Venue for the rising stars is still going strong after 30 years
With so many nightclubs closing in recent times it’s quite unusual for a nightclub to still be going strong after 30 years, writes Richard Evans. It has a history of booking a lot of big artists in the past including Oasis, Radiohead, Blur, PJ Harvey, Pulp, Stereo MC’s, Carter USM, Ocean Colour Scene, Squeeze, Suede, Hole and Mudhoney.
The Venue first opened its doors in April 1989 and has attracted many big name acts over the years.
The Venue’s most legendary night to date was probably when Oasis played at the club in 1994 with an incredible supporting bill of Shed Seven and Cast.
Oasis had just released their debut single Supersonic and there was a massive buzz about the band. The gig was a sell-out.
In the early 1990s, when indie music was becoming popular, the likes of Blur, Pulp, Suede, The Verve and Ocean Colour Scene also graced the club’s Main Hall stage.
Other bands cut their teeth on supporting bills at The Venue including Radiohead, Courtney Love’s band Hole, The Divine Comedy, John Cooper Clarke and Cornershop.
Mudhoney played a warm-up gig at the club for their appearance at the 1990 Reading Festival and it has been widely claimed that Kurt Cobain from the band Nirvana joined them on stage that night.
It wasn’t all about indie music, as the club also ran comedy nights including very early appearances from the likes of Lee Evans and David Baddiel. They also hosted big name acts from the 1980s including local heroes Squeeze, The Stranglers, Echo & The Bunnymen and Gang Of Four.
Music scenes and tastes change over time and the club now attracts a more commercial crowd of customers from the surrounding area and local colleges including Goldsmiths, Greenwich and Lewisham.
The club has expanded over the years and now hosts seven bars over five floors playing different styles on each level including chart, cheese and indie/alternative allowing the customer to wander around and see what takes their fancy.
In the current climate of many nightclubs falling by the wayside and closing down it is important that we cherish and support the ones that we still have so ‘Happy 30th Birthday to The Venue’ and here’s to many more years of good times.
All details can be found at www.thevenuelondon.com Twitter @venuenewcross and Instagram @venuenewcross
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