Three weeks in, The Armadillo Club at Champions has hit the ground running with extremely encouraging turnouts so far. As well as some quality live music, punters have also been treated to the dj skills of Menace (The Intestines), as well as hundreds of original videos from the vaults of the Champions library being shown around the plasma screens throughout the venue.

With heavyweight bands booked for the coming months including 999, GBH, Sham 69, Goldblade, UK Subs and Peter and the Test Tube Babies, alongside the best in local punk/ska talent, the future looks bright for the Armadillo Club. The first of those heavyweights comes to Champions this Thursday with Anti-Nowhere League, rated as one of the best (if not the best) original punk bands playing today. Supported by local punk favourites Gutter Rats this is quite simply what the Armadillo Club is all about – mixing renowned international bands with the best of the local scene.

To quote ANWL: The Anti Nowhere League set out on the road in 1980 to prove they could be the worst band on Gods earth loud, violent, obnoxious yobbos with one mission – to get banned from every TV show, radio station and newspapers as possible. They were hated by the general public as well as ‘real’ musicians who thought they were a disgrace to the music business (and of course the fact they were pulling more people in their live shows than they were)… with numerous encounters with the police and the authorities they have continued to play and release new material away from the public eye. In this day and age it does not seem quite as big a deal as it was back then when they stood alone now a few of the ‘real’ bands have taken up the ‘flag’ to be original with attitude. Long may independent bands continue keeping the music live and real… long live the League.

Anyone thinking of frequenting any of these gigs would be wise to take up the free membership offer. This takes away the need to buy tickets, with members paying ticket price at the door when showing their card, on top of that members will also receive special offers and discounts from time to time. Simply mail your name and address to champions-tickets@hotmail.co.uk and await your membership card through the post. For a look at all the upcoming Armadillo Club gigs take a look at the myspace page, or join the facebook group and spread the word…