Surely this has to happen every home game if RVN gets the job (4 Viewers)

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CovValleyBoy

Well-Known Member
RobinsSkyBlues said:
If you were around for the days of SKA you would appreciate them more.

England was a dangerous place them days especially if you're black. Totally open racism. Bernard Manning 'top' comedian. Open racism was the norm. We were coming back from the days of interest rates of 15%. All out strikes everywhere.

The lyrics said everything. Concrete Jungle and Ghost Town were about Coventry and gave a snap shot of the time. They were days of high unemployment and no hope for the younger generation. Friday Night, Saturday Morning was about the Locarno in the city centre. It was the place to go but constant trouble, frequently racially motivated.

SKA was the first time black and white people had a music genre enjoyed by both although the reggae purists called it 'white trash'. It introduced a lot of white people to the beat of reggae. It brought a lot of people together.

So you don't like the music by The Specials and similar? Not a surprise as the majority won't be in agreement of your choices. It doesn't make your choices rubbish. The untimely death of Terry Hall showed how popular and how much it meant to so many people.
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Coventry was no Ghost Town late 70s early 80s.
It just wasn't. Pubs & clubs in abundance. I was there Friday Saturday Sunday for years.
Never saw trouble. Maybe I chose the right venues.
Coventry in entertainment terms (pubs clubs) is much more of a Ghost Town NOW
Could spend a long time listing the pubs & clubs we have lost inside the ring road.
 
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RobinsSkyBlues

Well-Known Member
CovValleyBoy said:
Coventry was no Ghost Town late 70s early 80s.
It just wasn't. Pubs & clubs in abundance. I was there Friday Saturday Sunday for years.
Never saw trouble. Maybe I chose the right venues.
Coventry in entertainment terms (pubs clubs) is much more of a Ghost Town NOW
Could spend a long time listing the pubs & clubs we have lost inside the ring road.
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No jobs. No money. Places packed at weekend but otherwise no.

the70s80s90s.com

Coventry - the Locarno and Tiffany's

Coventry night life in the 1970s was dominated by a night club called the Locarno later renamed Tiffany's as Tony McMahon discovers
the70s80s90s.com the70s80s90s.com

Go to the end. You will even see the trouble Errol Christie got into there and outside the ring you couldn't wish to meet a nicer person.
 
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CovValleyBoy

Well-Known Member
RobinsSkyBlues said:
No jobs. No money. Places packed at weekend but otherwise no.

the70s80s90s.com

Coventry - the Locarno and Tiffany's

Coventry night life in the 1970s was dominated by a night club called the Locarno later renamed Tiffany's as Tony McMahon discovers
the70s80s90s.com the70s80s90s.com

Go to the end. You will even see the trouble Errol Christie got into there and outside the ring you couldn't wish to meet a nicer person.
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Plenty of jobs. Although yes off the peak of the boom 60s & 70.
I was offered 5 apprenticeships in 1978.
Masseys Dunlop Alfred Herbert Jaguar included.
Trouble I witnessed was football related.
Going to watch the City home & away you needed to be aware.
 
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RobinsSkyBlues

Well-Known Member
CovValleyBoy said:
Plenty of jobs. Although yes off the peak of the boom 60s & 70.
I was offered 5 apprenticeships in 1978.
Masseys Dunlop Alfred Herbert Jaguar included.
Trouble I witnessed was football related.
Going to watch the City home & away you needed to be aware.
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A lot changed very quickly from then to the early 80s.

 
D

deleboshanker

Active Member
Born in 86 I definitely wasn’t around during The Specials hay day.

Fast forward to me discovering music in the early 90’s and one of my favourite bands as a young kid was No Doubt. Some of you may not remember this band but the lead singer was Gwen Stefani who was and still is an absolute bombshell. I loved their sound.

It only dawned on me during adulthood that one of the biggest influences on No Doubt and Gwen were The Specials, 2 tone, ska etc which is very evident in their sound.

So a young kid from Warwickshire listening to a Grammy award winning band from the otherside of the world in Anaheim California, citing their influence from a band originating from Coventry pretty much sums up how much I respect The Specials.

Don’t really care if you like their music or not but you cannot deny their huge musical influence on the world and a lasting legacy some bands could only dream of
 
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CovValleyBoy

Well-Known Member
CovValleyBoy said:
Plenty of jobs. Although yes off the peak of the boom 60s & 70.
I was offered 5 apprenticeships in 1978.
Masseys Dunlop Alfred Herbert Jaguar included.
Trouble I witnessed was football related.
Going to watch the City home & away you needed to be aware.
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RobinsSkyBlues said:
A lot changed very quickly from then to the early 80s.

