Sound System Culture

With city centre venues denied to Black youth and the music they enjoyed and other inner-city venues being too small to accommodate major clashes, Trinity was one of the few venues they could call home:

“We still really didn't really have a lot of access to white clubs. Y'know now we still - well I don't know it's probably it was racism and the fact that the Black community was kinda young in Bristol and we still had that thing going on - I think we just came out of it that bus strike so y'know that's the kinda climate so West Indian party that's the main entertainment. Sound systems Tarzan the High Priest that was everything to us. If your thinking about reggae they had soul guys like Super Fly Mike Bernard but for Reggae it was Sound system Duke De Trojan, Count Neville, Mancie? Still Water in Easton, Sebastien came later.” Interview with Richard Davis January Richard Davis was one of the founder members of seminal African dance group Ekome, who rehearsed at Trinity during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Numerous reggae nights or sound systems dances took place throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, where this era was the focus of the acclaimed photo documentary book, The Wild Dayz, by Bristol born and bred photographer Andy Beese, aka Beezer.

The late 1970s and 1980s also witnessed the start of the punk movement in Bristol and a new client base for Trinity.

Music at Trinity has since come full circle with regular punk and dub nights held at the venue. It also continues to be a popular choice with dance music promoters. In keeping its past role in nurturing new music genres Trinity has been a favoured venue for the emergent Dub and Dub-Step scenes.

Sound-systems are a staple part of Trinity's music programme. Most notably, Teachings In Dub regular nights bring sound system giants such as Iration Steppas, King Earthquake and Maasai Warrior to perform to sell-out audiences.

Videos: Eek-a-Mouse at Trinity, 1983