 Tunbridge Wells Forum | |
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| Location | Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, United Kingdom |
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| Type | Live music, Arts |
| Genre(s) | indie |
| Capacity | 250 |
| Opened | 1993 (as a music venue) |
| Website | |
| http://www.twforum.co.uk | |
The Forum is an independent music venue in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, with a standing capacity of 250. The venue opened in 1993, the building having previously been a public toilet. [1]
The Forum is located on Tunbridge Wells Common, close to the junction of the A26 London Road and Frant Road, opposite the Church of King Charles the Martyr and The Pantiles. It is approximately five minutes walk from Tunbridge Wells station.
The Forum was the brainchild of four friends: Michael Oyarzabal, Peter Hoare, Jason Dormon, and Mark Davyd, two of whom had previously been involved with the Rumble Club, [2] an irregular music event that took place in a variety of locations in Tunbridge Wells during the period 1988 to 1992 – bringing bands such as The Boo Radleys, Lush and Green Day to the area. It was the success of The Rumble Club that prompted them to seek a permanent location for their own venue.
The Forum opened as a new music venue in January 1993 in a building on Tunbridge Wells Common which had been built as a public cold bath and was subsequently a public toilet and then a brass rubbing centre. It has since hosted a number of acts who have gone on to achieve significant commercial success.
In 2007, The Forum produced a parody of the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , showing a selection of the better known acts that had played at the venue. [3]
In 2010, The Forum and one of its founders Jason Dormon were featured in The Independent's "Happy List", profiling people who make Britain a better place to live. [4]
In 2012, the NME voted the venue as Britain's Best Small Venue. [5]
The Forum has been credited as a key influence by people from the local area who have become successful in the music industry - including Jeremy Pritchard of Everything Everything [6] and Slaves. [7]
Many acts have appeared at The Forum, towards the beginning of careers that saw them go onto significant commercial success. These have included Adele, [1] Biffy Clyro, [8] Coldplay, [9] Ellie Goulding, [10] Green Day, [11] IDLES, [12] The Libertines, [13] Mumford & Sons, [1] Muse, [8] Oasis, [14] Royal Blood, [15] The Vaccines, [16] and Wolf Alice. [17]
In addition, The Forum has been used as a venue for more established acts who are playing warmup or smaller shows. These have included Ash, [18] The Divine Comedy, [19] Enter Shikari, [20] Foals, [21] Frank Turner, [22] Graham Coxon, Keane, and Rag'n'Bone Man. [23]
The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall (bass), and Gary Powell (drums) for most of its recording career. The band was part of the garage rock revival and spearheaded the movement in the UK.
Peter Doherty is an English musician. He is best known for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he formed with Carl Barât in 1997. His other musical projects are indie bands Babyshambles and Peter Doherty and the Puta Madres.
Carl Ashley Raphael Barât is a British musician best known for being the co-frontman with Pete Doherty of the indie rock band the Libertines. He was the frontman and guitarist of Dirty Pretty Things, and in 2010 debuted a solo album. In 2014 he announced the creation of his new band, the Jackals.
The Libertines is the second studio album by English indie rock band The Libertines. Released on 30 August 2004, it is particularly biographical of the relationship between frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 72,189 copies in its first week of release.
Rock City is a music venue and nightclub located in Nottingham, England. It is owned by venue operator and concert promoter DHP Family.
Enter Shikari are a British rock band formed in St Albans in 1999 by bassist Chris Batten, lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds, and drummer Rob Rolfe. In 2003, guitarist Rory Clewlow joined the band to complete its current line-up, and it adopted its current name. In 2006, they performed to a growing fanbase at Download Festival as well as a sold-out concert at the London Astoria. Their debut studio album, Take to the Skies, was released in 2007 and reached number 4 in the Official UK Album Chart, and has since been certified gold in the UK. Their second, Common Dreads, was released in 2009 and debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number 16; while their third, A Flash Flood of Colour, was released in 2012 and debuted on the chart at number 4. Both have since been certified silver in the UK. The band spent a considerable amount of time supporting the latter release through the A Flash Flood of Colour World Tour, before beginning work on a fourth studio album, The Mindsweep, which was released in 2015. Their fifth studio album The Spark was released in 2017. Their sixth album Nothing Is True & Everything Is Possible was released in April 2020. Their seventh and latest album, A Kiss for the Whole World, was released on 21 April 2023 which gave them their first-ever No. 1 album.
