| 688 Club | |
| Location: | 688 Spring Street Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
| Type: | Nightclub |
| Genre: | New wave, alternative rock, post-punk, industrial, gothic |
| Opened: | May 1980 |
| Closed: | November 1986 |
| Owner: | Steve May Tony Evans John Wicker Sheila Browning Mike Hendry |
| Seating Capacity: | 300 |
| Website: | http://www.688club.com |
The 688 Club was a popular alternative music venue in Atlanta, Georgia, located at 688 Spring Street, near the intersection of Spring and 3rd Streets. The 688 Club opened in May 1980 and closed in November 1986. The club was operated by Steve May. The club was co-owned by Tony Evans, John Wicker, and in its final years by Mike Hendry. Cathy Hendrix served as the club's music director. During its brief lifetime, the 688 played host to hundreds of punk rock, new wave and alternative rock bands, many of whom would later become well known.
During the early 1980s, the 688 Club was the primary place for up-and-coming bands from Atlanta and Athens, Georgia, to get noticed. Among the groups that regularly played there were R.E.M. and Pylon. The club spun off an independent record label, 688 Records, which survived for a time even after 688 Club had closed. Dash Rip Rock's self-titled debut LP was the first album released by 688 Records.
The club re-opened as the "686 Club" on December 31, 1986, but was renamed "The Rollick" the next day. By 1990, the space was occupied by a club called "Weekends". The club was operated by an Atlanta attorney as an industrial/goth club known as Tyranny from 1995 - 2000. The space was later occupied by Outa Control Inc. Sometime thereafter, the original building was extensively remodeled, and houses a Concentra urgent care medical facility.
A partial list of notable bands and artists that appeared at the 688 Club between 1980 and 1986: