Latest news with #LondonGrassrootsMusicTubeMap
Metro
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
'Gigs don't have to cost £400 - the next Taylor Swift could be down the road'
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video For music fans hoping to see the next global superstar before they hit stadiums, or simply find your new favourite band, grassroots venues are the answer. For singer-songwriter Frank Turner, who spent years honing his craft in independent venues all around the world from London to Louisiana, they're the lifeblood of the music scene, as well as being an affordable way for fans to experience art. He exclusively told Metro: 'It's all very well going to see Taylor Swift play to stadium, and good luck to her. I think she's phenomenal. But it's just like, you know that going to a gig can also cost 15 quid or 10 quid or whatever? 'It doesn't have to cost 400 quid, and it can be at the end of your road, and it can be a thing where you meet the band afterwards, and you stand in the front row. 'It's just a different cultural event. And you might end up encountering a band who go on to become the next Taylor Swift or whatever. But even if they don't, they might just be great in and of themselves.' Frank, typically flanked nowadays by his backing band the Sleeping Souls, has long being a champion of organisations like the Music Venue Trust and the work they do to support the scene. 'The culture that is my both professional and personal and social life is a noisy one, and it needs a space in which to exist. And if those spaces don't exist, the culture cease to exist,' the 43-year-old folk punk musician warned. Ticketing app DICE has put together a list of their 25 grassroots artists you need to see in London over the next six months. With tickets ranging from free to £27.50, these shows will ensure a great night to suit all tastes and budgets. Click HERE to catch the full list. It's not just the next Taylor – British institutions like Ed Sheeran, Adele, Radiohead and recently-reformed Oasis all came up through the independent venue circuit, as well as rising stars (and Frank's occasional tour mates) The Lottery Winners. 'If those places hadn't existed, none of those bands would exist,' he added. 'We'd still probably have Simon Cowell's contribution to music, which is fine, but it's not everything.' It's why Frank has continued to voice his support for London's grassroots scene, after Metro helped launch of the London Grassroots Music Tube Map. The new campaign is being run alongside the Mayor of London, Transport for London and organisations including the MVT, Featured Artist Coalition, Outernet and Universal Music. For Frank, it all started in those small rooms, which are constantly at risk. He's played more than 3,000 shows to date (under his own name, there are many more in other projects like newly-reformed post hardcore act Million Dead), and the journey started 30 years ago. 'I went to my first gig at Indie venue in 1995 onto the Joiners Arms, and it was a really important moment for me. I was a very alienated, isolated kid. And then I found a punk crowd and I found my tribe,' he smiled. He also recalled his time at venues like the Camden Barfly and the legendary Nambucca, with the likes of Libertines, Marcus Mumford, Laura Marling, The Libertines and Frank himself championing an almost mythical scene from the old Holloway Road venue. In those rooms – and other 'wonderful, strange little places' across London and beyond – musicians are able to hone their skills, build an audience, and discover something even more profound. Recalling an early gig at The Bridge House in Copsale, Surrey in 2007, when Frank was roughly 300 shows into his now-3,043 (and counting) run of gigs. 'It's in the middle of nowhere, at a road junction. I was skeptical in the extreme, and I went down, and it was rad,' he beamed. 'Ryan, the guy who ran the place, was a diamond, and end up playing accordion with me on stage that night. I stayed over at the bar, stayed up all night and made friends for life.' These places are at risk, with MTV's establishment in 2014 being a turning point to give some 'consideration' and support to venues battling everything from 'changes in planning laws' to 'increases in business rates'. He added: 'If you look at the kind of funding that goes towards opera and classical music and stuff like that – which is fine, I'm not objecting to it in principle – but there's just gallons of public money that gets flushed around that world.' As Frank himself pointed out, in the UK he's outgrown the independent venue circuit (despite occasional ventures back into that world), but his current US tour is almost taking his act back to its roots as just a man and his guitar. 'Load in takes about three minutes, which is a nice,' he laughed. 'I get to play with the set list a bit more and be more conversational and all that. But ultimately, if you put a gun to my head, I would choose band shows. But thankfully, no one's doing that!' He's currently on another leg of his Undefeated world tour, promoting the 2024 album of the same name. Despite usually being immediately critical of his most recent work, he's 'oddly' content. More Trending 'I'm as happy with Undefeated today as I was on the day when I finished it, which is unusual for me,' he smiled, acknowledging that his typically blunt self-assessment generally helps him push on with his next album. 