Up the road, on Lorne St

Established by Albanian expat Johnny Murahem and established in an old ANZ bank cafeteria on Lorne St, Tabla was a club that attracted trouble.

The first incarnation of Dragon (known as Anteapot) played here briefly, as did Human Instinct and scene mainstays Dallas Four. Bob Smith from Dallas Four remembers regular skirmishes, with casualties sometimes barely making it out alive and the violence sometimes spilling on to the street.

One night, after The Dallas Four had finished for the evening, they went upstairs to find out what the ruckus was about. There was blood in the entranceway, cops everywhere, including top brass. Casualties were strewn along Lorne St.

Smith remembers the injuries. ‘‘There was this guy lying in the gutter, with half his face hanging off. This officer went up to him and asked him if he was injured – the poor guy just looked up at him. He’d had a bottle to the face. The police officer (I think he was a lieutenant or something) just walked away.’’

Another night he recalls a guy with a hammershaped indentation in his head, unconscious outside the club. The hammer was found later in the foyer. ‘‘It was the Wild West.’’