Another Venue On The Brink

It’s with a great deal of sadness that we heard today that the legendary venue The Half Moon in Putney is facing closure after over 50 years of live music performance. Our gig scheduled there for January has been shelved as they have had to book acts that will definitely pull a full house while they get themselves sorted, and hopefully continue trading.

I think I speak for the entire band when we say that playing at The Half Moon is one of the highlights of this bands existence so far, such is the history and reputation of the place. The Rolling Stones, The Who, John Martyn, U2, Kate Bush and Nick Cave are all world famous acts that have graced that stage at one time or another. Even over the last couple of years it’s played host to the current crop of outstanding artists gracing the music scene from Newton Faulkner to Kasabian. There’s even rumour that Fairport Convention’s manager used to run the band from the pay phone in the corner!

It’s venues like this that bands like us, in our current position aspire to play. It ranks up their with legendary London venues like The Marquee and The Troubadour and is the sort of venue that, once you’ve played it you know you’ve made a giant step in the right direction. To be booked for places like The Half Moon is almost like getting your act validated.

So I imagine the immediate future will be fundraising gigs and the current staff doing all they can to get people coming through the door. With more and more venues going under because of lack of support for live music in these times – it’s increasingly difficult for venues like this to stay open, and without venues, you don’t have live music, and without live music you don’t have a music industry. Like Sting said recently, if you think the X Factor is the future of music, you’re very much mistaken.

So, have a look at the Half Moon listings – www.halfmoon.co.uk and see if there’s something there you fancy. There is usually something for everyone and the more they get in, the more chance of places like this staying open for years to come.