The iconic venue that sparked a subgenre

Conflict playing at The Mermaid in Sparkhill, Birmingham

It is the iconic and often chaotic Birmingham pub that inspired a subgenre.

The Mermaid in Sparkhill helped launch Napalm Death, one of the the most influential metal bands of all time.

It also sparked the creation of Grindcore - a fusion of heavy metal and hardcore punk that emerged against a 1980s backdrop of miners' strikes and the Cold War.

The venue's cultural significance is now being examined as part of a project funded by Historic England and run by Home of Metal, a Midlands-based music heritage project.

The venue helped spark the creation of Grindcore, a fusion of heavy metal and hardcore punk

They have been interviewing regulars and musicians who performed there, who describe joyful nights in a place where unconventional styles and attitudes were always welcome.

Tim Richardson said he first visited the venue, which also hosted the likes of Primal Scream and The Sea Urchins, in 1986.

He told of attending a gig so disorderly it led to car alarms going off along the street.

"Everyone was stage diving and back-flipping and going mental," he recalled.

"Bits of plaster and flakes of paint were raining down on the crowd."

The Instigators performing at The Mermaid pub in March 1986

Despite the manic scenes, Matthew Knight, another former gig-goer, described the pub as a safe haven in the city.

"If you looked different you got picked on," he said. "You got bullied, you got beaten up.

"The Mermaid was a nice release. It was a place where you went with like-minded people."

The Mermaid helped to launch Napalm Death, an influential metal band

Birmingham in the 1980s was not a place where live music was flourishing, especially for more experimental bands like Napalm Death.

With few places to secure regular gigs and develop the band's sound, The Mermaid became a vital underground space where punters could attend shows for as little as £1.

Former member Justin Broadrick said the dilapidated pub felt like "the start of something".

"It was a punk rock venue ultimately," he explained. "It wouldn't have existed without the culture of punk rock."