Bradford's 45-Year Fight: The Punk Club Born From a Government Lie

A new book and podcast tell the story of the 1 in 12 Club in Bradford, UK. This venue used community and artistic passion to fight poverty and far-right politics. In the early 1980s, Bradford faced severe unemployment. "Things were getting grim," says founder Gary Cavanagh. "People were thrown on the scrap heap." Cavanagh worked for a claimants union, helping people get benefits. In 1981, a government report claimed one in 12 people on unemployment benefits was a fraudster. Cavanagh and his friends thought this statistic was ridiculous. They decided to reclaim it as their name. "We became the 1 in 12 Club," he says. For 45 years, the anarchic club has been a center for music, plays, and activism. It faced threats from fascist groups but always fought back. Key figures and bands from the club's history share stories of gigs, pranks, and survival in the new projects.