Coldplay exclusive: 'We'll always be grateful to the Bull and Gate in Kentish Town'

 

 

Published: 14 February 2013

EXCLUSIVE by DAN CARRIER

 

COLDPLAY have told the New Journal they are dismayed by the closure of the live music stage at the famous Bull and Gate pub, the scene of one of their first live gigs as a fledgling band.

 

In an email to the newspaper, the award-winning rock stars told how the venue in Highgate Road, Kentish Town, helped send them on their way to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world.

 

The pub’s new owners, the Young’s brewery chain, want the back room of the bar – for so long a favourite hangout for generations of music fans – to be converted into an area where they can serve more food.

 

Coldplay appeared on stage in the late 1990s and singer Chris Martin, who learned of its closure through the New Journal, said the live slot changed their lives.

 

The band told us yesterday (Wednesday): “In January 1999, promoter Simon Williams and the great people of the Bull let us bang out five songs in 20 minutes. It got us our first NME review and changed our lives forever. Long live the Bull. We’ll always be grateful.”

 

The band went on to have a string of hits with now instantly recognisable songs such as Yellow, Fix You and Trouble.

 

Mr Williams said the live stage had been integral to the pub staying open in recent years after long-term landlords Pat and Margaret Lynskey decided to retire and began to hunt for a buyer.

 

He added: “The tragedy is that Young’s see the pub as the main asset and the live music as an irritant, when for the past three years the gigs have kept the pub alive. The venue has been lacking in investment because it has been on and off the market for so long. The casual gig-goer likes a bit of a burger or a touch of tapas with their gig, as proven by terrific venues like the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen. This could have been a brilliant opportunity to invest in and secure the future of a great old venue, but nobody has bothered to ask our opinion. Yet again, live music suffers.”

 

His views were echoed by BBC Radio Six DJ Steve Lamacq.

 

He told the New Journal: “It’s a terrible shame. It’s where I saw bands like

 

Blur and Doves in their early days. Unfortunately it’s another indication that live music is being squeezed out of certain areas, meaning bands have less choice of where to play. The old Camden scene, which was cheap and vibrant and a good showcase for bands, is slowly being eaten away.”

 

The Bull and Gate’s live music promoter Andy MacLeod said: “Good luck to them: there is obviously a big gap in the market for a gastro pub, seeing as there are already 29 in the area.”

 

The pub is set to close its doors for a refurbishment at the start of May before reopening in the summer.

 

A spokeswoman for Young’s said: “We don’t feel that having live music alongside plans to serve food is viable.”

 

COLDPLAY PLAYING THE BULL AND GATE IN 1999.

 

 

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Such a shame it's closing!!

It's sad, that place made history.

 

 

 

- Tapatalk 2 -

Fantastic place! Don't close :(

Join our farewell party for venue that hosted Blur and Coldplay and help raise money for elderly lunch clubs

 

WITH last orders about to be called at legendary music venue the Bull and Gate, the New Journal has joined forces with Camden Town music company Key Production to host a spectacular farewell bash.

 

As we revealed two weeks ago, the venue in Highgate Road, Kentish Town, which offered a helping hand to such legendary bands as Blur, Bloc Party and Coldplay, has been bought by Young’s Brewery.

 

It plans to turn off the speakers and lights in the backroom hall after nearly four decades of gigs and turn it into a gastropub. Other names who have strutted their stuff across the beer-soaked stage include the Manic Street Preachers and the Arctic Monkeys.

 

Now our readers will have the chance to bid a fond farewell to the venue – and help charity at the same time.

 

The event will raise funds for our food charity fund, which hands out hampers at Christmas and helps fund older people’s lunch clubs in Camden.

 

The gig is due to feature a surprise appearance by a top band – we’re keeping the name under wraps for now while we thrash out the details – and will include DJs from Kentish Town street party legends, the Dig It Sound System.

 

The gig takes place on Friday, April 12.

 

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The gig is due to feature a surprise appearance by a top band

 

A top band as in Coldplay? Because that would be awesome!

^ohpls pls pls pls pls pls

^^OMG YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES