recorded
January
The Who performed Tommy and Traffic's world debut
took place at Mothers along with fledgling heavy metal
bands like Black Sabbath playing 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 Quintes
sence Steppenwolf Deep Purple The Deviants Jethro
Tull Jon Hiseman's Colosseum Skid Row (with Gary
Moore) The Nice Tyrannosaurus Rex Elton John King
Crimson Led Zeppelin Soft Machine The Chicago Tran
sit Authority Moby Grape Canned Heat…
Mothers was voted number one rock venue in the world
by America's Billboard magazine and 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 "
