Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Foco Club
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1968-1969
History
On 3 March 1968 the FOCO Club opened on the third floor of the Trades Hall building. Foco Club came about in March 1968 when the "Society for Democratic Action (initially the Students for Democratic Action) founded FOCO at Trades Hall as an independent, radical cultural centre. It involved music, poetry, film, theatre, a bookshop and a newsletter. FOCO was closed by the Trades and Labor Council in May 1969" -- excerpted from Guyatt, Joy and George, Greg. Publications of political organizations in Queensland p 266.
FOCO was once described as Australia's most evil nightspot.
The Trades and Labour Council building was located on Turbot Street looking down Edward Street, adjacent to Jacob's Ladder. In 1984 the property was sold. With the decision to demolish the Trades Hall, a group of people from Brisbane organised "The last Foco" or "Foco lives" event to be held on Saturday 16 February 1985.
FOCO, a Spanish word meaning focus or centre, connected to Che Guevara's Foco theory of revolutionary warfare. After being asked to leave the Trades Hall venue, and unable to find a suitable replacement, the decision to close FOCO was made in September 1969.
Places
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Mandates/sources of authority
Internal structures/genealogy
General context
Relationships area
Access points area
Subject access points
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Occupations
Control area
Authority record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Revised
Level of detail
Minimal
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Revised, Linda Justo, 1-Feb-2022.
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Gray, P and Neilsen, F (2012?). 'Memories from those involved : the FOCO Club, Brisbane, 1968-69', viewed online on Radical Times website, 1-Feb-2022.