The 688 Club was a popular alternative music venue in Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, located at 688 Spring Street, near the intersection of Spring and 3rd Streets. The 688 Club opened in May 1980 and closed in November 1986. The club was operated by Steve May. The club was co-owned by Tony Evans and John Wicker. Cathy Hendrix served as the club's music director. During its brief lifetime, the 688 played host to hundreds of punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

, new wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

, and alternative

Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 bands - many of whom would later become world famous.

During the early 1980s, the 688 Club was the primary place for up-and-coming bands from Atlanta and Athens, Georgia

Athens, Georgia

Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...

, to get noticed. Among the groups that regularly played there were R.E.M.

R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

 and Pylon

Pylon (band)

Pylon is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The band's danceable jangle pop sound influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. Allmusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".-History:All four members of...

. The club spun off an independent record label, 688 Records, which survived for a time even after 688 Club had closed its doors. Dash Rip Rock

Dash Rip Rock

Dash Rip Rock is a New Orleans based rock band built around the songs of singer-guitarist Bill Davis.The band is a legendary live powerhouse, often being credited with founding the musical genre known as "Country Punk." The New York Times said Dash Rip Rock is "the kind of band that provides a...

's self-titled debut LP was the first album released by 688 Records.

After 688 Club

The club re-opened as the "686 Club" on December 31, 1986 but was renamed "The Rollick" the next day. By 1990, the space was occupied by a club called "Weekends". The space was occupied by Outa Control Inc. Sometime thereafter, the original building was extensively remodeled, and houses a medical care facility.

List of performers

A partial list of notable bands and artists that appeared at the 688 Club between 1980

1980 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1980.-January–March:*January 1**Cliff Richard is appointed an MBE by Elizabeth II.**The Zorros audition drummer Greg Pedley....

 and 1986

1986 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-January-June:*January 23 – The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place...

:

• 10,000 Maniacs
  10,000 Maniacs
  10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based alternative rock band, which formed in 1981 and continues to be active with various line-ups.-1981–1993:...
  
  
• 999
  999 (band)
  999 are an English rock band who formed in London in 1977. They are often cited as one of the first punk rock bands. Between 1978 and 1981, they had five Top 75 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and one Top 40 single. After extensive touring across the Atlantic Ocean, the band's third and fourth...
  
  
• 8 Eyed Spy (Lydia Lunch
  Lydia Lunch
  Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
  
  )
• The Accelerators
  The Accelerators
  The Accelerators were a rock 'n roll band from Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. They were formed in 1982 by singer/guitarist Gerald Duncan, and have since released five albums.-History:...
  
  
• The Agents
  The Agents
  The Agents were a post-punk band formed in 1980 in Bristol, England. The band formed from the remnants of several bands that were playing the American Military bases circuit in Europe in the 1970s. The Band were based in Mannheim, Germany and the lineup consisted of vocalist Swig , guitarist Dave...
  
  
• Alex Chilton
  Alex Chilton
  William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
  
  
• The Bangles
  The Bangles
  The Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade.-Formation and early years :...
  
  
• The Basics
• Billy Idol
  Billy Idol
  William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
  
  
• The Black Crowes
  The Black Crowes
  The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...
  
   (as "Mr. Crowe's Garden")
• Black Flag
  Black Flag (band)
  Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
  
  
• The BoDeans
• The Brains
  The Brains
  The Brains were a rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, led by songwriter Tom Gray in the early 1980s. Their 1980 debut album was entitled The Brains, and was produced by Steve Lillywhite for Mercury Records. The set is probably most noteworthy for the band's own song, "Money Changes Everything", which...
  
  
• Butthole Surfers
  Butthole Surfers
  Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
  
  
• Cabaret Voltaire
  Cabaret Voltaire (band)
  Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...
  
  
• Chris Wood and the New Restraints
  Chris Wood (rock musician)
  Christopher Gordon Blandford 'Chris' Wood was a founding member of the English rock band Traffic, along with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Dave Mason....
  
