Club Foot

For other uses, see Club foot (disambiguation).

This article is about the early 1980s Austin, Texas punk venue Club Foot, which should not be confused with the San Francisco punk venue of the same name and time period.

Club Foot was a large live-music venue in Austin, Texas, in the early 1980s. Located downtown at the corner of 4th and Brazos Streets, it had a reputation as a punk rock venue for its support of local and touring punk bands, but it also booked a wide variety of other types of music.

Location

Club Foot was located in the former 404 Club, a two story warehouse that was partially underground, one block from 4th and Congress Avenue, behind the old Greyhound Bus Station. The club featured a large picture window overlooking the bus staging area, and a bar made from a Lincoln Continental that was cut in half. Today, the Frost Bank building exists on the site of both buildings.

History

Club Foot was originally Rush's, a gay discothèque, conceived and built by David Ladd an entrepreneur and business man that had built and operated several other clubs in other cities before designing, building and operating Rush's. The club was the largest gay bar in Texas. It opened March 17, 1979. The club was a huge success that caused other club operators to play dirty tricks in an effort to damage the club and close it down^{[citation needed]}. The club evolved into a live venue club as the disco era came to an end.

Club Foot published a calendar called "Footprints" that included detailed descriptions of upcoming concerts under the slogan "all the news that’s foot to print." In 1983, Club Foot was the site of the first Austin Chronicle Readers Poll Music Awards, an annual show that has become the kickoff event for the South by Southwest Music Conference (SXSW) each year.

Notable acts

The headliner for the opening night at Club Foot was The Stranglers. Among those playing there during the approximately three years it was open were U2, Willie Nelson, R.E.M., James Brown, B. B. King, Carl Perkins, King Sunny Ade, Stevie Ray Vaughan, X, Burning Spear, Stray Cats, Dr. John, Big Boys, John Lee Hooker, Leon Russell, Ian Hunter, Joe Cocker, Iggy Pop, John Hiatt, Stanley Turrentine, Albert King, The Blasters, NRBQ, Richard Hell, Mitch Ryder, John Cale, Delbert McClinton, The Go-Go's, The Romantics, Joe Ely, Echo & the Bunnymen, Sir Douglas Quintet, Sam and Dave, John Kay and Steppenwolf, Billy Idol, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Junior Walker, Joe King Carrasco and the Crowns, Charlie Musselwhite, UK Subs, Anti-Nowhere League, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Big Youth, Rare Earth, The Ventures, The Lift, The Standing Waves, Gun Club, Roky Erickson, Pete Shelley, The Nighthawks, Grace Jones, David Johansen, The Neville Brothers, Wall of Voodoo, The English Beat, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Sparks, Maria Muldaur, The Fleshtones, Rank and File, Romeo Void, The Take, The Strays, Edgar Winter, Flipper, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, Huey Lewis and the News, Savoy Brown, Bow Wow Wow, The Plimsouls, Garland Jeffreys, Mighty Diamonds and T-Bone Burnett. Hosted by Wendy O. Williams and Eric Johnson.