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More pubs, more clubs more factories & as you rightly say "packed at the weekend".
Not really a Ghost Town.
 
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CovValleyBoy

Well-Known Member
RobinsSkyBlues said:
Let's just agree to disagree. I came into the jobs market as the factories were closing or getting rid of staff. People having a good drink before going out. Constant trouble at night. And it happened throughout the UK.
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I hear ya Robins. You were there. Your experience & my experience.
 
David O'Day

David O'Day

Well-Known Member
Ok lads

a) Ghost Town isn't just about Coventry, it references the city but Dammers himself says it is about urban decay, deindustrialisation, unemployment they would see on tour in lots of places mixedin with the decay that was happening inside the band.

b) It came out in June 1981 so it isn't about the 70s, it's about urban places post Thatcher.
 
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Legia Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
I didn't really venture into town much until 1983, but in terms of nightlife Cov wasn't a 'Ghost Town', as other posters have said all the pubs and clubs in town were packed. It was very dangerous though and there were lots of fights. There were also diminishing job opportunities and increasing unemployment, where Cov was particularly badly hit by the closure of many big employers connected to the manufacturing industry, which was pretty much destroyed at that time.
 
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RobinsSkyBlues

Well-Known Member
Legia Sky Blue said:
I didn't really venture into town much until 1983, but in terms of nightlife Cov wasn't a 'Ghost Town', as other posters have said all the pubs and clubs in town were packed. It was very dangerous though and there were lots of fights. There were also diminishing job opportunities and increasing unemployment, where Cov was particularly badly hit by the closure of many big employers connected to the manufacturing industry, which was pretty much destroyed at that time.
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Agree with all except Coventry being a Ghost Town at night being the point. Less people were about because of the lack of money. This was during the day. A few thousand having a night out at the weekend in Coventry isn't a lot considering it would have been from the whole of Coventry and surrounding areas.
 
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Legia Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
RobinsSkyBlues said:
Agree with all except Coventry being a Ghost Town at night being the point. Less people were about because of the lack of money. This was during the day. A few thousand having a night out at the weekend in Coventry isn't a lot considering it would have been from the whole of Coventry and surrounding areas.
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Yes, but go into the city centre now on a weekend evening, and it is much more like a 'Ghost Town' than in 1983!
 
T

The watchmaker

Well-Known Member
David O'Day said:
Ok lads

a) Ghost Town isn't just about Coventry, it references the city but Dammers himself says it is about urban decay, deindustrialisation, unemployment they would see on tour in lots of places mixedin with the decay that was happening inside the band.

b) It came out in June 1981 so it isn't about the 70s, it's about urban places post Thatcher.
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I always thought the band said it was about Liverpool and other northern (port) cities. Not sure where I am getting that from though.
 
David O'Day

David O'Day

Well-Known Member
Also some peoples idea of what Cov city centre is like has no resemblance to the reality

Most of the people who go out in town now are older, apart from the Sky Dome there's not many places for young people and any loads of young people don't drink. Also if the do decide to go out to somewhere like the Kasbah they just head straight there.

There's also in the nearish future going to be loads more bars etc as per the Coventry South plan but these are likely to be cafe/bar places that will appeal to older people as well.
 
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Legia Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
David O'Day said:
Also some peoples idea of what Cov city centre is like has no resemblance to the reality

Most of the people who go out in town now are older, apart from the Sky Dome there's not many places for young people and any loads of young people don't drink. Also if the do decide to go out to somewhere like the Kasbah they just head straight there.

There's also in the nearish future going to be loads more bars etc as per the Coventry South plan but these are likely to be cafe/bar places that will appeal to older people as well.
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To be fair in general peoples social habits have changed significantly in the last 40 years. People just don't go to pubs in the same way they used to. Local pubs would be busy too even in midweek back in the 80's, but apart from the odd Wetherspoons, that just isn't the case anymore.

Interesting you mention places being geared to older people now, as back then apart from the pubs and clubs in the town, there were also many pubs out of the centre that were packed with young people (Holyhead/ Port of Call/ Styvechale/ Rose & Crown/ Pippin). Other than crisps, nuts or the late night seafood vendor there was no food on offer. Nowadays pretty much every pub is centred around selling food as much as drink.
 
