Emptifish - Branksmere Sessions

Emptifish 1983 - 1987 - By Nick Beat. I'd heard about 'Emptifish' while running an illegal drinking den 'The Trash Cavern Nightclub' in Waverly Road, Southsea. These guys were somehow too hot for the regular concertgoer and I decided to keep a distance from the craziness of their antics. As time progressed the band built up such a strong following including many young and attractive girls, 700-800 turning up at venues that held only 200-300 that eventually they became the talk of the South Coast with their musical hybrid of surf/punk and early "Beatles", surprising many in the aftermath of punk rock. At this stage I became interested as I could either see glory or destruction around the corner. As the year passed by I contacted the boys and tried to coax them into a deal. They had charisma and charm but their own burgeoning success led them to confidence and belief in their own destiny. Bigger venues followed in their own town, but at this point a group of notorious football hooligans known as the 6.57 crew latched on to the group. They showed up at the Rock Gardens Pavilion in front of a huge sold out crowd, a fight broke out during the first song this was between Punks, Psychobillys and a mob of the football crew. The gig was abandoned. I guided the band to play further a field, securing gigs in London and the Home Counties. At this point the News headlines were for all the wrong reasons, many venues were trashed in this period. The band took no part in this violence; it was a mixture of their raucous edgy music and the clash of youth cultures. At this point I would have promoted the boys infamy and gone National but the boys just carried on regardless. The Band enjoyed the notoriety; this would ultimately lead to their downfall, not in popularity but the opportunity of playing anywhere. Playing away from Portsmouth should have been a relief for the band but at each venue a huge following would materialize, at one gig with three record producers who had hoped to sign the band, witnessed another huge fight in the second song and another great opportunity was missed. The band were now too hot to handle by me, clubs and record companies and had now come under the gaze of the police, the band pleaded they had no part in the violence but they were seen as the cause, an outright ban was put in place. The boys fought the law but the law won! A few underground gigs took place under alias' "The Manta Rays" and "The Ambassadors", but these again, were marred with violence. The band split and went their own ways travelling the world fulfilling other ambitions. Emptifish played over 200 gigs from 1983 – 1987 to enthusiastic audiences, sometimes a bit too enthusiastic. They wrote and performed approximately 70 of their own songs and released two EP’s in limited numbers on Crystal Records, now very rare. These records were often heard on the late John Peels night time show. They recently reformed for a one off gig and played on an old Napoleonic fort in the English Channel, The charisma of the band is still there, they showed off their legendary moves, the crowd lapped it up - it was like they had never left us - good luck lads, Nick Beat Emptifish - By Nick Beat

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