100 club facing closure

[Guest]

Another venue on the brink... :angry:

Of all the venues in London, this has to be one the most 'important' as far as who's played there and the length of its history. Much 'nicer' than the Marquee, great atmosphere everytime I've been there....

the thing that puzzled me about it is how the facilities for the acts weren't really up to much. No dressing room, one of the worst load-ins going (even worse load-out )...

It really should stay though

[jump]

f**k, it's bad enough that Astoria is gone but all of the venues in central London seem to be disappearing. I agree it should be saved but if it could be closing due to lack of business as opposed to property than they should just start looking at the reason why rather than getting a bit of quick cash to fix it for now.

*edit*

Is it just me or apart from the pics on the wall does the 100 club not feel like a venue and more like a community hall?

Edited October 1, 2010 by jump

[funkymp]

i really hope this doesn't happen, 100% agree with jump, wtf is with all the small venues in central london disappearing?

rate it's going we'll just be left with fowking hmv / 02 venues which are soulless and charge through the nose for beer

[jump]

I always liked the Astoria as I have so many memories there and seen so many bands play.

I think that may be the problem with 100 Club as (I remember it's about overheads rather than someone want's to sell the property) I rarely ever go to 100 Club (5 times in total) as there never seemed to be any bands I liked playing as with Astoria there was always bands playing some I hated, some I loved but there was always something on I knew. Despite it's history it hasn't remained upto date with the current scene which is part of it's charm but also part of it's problem.

I figured it out, it's the plastic chairs that reminds me of a community hall.

[funkymp]

I always liked the Astoria as I have so many memories there and seen so many bands play.

[dakyras]

100 Club>Astoria.

Saying that, I'm about as fussed as this guy:

Last week saw music fans despairing at the news that London's historic 100 Club venue on Oxford Street was facing closure.

Could it really be true that the birthplace of British punk rock and a home to British jazz might be no longer? Yes, basically. The Evening Standard reported that the venue is under the threat of closure due to spiralling overheads – its rates bill has hit £4,000 a month while landlord Lazari Investments now charges rent, with VAT, of £166,000 a year. Owner Jeff Horton is now looking for a buyer or major sponsor to step forward to keep the club open.

Cue people on Facebook getting themselves all in a tizz, furiously stabbing the "create group" button with their pitchforks, and writing things like: "We have to stop this, otherwise the venues that have shaped the greats and will shape the future of music will be gone." It's the sort of sentiment that could feature within the paraphernalia of the vile O2 British Music Experience at the old Millennium Dome – if those words had been run through a spellchecker and had an O2 logo stamped atop.

There's been an uprising of British punks, too, the sort you see mugging for the camera on the back of London postcards, spouting statements like their "heritage" is at risk.

Me? I'm not too sure about all the fuss.

It's been a good decade, probably two, since the 100 Club served any sort of function in shaping popular music's future. The venue has become akin to a British take on New York's CBGB club, which itself closed in 2006 – the sort of place where record labels sporadically place their edgier new acts to garner a bit of reflected punk cool from the fact the Sex Pistols once trod its rickety red boards. Said acts don't even have to be new; I saw Towers of London there in 2007, after Donny Tourette had escaped from Big Brother. Well, I say saw; I watched two songs, thought "life's too short" and went to hang out in the video game shop next door.

And I was also part of the press throng that saw the Horrors play in 2006 and every night of Gallows' four-night stand in 2008. Both bands' appearances were exciting, but don't tell me those bands' live agents didn't know the significance of booking their shows there. Unlike Brixton's Windmill venue, Shoreditch's Old Blue Last, Elephant and Castle's Coronet Theatre or Stoke Newington's late, great Bardens Boudoir – venues that really can hold a claim to being the cradle of British music's future – I've never just walked in, seen something brilliant and unexpected and skipped home thrilled. Far from being a home of new music, the 100 Club merely serves an important marketing purpose for a modern music scene obsessed with authenticity.

