In the mid 1980s, the Mermaid – a dilapidated pub in Birmingham – was ground zero for grindcore, crust punk and an eclectic crowd of hunt saboteurs, hardline anarchists and underage punks fuelled by cheap scrumpy, magic mushrooms and gigs so loud plaster would rain from the ceiling.
Situated in Sparkhill, a working-class area three miles south from the city centre, the Mermaid quickly established itself as a DIY focus, with a diehard crowd travelling from far afield to sell fanzines, trade tapes and put on cheap punk and metal all-dayers upstairs. Gifted with legendarily laidback landlords – not to mention a crew of mercifully nonplussed local drinkers in the downstairs bar – it was unique, and is now the subject of a four-part podcast and publication by Brummie social historians Home of Metal.
