The original Bunker was a youth project born in Borough Road but after moving to Green Terrace in 1982, finally settled in it's current home on Stockton Road in 1983. This building which once hosted gigs by The Clash and Billy Bragg, 29 Stockton Rd has a history synonymous with the creation of music in the North East...
The huge structure morphed from a bakery into a music factory in 1983, when the regions disenfranchised punk rockers flocked to the ramshackle building to see their idols playing secret gigs, whilst laying the groundwork that would lead to the formation of the next generation of post-punk bands.
It was from The Bunker that Frankie Stubbs and Leatherface led their earth shattering assault on the alternative charts in the late 1980s / early 90s, unwittingly sealing their fate as the grand masters of the Sunderland music scene, with their DIY approach to music making and an uncompromising attiude influencing a city full of kids who had been used to seeing and hearing records and bands who had no semblance to their own living circumstances.
In the mid-1990s, groundbreaking alt-pop group Kenickie launched themselves upon the wider world from The Bunker, sparking the career of TV starlet Lauren Laverne and the arrival of countless bemused A&R men onto the grey streets of Sunderland. It was also the starting point for The Futureheads and Field Music who attended a music project at The Bunker in their early years.
The late nineties almost saw the end of The Bunker, after it was decided that the only place in the city that had constantly supported grass-roots music and art was not worth funding any longer. Protest from the local community was phenomenal, and was joined by the late John Peel, who had taken a personal interest in the Sunderland music scene and donated a large sum of money in an attempt to keep The Bunker open. Despite this, funding was withdrawn in 1998, leaving the city void of a creative nucleus and leading to the end of the line for many local bands and the folding of Bunker Magazine prototype, Pulse Magazine.
Enter two lads who’d misspent their youth playing in countless bands within The Bunker walls. Buying the building outright just before it was turned into an apartment block, The Bunker was re-opened in 2000. Within a year or so the local scene was again flourishing, and with the emergence of bands like The Futureheads and The Golden Virgins, The Bunker Magazine began in an effort to support and promote what was obviously the beginning of a new and exciting chapter in the musical life of the city.
The only recording and rehearsal studios in Sunderland are open 7 days per week and currently house Monty Casino, Mr Quimby's Beard and The Bubble Project among many others. With rehearsal prices from £4 per hour, and recording rates from £10 per hour, it has once again become the creative HQ for local musicians.
Encompassing music training facilities and a record label which is nurturing the region's most exciting upcoming bands, and a promotions wing which has attracted national acts such as Snow Patrol, Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, Kula Shaker and Kasabian to play in Sunderland, The Bunker is now again firmly at the forefront of the North East music scene.
For further information etc. e-mail info@bunkeruk.com or call us on 0191 5671777.
We're pleased to announce that our XFM SESSION on PETE MITCHELL'S RAZOR CUTS will be broadcast this Sunday - Dec 6th between 10pm and Midnight (UK Time)
Its on air nationally in the UK so you can tune into your local XFM dial or listen online at http://www.xfm.co.uk if abroad
For those who can't wait till then there's a preview vid on our myspace of our time at XFM....
Hey we really want to play at Blackpool Rebellion next summer but need your help to demand us to play there! All you have to do is email rebellions myspace and tell them you want us to play. All we need is 2minutes of your time n would really appreciate it. Please support us and make local music be heard. www.myspace.com/rebellionfestivals
We are finally ready to start promoting my 'I Surrender' single with my album, 'Ella Trip' coming right after -yey!! What d'ya think to the video teaser?
We have put a new song up for you, it’s only a rough demo which hasn’t really been mixed well and hasn’t been produced but it will give you a taster of what may come next in our next recording sessions which we are trying to set before Christmas.
Enjoy! It’s called 'Stop'. Please tell us what you think.
Just checking in to let you know The Shambolic will be playing at the N.E.C. Birmingham at Music Live - The UK's Biggest and Best Music Making Event 7-8th November.
Join us in The Surface Unsigned Bar on 8th November when we will will be playing acoustic.
As a thank you for being our friend...You've got yourself a FREE DOWNLOAD of our first single 'FALLING' on OCT 12TH. Check our page for a sneak preview, hope to see you soon! xx
*** THE MANDIGANS ARE COMING BACK HOME - 20TH OCTOBER - MANCHESTER DRY BAR ***
We've spent the past few months away from Manchester gigging around the UK while writing our new album
You can hear all these songs in MANCHESTER at Dry Bar on 20th Oct - get tickets online from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/59016 or message the lads on myspace for them
*** NEW PHOTOS AND MYSPACE LAYOUT - CHECK IT OUT ***
Also check out the new photos on myspace and comment them so we know which you think are the best - they've been done by Karen McBride, the photographer behind iconic images of Liam Gallagher, The Ting Tings and Robbie Williams
Online Now!
