The Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club in East London has launched a “fighting fund” crowdfunder to save the venue.
The space has been host to various music, comedy, and theatre gigs, and has hosted a plethora of seminal shows throughout the years. The inclusive building is Grade II listed and has a Certificate of Lawfulness – acknowledging the use-class as an official cabaret theatre. However, those protections are not enough to save the venue from coming under threat.
Created by Friends of Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club (FoBGWMC) – a community group comprised of locals, performers, punters, programmers, and trade union members – the “fighting fund” will help pay for a planning bid to persuade Tower Hamlets Council to save the club.
The fund needs to raise £12,000 by April 8, which will pay for a full chartered survey and valuation of the building, as well as the planning application costs which will put vital
protections on the building.
The fund also has an extended target of £18,000 which will allow FoBGWMC to develop a robust business plan with financial projections and cover all consultancy and accountant costs.
Everyone who donates to the fund will have the opportunity to earn rewards of BGWMC merchandise, including an A3 print of the club by the artist Lawrence Brand for donations over £70, BGWMC beers mats for donations over £30, and a Save BGWMC campaign postcard for donations over £20.
You can visit here to donate.
Nick Keegan, Equity’s Variety Organiser, shared in a press release: “A community purchase on this scale will be no small task. We are trying to be absolutely realistic about this. We believe a partnership between the community of BGWMC and Tower Hamlets Council does have the ability to achieve this.
“We believe it is essential to save this unique cultural facility and give it a chance to continue serving the local community of Tower Hamlets, the LGBTQ+ community, and the wider cultural tapestry of London for future generations. We are determined to build that case, and make sure that the cultural and societal value of BGWMC is clear for all to see.”
Keegan continued: “BGWMC is a crucial and irreplaceable fixture of London’s cultural heritage. It has been a catalyst for the development of new artists and cultural workers in the city, a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community, and it is a building with more than 100 years of history as a community owned space. It is vital that we protect BGWMC for future generations and allow its legacy to live on. ”
The Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club is one of the countless grassroots venues in the UK that have come under threat. Already, the MVT has warned that gig spaces in the country are “going over a cliff” without urgent government action.
Towards the end of 2023, for example, there was a stark warning that the UK was set to lose 10 per cent of its grassroots music venues, and MVT ended the year by telling NME how 2023 was the “worst year for venue closures” while “no one in the music industry seems to care”.
The problems have accelerated into 2024 too, and in January a new report was published showing the “disaster” that struck the UK’s grassroots music venues in 2023. Among the key findings was that 125 UK venues abandoned live music and that over half of them had shut entirely – including the legendary Moles in Bath.
The struggles faced by both musicians and venue owners were further highlighted by Featured Artists Coalition’s CEO David Martin in February, when he spoke about how the rapid decline of grassroots venues is taking a toll on the UK talent.
More recently, NME reported how the government has begun to intervene, with the Culture, Media and Sport Committee welcoming the government’s new backing of a levy on gigs at arena level and above to protect grassroots spaces.
The move – which sees a percentage of money made from big tours put aside to help secure the future of smaller venues – has been implemented by the likes of Coldplay, Enter Shikari, Katy Perry and Sam Fender
It gathered momentum after MVT argued that a tidal wave of closures threatens the fabric of the UK music scene thanks to the recent budget announcement, with the circuit and artists already suffering from “the complete collapse of touring“.
“The sheer number of venues in our local communities being forced to shut up shop each week has hammered home the stark reality of the struggles facing artists, promoters and others working in grassroots music,” Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage MP wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Lisa Nandy. “There are warnings of an even gloomier future.”
In response, Music Venue Trust CEO Mark Davyd told NME that while there was “a huge amount to celebrate in the work of this committee” and the government response to it,” Dinenage’s insistence on a timetable for change was imperative.
“As a result of this inquiry, we can now see a clear date in the future when our grassroots music community is properly respected for its cultural, social and economic value and impact,” he told NME. “Major positive change is coming for the live music ecosystem, whether that’s through the grassroots contribution, the business rate review, or the opportunities arising from a new approach to investment and ownership from government.”
