Various Artists - Young Limbs Rise Again - The Story of the Batcave Nightclub 1982-1985

Young Limbs Rise Again - The Story of the Batcave Nightclub 1982–1985 is a monumental archival compilation released by Demon Music Group's Edsel label on 24 February 2023. Spanning up to 90 tracks across its comprehensive five-CD deluxe edition (and 63 tracks across a six-LP vinyl box set), the collection was curated with direct input from scene mainstays Jon Klein and Jonny Slut of the club's house band, Specimen, alongside Sophie Chéry of Sexbeat. Accompanied by a lavish 80-page hardback book featuring an introduction by legendary journalist Kris Needs, this anthology serves as the definitive audio-visual document of a brief, sweaty, polysexual basement night on London’s Dean Street that birthed the global gothic subculture.
The compilation is meticulously organized to replicate the exact sonic ecosystem of the club rather than relying on a narrow retrofitting of "goth" cliches. It honors the venue's famous strict policy of "No Funk, No Disco" by weaving a dark tapestry out of multiple distinct threads: the aggressive post-punk vanguard, the high-camp synth-pop shaking the floors, the sleazy theatrical death-rock of the bands who actually graced its stage, and the foundational glam and rockabilly records that informed the regulars' aesthetics. Featuring world-renowned regulars like Robert Smith, Siouxsie Sioux, and Nick Cave alongside beautifully obscure bedroom tape-projects, the release captures the precise moment alternative fashion and nocturnal music collided to change underground culture forever.

Various Artists - Dark As A Batcave, A Gothic-Post Punk Mix

The Dark As A Batcave compilation serves as a raw, high-energy homage to the legendary London nightclub, bridging classic 1980s post-punk with modern deathrock to capture the "dark glamour" aesthetic. It features a blend of pioneering and revivalist bands, including Specimen and Alien Sex Fiend, that define the club's signature sound.

Back in 1982, the original Goth club opened over at Soho in London (most notably at the building that housed Gossips, at the club formally known as Billy’s, located on 69 Dean St) This was an event organized by the members of the dark and glamorous Specimen, and featured Dj’s such as Hamish Macdonald with his project Sexbeat, and Anni Hogan, who would become a long time collaborator with Marc Almond, who was also a regular attendee.

In fact, this was a club attended by nearly every Post-Punk musician in London at the time, such as Robert Smith of The Cure, members of Siouxsie and The Banshees (Note that Steven Severin and Robert Smith wrote music for Marc Almond and Anni Hogan’s project Marc and the Mambas, this, along with The Glove was surely a collaboration inspired by hanging out at The Batcave), Nick Cave, Nik Fiend (Alien Sex Fiend), Andi Sex Gang (Sex Gang Children), Ian Astbury of Southern Death Cult—they all haunted this club.

Indeed, the Batcave was the place to be, and the highly stylized dark glamour of the attendees went on to define what would be considered the “Gothic” subculture, even connecting with bands in Los Angeles, such as Christian Death, and with the legendary Danceteria nightclub in New York.