 A photo of the pub from 2012, closed and converted to a residential property. | |
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| Location | 234 Royal College Street, Camden Town, London, NW1 |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 150 |
| Closed | 2002 |
The Falcon, later The Camden Falcon, was a pub and music venue located at 234 Royal College Street, in the London Borough of Camden, North London.
A pub on that spot dates back to at least the late 19th century. In 1896 a pub by this name listed at 234 'Great College Street' (the former name of Royal College Street, prior to the Veterinary College there being awarded royal charter) had an accepted tender "for alterations" reported in the construction trade periodical The Builder. [1]
The pub went from hosting low-key gigs in the late 1980s to becoming one of the most influential music venues of the 1990s, and a hub of London's Britpop and Shoegaze scenes. [2] During this time it was owned by Baxter Mitchell and Alexis Hunter. [3] It was also a fringe theatre for a short period. [4]
Bands and musicians such as Blur (then named Seymour), Pulp, Lush, Slowdive, Inspiral Carpets, Suede, The Stereophonics, Feeder, Doves, PJ Harvey, Travis, Muse, Catatonia, Teenage Fanclub, and Coldplay all played there early in their careers. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
It was also a key venue for what journalists dubbed the Camden Lurch scene, a term they used to describe the preponderence of non-shoegaze or dance music indie bands that often played in the area, such as Silverfish and Th' Faith Healers. [11]
The Sundays and Lush played their first concerts there (on separate occasions) in 1988. [12] [13]
Ivo Watts-Russell signed Lush and Pale Saints to 4AD after seeing them both on the same bill there in 1989. [14]
Heavenly's second time performing was at the pub, supporting The Television Personalities, and it was there that Sarah Records offered to release the band's recordings. [15]
The Verve's second time performing in London was at the pub. [16]
Alan McGee's first time seeing Super Furry Animals was at the pub in 1995, after being brought there by Creation Records A&R Mark Bowen, this led to the label signing the band. [17]
The Barfly originally started as a series of concerts there, with disputes with the local authorities about crowd capacity eventually leading it to move to the Monarch in nearby Chalk Farm. [2] The founders of The Barfly also started The Fly magazine, initially as a listings leaflet for their own events. Their offices were above The Falcon until 1997, when a fire was caused by an employee staying in the office during a power cut falling asleep with a candle still lit. [18]
Simon Williams first approached Coldplay about releasing on Fierce Panda Records upon seeing them play at The Falcon in 1998. [6] Steve Lamacq was also in attendance that night. [19]
Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, in reaction to the darker lyrical themes and soundscapes of the American-led grunge music and Britain's own shoegaze music scene. The movement brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the larger British popular cultural movement, Cool Britannia, which evoked the Swinging Sixties and the British guitar pop of that decade.
Catatonia were an alternative rock band from Wales who gained popularity in the mid-to-late 1990s. The band formed in 1992 after Mark Roberts met Cerys Matthews and Kirsty Kennedy. The first major lineup featured Dafydd Ieuan of Super Furry Animals on drums, Paul Jones on bass, and Clancy Pegg on keyboards. With this line-up the band recorded two EPs, For Tinkerbell and Hooked.
Pub rock is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, which incorporated roots rock, pub rock was a reaction against the expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock and flashy glam rock scenes at the time. Although short-lived, pub rock was played live in small traditional venues like pubs and clubs. Since major labels showed no interest in pub rock groups, pub bands sought out independent record labels such as Stiff Records. Indie labels used relatively inexpensive recording processes, so they had a much lower break-even point for a record than a major label.
Shoegaze is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume. It emerged in Ireland and the United Kingdom in the late 1980s among neo-psychedelic groups who usually stood motionless during live performances in a detached, non-confrontational state. The name comes from the heavy use of effects pedals, as the performers were often looking down at their pedals during concerts.
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as reverb, echo, tremolo, and chorus. It often overlaps with the related genre of shoegaze, and the two genre terms have at times been used interchangeably.
Souvlaki is the second studio album by the English rock band Slowdive. It was recorded in 1992, and released on 1 June 1993 by Creation Records.
Chapterhouse were a British shoegaze band from Reading, Berkshire, England. Formed in 1987 by Andrew Sherriff, Stephen Patman and Simon Rowe, the band began performing alongside Spacemen 3. They released two albums: Whirlpool (1991) and Blood Music (1993). The group temporarily reformed in 2008 after being asked to join Ulrich Schnauss onstage to perform his cover version of their song "Love Forever" at the Truck Festival in Oxfordshire. The band finished the brief reunion with two gigs in London (2009–2010) and tours in North America and Japan in 2010.
Slowdive are an English rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell, Neil Halstead, Christian Savill (guitars), Nick Chaplin (bass), and Simon Scott, all of whom played on the band's early records. Halstead is the band's primary songwriter.
Emma Victoria Jane Anderson is an English musician. She is a songwriter, and was guitarist and singer in the shoegazing/Britpop band Lush.
The Fly was a free music magazine owned by MAMA & Company, published monthly in the United Kingdom.
The Barfly was a chain of live music venues in the United Kingdom originally started by Nick Moore, Jeremy Ledlin and Be Rozzo on Valentine's Day 1997. Club nights and events tended to feature rock, alternative and independent music.
Club Fandango is a live music promotions company based in Highbury, London. It was started in 2001, by Simon Williams and Andy MacLeod. The former runs Fierce Panda records, the latter the Pointy Records label. Williams and MacLeod had previously promoted nights such as Club Spangle!, NME "On" nights, Club Pointy and Club Panda.
The Straps are an English streetpunk band, formed in 1977 in Battersea, South London by vocalist Howard Jackson and guitarists Dave Reeves & Steve MacIntosh & Brad Day on drums
Ethereal wave, also called ethereal darkwave, ethereal goth or simply ethereal, is a subgenre of dark wave music that is variously described as "gothic", "romantic", and "otherworldly". Developed in the early 1980s in the UK as an outgrowth of gothic rock, ethereal wave was mainly represented by 4AD bands such as Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil, and early guitar-driven Dead Can Dance.
Dingwalls Dancehall is a live music and comedy venue adjacent to Camden Lock, Camden in London. The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings which were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, T.E. Dingwall, had his name painted on to the outside wall of the building, which was a common practice by businesses in Camden Town during the late Victorian era. The paint is still visible to this day, hence the venue's name.
Simon Scott is an English musician, mastering engineer and sound artist, best known as the drummer in Slowdive and formerly of Lowgold and The Charlottes. He also fronted Inner Sleeve/Televise, and has released ambient music as a solo artist.
The Bull & Gate is a Grade II listed public house and former music venue at 389 Kentish Town Road, Kentish Town, London. The pub had a long history as music venue, with bands such as The Pogues, Coldplay, Blur, and Suede playing there towards the start of their careers.
Scar is a mini album by English rock band Lush. It was released on 9 October 1989 on 4AD. Originally intended to be a three-track single release, Scar was produced by John Fryer and the band themselves and recorded at London's Blackwing Studios in 1989.
Camden Crawl was a music festival in Camden, London, which first appeared in 1995 and then was held annually from 2005 to 2014.
Sonic Cathedral is a British independent record label with a focus on shoegaze.
51°32′36″N0°08′22″W / 51.54342204516184°N 0.1393990646932618°W
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