We are delighted to announce that we have secured funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a project about the Que Club. Over the next 12 months we’ll be recording oral histories, digitising photographs, flyers, posters and other ephemera associated with the venue. We’ll be holding some Ghost Gigs and creating and curating some pop up exhibitions, events and walks. To get involved contact jez@birminghammusicarchive.com

The Que Club

What do David Bowie, PJ Harvey, Blur, Carl Cox, Daft Punk, David Holmes, Atomic Jam, Flashback and House of God have in common? Answer, The Que Club!

Birmingham Music Archive C.I.C. and Viewfinder have recently been awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant to undertake a twelve month music history, heritage and culture project called In The Que.

The In the Que project focuses on the musical history, heritage and culture of the Que Club that was located in Birmingham’s Grade II* Methodist Central Hall from 1989-2017. The building has played host to musical icons such as David Bowie, Blur, PJ Harvey and Suede. But it is arguably better known as the home of the city’s dance and rave culture, home to seminal and legendary club nights such as Atomic Jam, Space Hopper, House of God, Miss Moneypennys and Flashback to name but a few. It was home to the BBC who broadcast shows from there and released a number of famous BBC Essential Mix recordings from DJs such as Carl Cox, Sasha and David Holmes. Daft Punk also recorded their 1997 Alive at the
Que album citing it as their favourite live performance from that years European tour.

As part of the project we will the record memories of people who played and raved at the Que Club and we’ll digitise, archive, share and exhibit the physical materials that document its history; photographs, posters, flyers and moving image recordings. We’ll host some ‘Ghost Gigs’ and are open to suggestions of what else we can do to celebrate the The Que Club.

Get involved!

We are seeking to recruit a number of highly motivated, talented and diverse individuals, with time, energy, and a keen interest in any or all of the following subjects; Birmingham, music, history, heritage and culture (all the better if you are into dance and rave culture!).

There are a number of roles available for volunteers and all roles will include training if needed.

  1. Researching the history of the Que Club and recording oral histories of dance music culture.
  2. Designing promotional, marketing and exhibition materials for the project.
  3. Seeking out materials for the online archive and for physical exhibitions.
  4. Digitising and uploading research materials across project platforms.
  5. Producing written materials for the project; oral history summaries, exhibition materials, online content.
  6. Curating and managing project events and exhibitions
  7. Managing the BMA online archive and social media accounts, uploading content and building audience engagement

This would be an excellent role for people wishing to gain experience in digital archiving, community archives, web development, arts administration, audience development, music history, heritage and culture, social history, social media strategy and event management or not-for-profit governance who are passionate about Birmingham and/or music and who want to recognise, celebrate, share and tell the world about our incredible but overlooked music heritage.

We are looking for candidates who possess one or more of the following attributes:

  1. Knowledge of and interest in Birmingham, music, history, heritage and culture.
  2. Be passionate about telling the stories of the city’s music culture to as many people as possible.
  3. Experience and ability to work with a broad range of people regardless of ability, ethnicity, gender or sexuality.
  4. Good spoken, written and communication skills and be computer literate.
  5. Social media skills.
  6. Design skills.
  7. Media skills (audio recording, film, photography, journalism).
  8. Good administrative skills.

Hours will be a minimum 3 hours per week with some duties able to be done remotely. Responsibilities/tasks will be discussed on an individual basis.

How To Apply

If you would like to apply for any of the volunteer roles then please submit an email of interest to jez@intheque.co.uk or matt@intheque.co.uk using In The Que Volunteer in the subject line.