I meant to post this a while ago, but it's been a busy several days. In any case, there have been some further updates to the answers (such as they were) to the Flaming Pablum Photo Quiz. As it happens, the same individual who solved the Beastie Boys mystery also landed the plane on the Kid Creole & the Coconuts shot above. I was only recently able to get over to that part of town to take an updated shot, but here's that reader's answer.
The Kid Creole & the Coconuts image was taken at the entrance of 251 West 30th St. between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, and is looking east from Eighth Ave. Check out this Google streetview.
You’ll notice the distinctive buildings above the parked car in the right-hand side of the shot which correspond to the same (unchanged) buildings behind the open moving truck in the Google Streetview. Kid Creole and the Coconuts are standing not at the corner of Eighth, but rather mid-block, in front of the music club now called Rebel at 251 W. 30th St. which has a distinct, deeply recessed, angled entrance. Rebel was once known as Downtime in the early 1990’s. Check out this Google streetview, unfortunately obscured by scaffolding.
There is a clear shot of the building’s distinct, deeply recessed, angled entrance on the Forgotten NY Website –it’s the ground floor of the Recording and Rehearsal Arts Building (251-255 W. 30th St) recognizable by the G Clef above the door)
I couldn’t tell you the name of the club it was before Downtime (or even if there was a club there). Since it’s a building with music studios, it could explain their presence there.
So, dutifully, I walked over there recently, and sure enough, that's the building. I'm kinda disappointed in myself, actually, as I'd actually been to Downtime back in the late 90's to see a solo show by erstwhile Wonder Stuff frontman, Miles Hunt. In any case, below is a shot of how it looks today. In trying to replicate the Kid Creole shot, however, I was unable to convince anyone around to take my picture. Upon asking passers-by or folks smoking out front who clearly worked inside the building, I was only met by disinterested, suspicious stares and pointedly bad vibes when I asked if they'd oblige me. Oh well.
As an extra little bonus for this post, I exhumed this below video by Kid Creole & the Coconuts from the mid-80's. As an added bit of NYC-trainspottery, it's fun to note that most of the video for "Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy" was filmed at the then-abandoned East River Bandshell. You can read more about that location here on EV Grieve's site.
Enjoy this bit of ancient history...
FLAMING PABLUM PHOTO QUIZ PART TWO: COMING SOON!
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