Page "Peckham" Paragraph 27

In the early 1990s Peckham was a centre of underground music, partly due to a large squat in a disused, 2 floor DHSS building in Collyer Place near Peckham High Street.

The building was already known for having featured in the cover shot of a 1980s pictorial biography of 1960s ' mods, featuring them on their customised scooters outside the then Camberwell Labour Exchange.

In 1989 the squatters adopted the name Dole House Crew and along with another local group of squatters called the " Green Circus ", held regular gigs / parties in the building.

Upstairs was a large live gig room and downstairs was a rave music DJ set up.

There were also two bars, a vegan cafe and a chill out lounge.

During the week, any empty rooms were utilised for bands or artists.

Some notable bands who regularly played gigs at the Dole House were: The Levellers, Citizen Fish, and Radical Dance Faction.

Up to 1, 000 people could be squeezed into the squat and from February 1990 it was regularly filled to capacity.

Those involved provided music at various free festivals in the 1990s and also assistance to the then budding Deptford urban free festival ( later the Fordham Park urban free festival ).

They moved on to many other South East London venues after the Peckham Dolehouse was evicted in late October 1990.

A squatted social centre called the Spike Surplus Scheme ran from 1998 until being evicted by the council in 2009.