  
• The Church
  The Church (band)
  The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
  
  
• Circle Jerks
  Circle Jerks
  The Circle Jerks are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Los Angeles, California. It was formed by Black Flag's original singer, Keith Morris, and future Bad Religion guitarist Greg Hetson. They were among the preeminent hardcore punk bands of the L.A. scene in the late 1970s.The band...
  
  
• The Creatures
  The Creatures
  The Creatures were a musical act formed in 1981 as a side-project for Siouxsie and the Banshees members Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie. The Times described their music as "adventurous art rock built around Siouxsie's extraordinary voice and drummer Budgie's battery of percussion".With the dissolution of...
  
  
• The Cretones
  The Cretones
  The Cretones were a United States, Los Angeles-based new wave rock and power pop group in the early 1980s. Led by singer/guitarist and former Eddie Boy Band member Mark Goldenberg , the group had a strong sense of melody and a lyrical wit that placed them a cut above most of their new wave peers...
  
  
• Current Rage
• Dead Kennedys
  Dead Kennedys
  Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
  
  
• D.N.A.
  DNA (band)
  DNA was a No Wave band formed in 1978 by guitarist Arto Lindsay and keyboardist Robin Crutchfield. Rather than playing their instruments in a traditional manner, they instead focused on making unique and unusual sounds...
  
  
• Dream Syndicate
  Dream Syndicate
  The Dream Syndicate was an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California active from 1981 to 1989. The band was associated with the Paisley Underground music movement.-History:...
  
  
• Drivin' N' Cryin'
  Drivin N Cryin
  Drivin' 'N' Cryin is an American Hard rock/Southern rock band from Atlanta, GA.-History:The band was formed in 1985 in Atlanta. Kevn Kinney hooked up with Tim Nielsen, who was in a popular band called the Nightporters with drummer Paul Lenz at the time...
  
  
• Echo & the Bunnymen
  Echo & the Bunnymen
  Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
  
  
• The Exploited
  The Exploited
  The Exploited are a Scottish punk band from the second wave of UK punk, formed in 1979. Originally a street punk band, they transformed into a faster hardcore punk band with a heavy political influence. From about 1987 on they changed into a crossover thrash band...
  
  
• The Fall
• The Fans
• Fishbone
  Fishbone
  Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...
  
  
• The Fleshtones
  The Fleshtones
  The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- 1976-1979 :The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York by Keith Streng and Marek Pakulski The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- 1976-1979 :The...
  
  
• Flipper
  Flipper (band)
  Flipper is a punk band formed in San Francisco, California in 1979, continuing in often erratic fashion until the mid-1990s, then reuniting in 2005. The band influenced a number of grunge,, punk rock and noise rock bands...
  
  
• Gang of Four
  Gang of Four (band)
  Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill...
  
  
• The Go-Go's
  The Go-Go's
  The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
  
  
• The Golden Palominos
  The Golden Palominos
  The Golden Palominos was an American musical group headed by drummer and composer Anton Fier, first formed in 1981. Aside from Fier, the Palominos membership was wildly elastic, with only bassist Bill Laswell and guitarist Nicky Skopelitis appearing on every album.While the Palominos' records...
  
  
• Guadalcanal Diary
  Guadalcanal Diary (band)
  Guadalcanal Diary is an alternative jangle pop group. They originated in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, but they were often billed as being "from Athens, Georgia" in the early 1980s. The band formed in 1981 and disbanded in 1989. They reformed in 1997, but never recorded any new material...
  
  
• The Gun Club
• Human Sexual Response
  Human Sexual Response (band)
  Human Sexual Response was an American New Wave band formed in Boston, MA in 1978. The band broke up in 1982.-Formation and early years:Casey Cameron formed an all-kazoo band with her neighbors, among whom were Larry Bangor , Dini Lamot , and Windle Davis...
  