As for the punks' claims of their heritage being destroyed, that's the most galling claim I've heard. I've got Black Flag bars inked on my skin, I've got a favourite Crass B-side, and the 100 Club says as much about my heritage as my local Greggs does. I never thought punk rock was supposed to be about heritage, or monuments, or even bricks and mortar. It's a transcendent spirit, it works in your head, in your bedroom or in a music venue. I thought punk was about ideas, anger, being disconcerting about who and what you respect, about questioning the status quo (especially Status Quo). But if you are looking for the home of modern punk rock in the capital then The Fighting Cocks in Kingston upon Thames has much more of a claim to that title than the 100 Club does.

The sad part of this story is that London might just lose another inner-city venue, which, looking at the gaping void left by the Astoria every time I walk down Charing Cross Road, is depressing, especially when it's one that isn't branded with corporate sponsorship like so many other venues in the city.

It would be nice if people's ire was fuelled with that sort of honesty, and not with making claims for the venue's significance and purpose that are as dead and as stupid as that other punk relic Sid Vicious.

Edited October 1, 2010 by dakyras

[jump]

without turning this into a pointless "which is better, 100 club or Astoria" thread, they're not really comparable. I'd guess the capacity at the Astoria was close to a couple of thousand, as opposed to a few hundred at the 100 club. The Astoria was a theatre, the 100 club is a.. errmmm.. .club, where you can watch a band while standing at the bar ( ) if you want

and yes, the plastic chairs

and the formica top tables

generally, the 100 club is a jazz/blues/r n b club, but it was considered past its time in the 70's, yet was one of the few central London venues to have punk bands before it (punk) became the latest tabloid 'thing'

yes, the plastic chairs, and the formica top tables

[jump]

100 Club>Astoria.

Saying that, I'm about as fussed as this guy:

Does it really matter?

Edited October 1, 2010 by jump

[dakyras]

Yeah, it's sad that a small independent venue is closing, but it annoys me when people think a music venue should stay open just because it has 'heritage'.

[jump]

It's not just because of it's heritage, but more that it has its heritage, because of the club that it is (or was). The whole punk thing is a mere blip in it's history. It certainly wasn't a punk venue, but it was open enough to have punk gigs.

I wonder if a lot of acts that would normally play venues of that size, might be put off becuase of its lack of facilities..?

[dakyras]

It's the same reason independent pubs close down. They haven't bothered to compete with the new media/publicity machinations of the large companies. It's upsetting, but unless indie venues actually invest in getting more revenue via modern means, there's very little to complain about.

[Pogues Mcgogues]

It's near Tottenham Court Road Station! I went drinking around there with Radar. Where is Radar, he doesn't come on here anymore!

Edited October 1, 2010 by TheJobbyJabber

[jump]

I think the facilities have a lot to do with whether an act will play one venue as opposed to another. You can play a club in the West End, with a very difficult load-in, and little in the way of comfort, or a club in Camden, with a dressing room with access to the stage and somewhere to relax after your set. Where do you choose?

here

so that could be another part of its problem... not enough publicity..?

Edited October 1, 2010 by jump

[Pogues Mcgogues]

The Barfly gets up and coming bands, who if they had the choice (I guess) wouldn't want to return in a hurry. I haven't a clue how it got the status it has, it's horrible.

[gratedenini]

Been discussing this on another forum.

Thing is, its a "great" venue for some ie --the likes of me, but I think the type of bands is the key. Theres nobody of any ilk on these days.

Over the years, its been a marvellous place to see the bands but as usual... it hasn`t really "moved with the times".

Its all money isnt it and the making of.

Bit sad, but thats trhe way it is.

Been suggested that some of the big names who`ve played there could/should stump up a bit to save it.

For the 2nd day running I disaggree with Mr Dark in that i like heritage and all that comes with it...and feel if possible...it should be rescued/saved.

den

[rexclark]

The one in Glasgow was pretty dire for gigs as well. It's shut down now.

[jump]

They are having a "save the 100 club" party tonight.

http://www.spinnermusic.co.uk/2010/11/24/save-the-100-club-campaign-releases-promotional-video/