'It's slightly paralyzing the fact that I feel as good about it because I'm not quite sure what comes next,' he admitted. 'Having said that, I've got a few new songs in the bank at the minute that I'm more pleased with than the other ones I've written recently.' It's too soon to know what his 11th studio album could sound like – he joked he probably won't revisit any old idea of making 'a white soul album' – but for now, he's content to go with the flow. 'I'd be quite happy for this to be a two, three year album cycle. I'll do another record when I'm ready,' he promised, as well as teasing another to-be-announced European run. 'But for the time being, I love being on tour. I love these songs, and I'm enjoying myself.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Two teenage boys admit murder of 14-year-old stabbed 27 times on London bus MORE: 'We're the UK's smartest twins and have a combined IQ of 314' MORE: Thief breaks into ambulance and steals paramedic's belongings while they treat patient
Metro
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
'We wouldn't have survived as musicians without London's grassroot venues'
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Grassroots venues are critical for encouraging and developing the future stars of music; without these spaces, we wouldn't have the huge icons we know and love today. This was the rallying cry from rising stars Prima Queen when they met Metro at London's Phoenix Arts Club, having just released their debut album, The Prize. The duo, consisting of best friends Kristin McFadden, 30, and Louise Macphail, 27, are not from London but found a home in the independent scene here in 2017 when they began to carve out their path into the music industry. 'London's grassroots venues have done so, so much to help start our career,' shared Kristin, who is originally from Chicago but moved here for a songwriting course, on which she met Louise. The Oats singer continued: 'One of our pivotal shows was playing at Windmill [Brixton], which is one of our favourite venues. 'We went on our first tour because the sound engineer became a fan from our set, and then told The Big Moon about us, and we got to go on tour with them.' Now, Prima Queen are following in the Mercury Prize nominees' footsteps with their own headlining tour this year, visiting independents like London's Islington Assembly Hall and the iconic Thekla in Louise's hometown of Bristol. Ticketing app DICE has put together a list of their 25 grassroots artists you need to see in London over the next six months. With tickets ranging from free to £27.50, these shows will ensure a great night to suit all tastes and budgets. Click HERE to catch the full list. Kristin continued: 'It literally goes back to these grassroots venues, [that's] how a band can build up from nothing to start making your way into the industry.' 'You'd never be ready to play the big shows without them,' Louise agreed. 'It's like a training ground, having all these venues around London. 'Most bands go through a time where you're just playing one or more every week and making loads and loads of mistakes, and then learning from them.' Prima Queen have joined the likes of Billy Bragg and Skunk Anansie to voice their support for London's grassroots scene following the launch of the London Grassroots Music Tube Map. It's part of a new campaign that Metro is running alongside the Mayor of London, Transport for London and organisations including the Music Venue Trust, Featured Artist Coalition, Outernet and Universal Music. The map will be screened for a month at the Outernet London, the largest digital exhibition space in Europe. The interactive display of the map will be shown in the Arcade space, which links the nightclub to The Lower Third grassroots music venue on Denmark Street. What sets these smaller venues apart of the sense of community you can feel in them, especially when you work behind the scenes as well as on the stage like Louise. She worked for the radical art and music space Matchstick Piehouse in Deptford and was there when it tragically shut down at the end of 2023. The venue was plunged into £36,000 of rent debt after the pandemic, but with the help of the Music Venue Trust and a huge fundraising effort, it has partially re-opened as Piehouse Co-op. 'The community brought it back,' Louise said of the space. 'The venues are crumbling, but the community is still there.' Kristin believes the online focus can distract from that community aspect, explaining: 'Some people go viral and they have all these followers, but they struggle to fill venues.' Neither is wrong or right, it's just totally different. 'It's sad that people are spending more time on their phones and not just going out and seeing who's down the street.' This echoes the 'best bit of advice' Louise ever got for starting a career in the industry: to just go out and find the music. We've teamed up with SXSW London to give away two pairs of Music Festival Wristbands valid for 2-7 June 2025. Headliners include Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Tems, Brit Award-winning artist Mabel, Crystal Castles's Alice Glass, and East London-based R&B artist NAO, plus emerging talent set to perform at showcase acts around Shoreditch. Click here to find out more about SXSW London's incredible events and how to enter to be in with a chance to win, or simply enter your details using the form below. *T&Cs apply. You have until midnight on Sunday 25th May 2025 to enter. Good luck! * Open to legal residents of Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) aged 18 or over. Promotion opens at 06:01 BST on 13 May 2025 and closes at 23:59 BST on 25 May 2025. The promotion is free to enter; however internet access is required. Entrant must visit and when prompted by the form, submit their name, email, telephone number, date of birth and postcode. Acceptance of the terms and conditions (by ticking the relevant checkbox) is necessary to enter the promotion. 1 entry per person. 1 prize available per person. There will be two (2) winners. Each winner will win two (2) Full Week (6 days) Music Festival Wristbands (each such wristband worth £99) granting secondary access to Official SXSW London Music Festival showcases valid from 2 until 7 June 2025. Proof of age and photographic ID is required for entry (18+). The prize, including entry and attendance at SXSW, is subject to and governed by the SXSW's full ticket terms and conditions here. Full T&Cs apply, see here. 'The way that you become successful is filling up your local venue and having a queue down the street, and then that's what leads you to the next step,' she shared before pondering: 'I wonder now, is that the same advice because it's so online?' Prima Queen have recently played one of their biggest ever gigs at Hammersmith's Eventim Apollo, with a capacity of 5,000 standing. The contrast between this and their 'warm up' show at the independent London venue Omera, with a 320 capacity, didn't go unnoticed. 'Obviously it's fun being on a big stage in front of lots of people,' said Kristin before Louise, showing how in sync the pair are, finished her sentence and added: 'But you can't see their faces.' That 'magic' connection with the audience can get a bit lost, especially when the artist has in-ear headphones for the music, which almost completely mutes the crowd. 'When you're playing in smaller venues, you can really have that back and forth with the crowd,' Louise explained, sharing that their recent smaller gig became an accidental Q&A thanks to the intimacy. The Eclipse singers would love for larger artists to start doing small gig tours too, bringing their existing fanbase into spaces they may never have seen before. She added: 'The people that already care about music venues, really care. We just need more people who maybe aren't aware of them to be going to those spaces and putting value on them. Ultimately, responsibility falls on the gig-goers to keep the doors open rather than the artists – if you have nobody buying tickets and drinks, then the space cannot continue to function. More Trending 'This is a space where you can see music for affordable prices,' Kristin points out, with most venues only charging around £10 to £15 per gig (as opposed to £200). Rising electricity and daily living costs also impact the venue owners but in the face of the skyrocketing arena and stadium tour prices, going to grassroots venues could be the way forward. Kristin agreed: 'We feel so disconnected in society right now for so many reasons, and to have these spaces to come and be seen by our friends, neighbours, and community and feel supported and support other musicians. 'I think we forget how important it is to be in those spaces.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Plans to save UK's most iconic grassroots music venues from closure revealed MORE: 'You might go to a show at the Windmill, fall in love and end up with a tattoo' MORE: Rocker stops concert to propose to girlfriend on stage in 'beautiful' moment
Metro
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Viola Beach tragedy shows risks of high-cost touring, Wolf Alice guitarist says
Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe and Jack Dakin of rock band Viola Beach, who were on the cusp of stardom when they died in 2016 Up-and-coming bands are forced into dangerous situations while touring due to massive cost pressures, the guitarist of rock band Wolf Alice has said. Joff Oddie pointed to the 2016 car crash that killed Warrington band Viola Beach and their manager as an example of the kinds of tragedies that can result. He was appearing in front of MPs alongside a panel of top music industry figures in parliament today, arguing in favour of a 'grassroots levy' on live music tickets. The extra £1 would go towards supporting new artists and bands with the costs of starting out, as well as small venues and rehearsal spaces. Joff, who formed Mercury Prize-winning Wolf Alice with singer Ellie Rowsell in 2010, went through a long list of expenses faced by artists ahead of a tour – including insurance, fuel, accommodation and manufacturing merch. He recalled sleeping on people's floors while touring in the 'unbelievably tight' early years of the band, and how he put his student loan into funding a tour. However, he said the pressures are considerably worse today: 'It's a huge amount of things that artists have to pay for in order to go out on the road. 'And we just about made it work – I can honestly say, I'm not sure how Wolf Alice would make it work today.' In addition, there are 'real risks' to 'sending young people out on the road on really tight shoestring budgets', Joff argued. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page He said: 'I think we want to remember what happened in the Viola Beach affair, where a group of young people were out on the road, had to make a journey. 