  
• Hüsker Dü
  Hüsker Dü
  Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
  
  
• Iggy Pop
  Iggy Pop
  Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
  
  
• ISM
• Jason & the Scorchers
  Jason & the Scorchers
  Jason & the Scorchers, originally Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, are a Cowpunk / Country rock band formed in 1981 and led by singer/songwriter Jason Ringenberg....
  
  
• The Jesus and Mary Chain
  The Jesus and Mary Chain
  The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Glasgow in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...
  
  
• Jim Carroll
  Jim Carroll
  James Dennis "Jim" Carroll was an author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work The Basketball Diaries, which was made into the 1995 film of the same name, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll.-Biography:Carroll was born to a...
  
  
• Joe "King" Carrasco
• John Cale
  John Cale
  John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
  
  
• Johnny Clegg and Savuka
  Savuka
  Savuka was a band formed in 1986 by English-born South African Johnny Clegg after the disbanding of his first band, Juluka. Both of his bands were inter-racial in the racially segregated Apartheid South Africa...
  
  
• Jonathan Richman
  Jonathan Richman
  Jonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970 he founded The Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key, generally acoustic backing...
  
  
• Kevin McFoy Dunn
  Kevin McFoy Dunn
  Kevin McFoy Dunn is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter long considered a lynchpin and pioneering figure in the fertile new wave scene that first erupted around Athens, Georgia and Atlanta, Georgia in the late 1970s...
  
  
• Late Bronze Age
• Let's Active
  Let's Active
  Let's Active was an American rock musical group formed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1981.-History:The principal songwriter and sole continuous member of Let's Active was Mitch Easter, who kept the band active through most of the 1980s. The band's musical style is sometimes referred to as...
  
  
• Lipstick Stains
• LMNOP
• Love Tractor
  Love Tractor
  Love Tractor was a band from Athens, Georgia and like The B-52's, Pylon and R.E.M., was recognized as a founder of the Athens, Georgia alternative rock scene...
  
  
• Lyres
  Lyres (band)
  Lyres are a Boston-area garage rock band led by Jeff "Monoman" Conolly. Lyres were founded in 1979 following the breakup of DMZ. Their most popular songs included "Don't Give It Up Now," "What A Girl Can't Do" and "Help You Ann"...
  
  
• Meat Puppets
  Meat Puppets
  The Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980, in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood , his brother Cris Kirkwood , and Derrick Bostrom . The Kirkwood brothers met Bostrom while attending Brophy Prep High School in Phoenix...
  
  
• The Method Actors
  The Method Actors
  The Method Actors were a post-punk/new wave musical group from Athens, Georgia, founded by Vic Varney and David Gamble in 1979.-Singles and EPs:*This Is It 7" ep: "The Method" / "Can't Act" / "Bleeding"...
  
  
• Minutemen
  Minutemen (band)
  Minutemen were an American hardcore punk band formed in San Pedro, California in 1980. Composed of guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley, Minutemen recorded four albums and eight EPs before Boon's death in an automobile accident in December 1985...
  
  
• Mr. Crowe's Garden
• New Order
  New Order
  New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
  
  
• Nightporter
  Mark Ritsema
  Mark Ritsema is a singer, guitarist, songwriter, journalist and writer from the Netherlands. During the eighties and nineties he fronted cult bands Spasmodique and Cobraz and currently he plays with Raskolnikov...
  
  
• Nixons Aids
• No Exit
• Now Explosion
• Oingo Boingo
  Oingo Boingo
  Oingo Boingo was an American new wave band. They are best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions and their high energy Halloween concerts. The band was founded in 1972 as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a performance art group...
  
  
• Pete Shelley
  Pete Shelley
  Pete Shelley is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of Buzzcocks.-Biography:...
  
  
• Peter Tork
  Peter Tork
  Peter Tork is an American musician and actor, best known as a member of The Monkees.-Early life:Tork was born Peter Halsten Thorkelson in Washington, D.C.. Although he was born in 1942, many news articles report him as born in 1944 in New York City as this was the date and place given on early...
  
