Everyone remembers the time they witnessed a band on the verge of greatness play to 50 sweat-sodden teenagers in a pub the size of a shoebox. For many, that moment when you realised you were witnessing history occurred at Southampton’s Joiners Arms, a stop-off point for Radiohead, Oasis and Coldplay among others.
Access One Step is a thoroughly-researched love letter to the venue, compiled by Joiners regular and RC contributor Oliver Gray. Through a combination of listings, promotional material and reminiscences, Gray captures what it feels like to step inside the venue that Southampton’s musiclovers call their living room. Accounts ranging from the night the Manic Street Preachers signed their first record deal in the changing room, to the debunked rumour that Nirvana once appeared there tell the story of a venue that has built its own history and mythology, making it an essential notch on the bedpost for any up-and-coming band with a knowledge of its craft.
It’s an important story well told and, for those that haven’t sampled the Joiners’ friendly atmosphere and sticky floors, it poses one question: why the hell not?
