Share your punk story

The centre is looking for clothing, memorabilia, photographs, posters, badges and great stories. A selection will be used to create a special exhibition at the Oh Yeah Music Centre and will be used to complement the award-winning Northern Ireland Music Exhibition at the centre – the only permanent exhibition for popular music in Northern Ireland.

This call-out takes place around the 40th anniversary of the big moments in the local punk story: the release of ‘Suspect Device’ by Stiff Little Fingers (March 1978), the first punk gig at the Harp Bar on Hill Street (Victim and The Androids, April 21 1978) and the first single release on the Good Vibrations label (‘Big Time’ by Rudi, April 1978). Much of this has been well documented and has featured in the wonderful Good Vibrations film. However the role of female fans and musicians needs to be researched in depth.

The Oh Yeah Centre are keen to hear from trailblazers who attended nights at the Viking and the Trident in Bangor, the participants at the Glenmachan Hotel and the Harp Bar in Belfast, those who found their teenage kicks at the Casbah in Derry and who created an anarcho-punk haven at Giro’s on Donegal Street Place, Belfast in the early 80s.

Charlotte Dryden of Oh Yeah said: “The story of Belfast punk is well documented and has inspired countless bands and music lovers around the world. The NI Music Exhibition has successfully celebrated and honoured the bands and the scene, but admittedly very few females have featured. It has been an ambition of ours for a while to dig deeper into the story by seeking out the women from this particular era of punk. We have no idea how many stories will come to us, but we know they are out there. This is a very exciting project for us and we can’t wait to see what comes from this call out.”

The exhibition runs from June 5 - 10 as part of Women’s Work Festival, and memorabilia, photos and story submissions are being accepted until May 11.

For more information contact [email protected].