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CovValleyBoy

Well-Known Member
CovValleyBoy said:
Sorry. Didn't scroll. I'm in one of the few pubs left open !!
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RobinsSkyBlues said:
Totally disagreed with everything you said previously 🤔
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Read it now. Ref the aggro. I'm sorry I just didn't witness it. We were Covkids felt really comfortable "down town".
Legia Sky Blue said:
To be fair in general peoples social habits have changed significantly in the last 40 years. People just don't go to pubs in the same way they used to. Local pubs would be busy too even in midweek back in the 80's, but apart from the odd Wetherspoons, that just isn't the case anymore.

Interesting you mention places being geared to older people now, as back then apart from the pubs and clubs in the town, there were also many pubs out of the centre that were packed with young people (Holyhead/ Port of Call/ Styvechale/ Rose & Crown/ Pippin). Other than crisps, nuts or the late night seafood vendor there was no food on offer. Nowadays pretty much every pub is centred around selling food as much as drink
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They were Great Days
Lucky to be born in the 60s , special times.
 
R

RobinsSkyBlues

Well-Known Member
Legia Sky Blue said:
I didn't really venture into town much until 1983, but in terms of nightlife Cov wasn't a 'Ghost Town', as other posters have said all the pubs and clubs in town were packed. It was very dangerous though and there were lots of fights. There were also diminishing job opportunities and increasing unemployment, where Cov was particularly badly hit by the closure of many big employers connected to the manufacturing industry, which was pretty much destroyed at that time.
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Here it is. You like to try and cause an argument over nothing I see. As you can see LSB said the opposite to you yet you still try and say differently.
 
C

CovValleyBoy

Well-Known Member
RobinsSkyBlues said:
Here it is. You like to try and cause an argument over nothing I see. As you can see LSB said the opposite to you yet you still try and say differently.
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No I really don't care to argue. Sorry I don't agree with your recollection of the late 70s early 80s.
& Sorry to hear Cov is a Ghost Town in 2024.
 
P

Peter Billing Eyes

Well-Known Member
People suggesting Coventry was flourishing in the 80’s are not in touch with all of the facts. In reality, the city should have performed worse than it did and certainly didn’t suffer the same population haemorrhage that Liverpool for e.g. experienced following industrial and political turmoil during that decade. However, 60,000 jobs were lost in Coventry between 1979 and 1989, and the population which peaked at 336,000 in the mid 70’s had declined to barely 300,000 between 1981 and 1991; the numbers are in recovery now, around 350,000, but the city centre will likely never seem as alive at weekends as it did then. There are all sorts of reasons for this; transport, both public and private hire are far move accessible to and from other places at unsociable hours (Birmingham & Leamington for e.g.). The demographic diversity also impacts night time activity. Certainly, when I was growing up, Coventry had a wealth of kids who came from families who enjoyed partying and drinking and that reflected in how busy ‘town‘ was at the weekend. The current social and religious assortment in Coventry means there are probably far less partygoers than there once were. Make no mistake though, the city centre was always dead from Monday through to Thursday, it’s due to a lack of population within the centre itself.
 
nicksar

nicksar

Well-Known Member
Peter Billing Eyes said:
People suggesting Coventry was flourishing in the 80’s are not in touch with all of the facts. In reality, the city should have performed worse than it did and certainly didn’t suffer the same population haemorrhage that Liverpool for e.g. experienced following industrial and political turmoil during that decade. However, 60,000 jobs were lost in Coventry between 1979 and 1989, and the population which peaked at 336,000 in the mid 70’s had declined to barely 300,000 between 1981 and 1991; the numbers are in recovery now, around 350,000, but the city centre will likely never seem as alive at weekends as it did then. There are all sorts of reasons for this; transport, both public and private hire are far move accessible to and from other places at unsociable hours (Birmingham & Leamington for e.g.). The demographic diversity also impacts night time activity. Certainly, when I was growing up, Coventry had a wealth of kids who came from families who enjoyed partying and drinking and that reflected in how busy ‘town‘ was at the weekend. The current social and religious assortment in Coventry means there are probably far less partygoers than there once were. Make no mistake though, the city centre was always dead from Monday through to Thursday, it’s due to a lack of population within the centre itself.
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Worthwhile mentioning that the Coventry/Bedworth urban population is currently 449k ... it's been more than 400k for a few years.
 
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