Clor was a short-lived five-piece band from Brixton, England, formed by Barry Dobbin and Luke Smith in 2003 and which signed to the Parlophone record label after only six gigs. The band released a self-titled first album, in 2005 to critical acclaim. The album was selected by NME journalist Krissi Murison for the list of "The 100 Greatest Albums You've Never Heard" published by the NME in 2010.
The Square was a 250 capacity independent live music venue in Harlow, Essex, England. It was managed by SquareOne Entertainment LLP who took over the venue in July 2008. After a five-month closure period from the end of 2015, The Square re-opened on Friday, 10 June 2016 before closing permanently in early 2017.
Dirty Pretty Things were an English rock band fronted by Carl Barât, a member of The Libertines. The formation of the band was announced in September 2005, after a dispute between Barât and Pete Doherty led to the breakup of The Libertines in 2004. Barât had worked with Vertigo Records and had previously revealed that his new project was with the label. Didz Hammond announced he was leaving the Cooper Temple Clause to join the band alongside Libertines drummer Gary Powell and guitarist Anthony Rossomando, who had filled in for Doherty following his departure from The Libertines. They played their first shows in October 2005 in Rome, Italy and Paris, France. They announced their split on 1 October 2008 and played their final shows during November that year.
The Joiners is a small music venue in a former pub on St Mary Street, St Mary's, Southampton, England. It has played host to many up-and-coming bands. The pub started having live acts in the back room in 1968. The maximum capacity is 200 people.
Francis Edward Turner is an English punk and folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based solo career following the band's split in 2005. In the studio and during live performances, Turner is accompanied by his backing band, The Sleeping Souls, which consists of Ben Lloyd, Tarrant Anderson (bass), Matt Nasir and Callum Green (drums).
Norwich Arts Centre is a live music venue, theatre and art gallery located in St Benedict's Street in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It has a capacity of 300 for standing music concerts and 120 for seated events. In November 2014, it was named "Britain's Best Small Venue" by the NME.
Foals are a British rock band formed in Oxford in 2005. The band's current line-up consists of Greek-born lead vocalist and guitarist Yannis Philippakis, drummer and percussionist Jack Bevan, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Smith and bassist Walter Gervers. They are currently signed to Warner Records, and have released seven studio albums to date: Antidotes (2008), Total Life Forever (2010), Holy Fire (2013), What Went Down (2015), and Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1 & 2 (2019) and their most recent, Life Is Yours (2022). They have also released one video album, six extended plays and thirty-five singles.
The Underground is a club/music venue in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England. It was also part of the NME group, Club NME. It is well known for hosting several up and coming indie/rock/metal acts, and many local bands in the Staffordshire area.
The O2 Academy Leeds (formerly known as the Town and Country Club) is a music venue situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is run by the Academy Music Group, which has other music venues around the UK. The Academy was nominated for the TPi Awards 2010 for the country's favourite venue.
The This Is a Fix album tour was the 2008 tour surrounding the release of Welsh band the Automatic's second album This Is a Fix. The first leg of the tour was played at smaller clubs and venues around the United Kingdom, whilst later dates were at some of the countries larger venues.
Jason Dormon is a British bassist and venue owner. He is most noted for his work in Joeyfat and also for his running of the Tunbridge Wells Forum.
The Garage is a live music and club venue in Highbury, North London. It opened in 1993 and has a capacity of 600. The upstairs room, also known as the Grace, has a capacity of 150.
Trampolene are a Welsh alternative rock / indie punk band originally from Swansea. They are Jack Jones, Wayne Thomas and Kyle "Mr" Williams.
The Castlefield Bowl is an outdoor events pavilion in the inner city conservation area of Castlefield in Manchester, England. The arena is often used for food festivals and music events.
51°7′37″N0°15′30″E / 51.12694°N 0.25833°E
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
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