'They couldn't afford another driver, couldn't afford a hotel, they had to get there. 'We've all been in that position, people on the road. I think we do have a duty of care, and a kind of moral responsibility to not put young people in that position.' Viola Beach – Kris Leonard, River Reeves, Tomas Lowe and Jack Dakin – were killed along with manager Craig Tarry when their car fell from a bridge outside Stockholm in 2016. Kris, River and Jack were 20 years old when they died. Tomas was 27, and Craig was 33. Six months after the crash, the band achieved a posthumous number one album with their self-titled debut. Joff Oddie and Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice performing at Glastonbury in 2022 (Picture: PA) This morning's committee hearing took place as Metro joined forces with the Mayor of London and TfL to promote grassroots music venues in the capital. Sir Sadiq Khan and top figures from the music world travelled to the Outernet installation outside Tottenham Court Road station for the launch of the London Grassroots Music Tube Map. The eye-catching artwork celebrates artists and venues who have made a lasting contribution to the city's culture, encouraging people to check out the gig opportunities on their doorstep. Mark Davyd, the Music Venue Trust founder who spoke to Metro ahead of the launch, was also among the panel who appeared in front of the committee today. He revealed the grassroots music industry is heavily reliant on alcohol sales, saying: 'Really, at grassroots level, it is the alcohol sales that are sponsoring pretty much everything.' The 'dramatic generational shift in the consumption of alcohol', with young people cutting down on booze, poses a surprising threat as a result, he said. Mark continued: 'In 2024, the venues subsidised the production of live music by about £160 million across all our venues by the sale of alcohol. 'Now, you could argue it's part of the whole offer, but what happens when 30% plus of your audience stop drinking alcohol? And I'm afraid the answer isn't kombucha.' According to the Music Venue Trust, adding a £1 levy to all tickets sold for stadium or arena gigs in the UK would raise more than £17.6 million for grassroots music each year. The voluntary move was backed by Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee in November last year. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: Metro launches London Grassroots Music Tube Map to spotlight city's top venues Arrow MORE: When is Eurovision 2025 final? Date, location and latest odds revealed Arrow MORE: Brit rock band loses two members after they suddenly quit the group
Metro
12-05-2025
- Metro
Southport killer 'to be fed through hatch' like Hannibal after prison attack
Southport killer Axel Rudakubana will reportedly be fed through a hatch and get a five-guard escort following his attack on a prison guard. The 18-year-old, who killed three young girls in July last year, allegedly used a kettle to throw boiling water on a prison officer on Thursday. His freedom within HMP Belmarsh, in South East London, will now be severely restricted in ways that echo the treatment of Hannibal Lecter, according to The Sun. A source told the newspaper: 'They will treat Rudakubana much more severely. It will not be far off Hannibal Lecter because they will take no chances.' Fictional serial killer Lector, who was played by Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs, was held in a maximum security jail. The source added: 'Rudakubana will only be able to open the latch on his side once the officers have shut the box and closed it on their side. 'This is a huge deal in UK jails as it is considered it dehumanises inmates. 'He will be let out of his cell only after being searched and escorted by at least five officers, who will be in PPE and could use a dog.' They said the unit would be locked down each time he is moved. In a video posted on X, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick compared the hot water incident to the recent attack on prison guards by the Manchester Arena terrorist Hashem Abedi. He said: 'We must never put the rights of criminals and terrorists above the safety of prison officers. 'Labour's Justice Secretary needs to get a grip or else I fear it is only a matter of time before a prison officer loses their life.' Abedi threw hot cooking oil on officers and stabbed them with 'home made weapons,' the Prison Officers' Association alleged. It's thought Rudakubana could now be moved to another prison. More Trending Rudakubana will spend a minimum of 52 years in prison for the murder spree at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. He killed Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and tried to murder eight other children, the class instructor Leanne Lucas, and businessman John Hayes. On the alleged hot water attack, a Prison Services spokesperson from the Ministry of Justice told the Metro: 'Police are investigating an attack on a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh on Thursday. 'Violence in prison will not be tolerated and we will always push for the strongest possible punishment for attacks on our hardworking staff.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: 'Bare beating' is tormenting commuters on the London tube network MORE: Metro launches London Grassroots Music Tube Map to spotlight city's top venues MORE: Man charged with rapes after girls 'attacked close to a train station'