  
• The Plague
  The Plague (American band)
  The Plague was a hardcore punk band formed in Cleveland, Ohio by Bob Sablack. They were part of the second wave of punk rock music and toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe, recording several EP's.-History:...
  
  
• The Plastics
• The Psychedelic Furs
• Public Image Ltd.
  Public Image Ltd.
  Public Image Ltd are an English post-punk band formed by vocalist John Lydon , guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Jah Wobble, with frequent subsequent personnel changes. Lydon is the sole constant member of the band....
  
  
• Pylon
  Pylon (band)
  Pylon is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The band's danceable jangle pop sound influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. Allmusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".-History:All four members of...
  
  
• Ramones
  Ramones
  The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
  
  
• Raves
  Raves (band)
  The Raves are a power pop band based in Atlanta, Georgia and were most active in the 1980s. Originally formed in 1971 and called Nod, the Raves consisted of three brothers and Ken Kennedy. Unusual for that time in the Southern United States, they played original rock music in the vein of The...
  
  
• Raybeats
  Raybeats
  The Raybeats were an instrumental neo-surf rock combo from New York City that arose from the No Wave musical scene. The original line-up consisted of Don Christensen , Jody Harris , Pat Irwin , and George Scott III .- History :The Raybeats formed in 1979, brought together by George Scott...
  
  
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
  Red Hot Chili Peppers
  Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
  
  
• R.E.M.
  R.E.M.
  R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
  
  
• The Replacements
• The Residents
  The Residents
  The Residents is an American art collective best known for avant-garde music and multimedia works. The first official release under the name of The Residents was in 1972, and the group has since released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs....
  
  
• Robyn Hitchcock
  Robyn Hitchcock
  Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
  
  
• Rodney Crowell
  Rodney Crowell
  Rodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
  
  
• RuPaul
  RuPaul
  RuPaul Andre Charles , best known as simply RuPaul, is an American actor, drag queen, model, author, and singer-songwriter, who first became widely known in the 1990s when he appeared in a wide variety of television programs, films, and musical albums. Previously, he was a fixture on the Atlanta...
  
  
• Saccharine Trust
  Saccharine Trust
  Saccharine Trust is a post-hardcore band from California that was started in 1980 by singer Jack Brewer and guitarist Joe Baiza.The band would frequently perform with SST labelmates Minutemen and Black Flag. Drummer Rob Holzman appeared on their 1981 debut Paganicons but left the band to play in...
  
  
• Sheer Thursday
• The Side Effects
  The Side Effects
  The Side Effects were an indie rock band, part of the music scene of Athens, Georgia. The Side Effects debuted in 1980, alongside other local performers like R.E.M..-History:...
  
  
• Siouxsie and the Banshees
• The Smithereens
  The Smithereens
  The Smithereens are a rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio , Jim Babjak , Mike Mesaros , and Dennis Diken...
  
  
• Sonic Youth
  Sonic Youth
  Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
  
  
• The Space Heaters
• Specimen
  Specimen (band)
  Specimen are a British band formed in the 1980s. Their music has been described as spanning many different genres of music, including glam, goth, punk and post-punk, and the band is widely credited as one of the pioneers of the Gothic movement, both musically and stylistically.-Early days:The band...
  
  
• The Stranglers
  The Stranglers
  The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
  
  
• Swimming Pool Q’s
• Swinging Richards
• Timbuk 3
  Timbuk 3
  Timbuk3 was an American post-punk band which released six original studio albums between 1986 and 1995 that were produced by Derrick Vedrani. They are most well known for their Top 20 single "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades"...
  
  
• Violent Femmes
  Violent Femmes
  Violent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009...
  
  
• Wall of Voodoo
  Wall of Voodoo
  Wall of Voodoo was an American New Wave group from Los Angeles best known for the 1983 hit "Mexican Radio". The band had a sound that was a fusion of synthesizer-based New Wave music with the spaghetti western soundtrack style of Ennio Morricone.-Formation:...
  
  
• Wee Wee Pole
• XTC
  XTC
  XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...