 Tunbridge Wells Forum | |
 | |
| Location | Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| 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] We Are Scientists [17] and Wolf Alice. [18]
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, [19] The Divine Comedy, [20] Enter Shikari, [21] Foals, [22] Frank Turner, [23] Graham Coxon, Joeyfat, [24] Keane, Rag'n'Bone Man, [25] and Wheatus. [26] [ unreliable source? ]
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, songwriter, actor, poet, writer, and artist. 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 band Babyshambles and Peter Doherty and the Puta Madres.
A is a British alternative rock band from Suffolk, England, which formed in 1993. They have released 4 studio and 2 live albums, including their stunningly crafted post-grunge rock debut How Ace Are Buildings and the UK top 20 album Hi-Fi Serious. Single releases have also achieved strong chart success, with a UK top 10, four UK top 40 and seven UK Top 100 singles.
Carl Ashley Raphael Barât is a British musician and actor, best known for being the co-frontman with Pete Doherty of the garage rock band The Libertines. He was the frontman and lead 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, Hertfordshire, England 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.
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.
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.
The Holloways are an English four-piece indie rock band from North London. Their single "Generator" reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart on 11 June 2007. They have had five No.1 singles on the UK Indie Chart and several Top 40 singles. Their debut album, So This Is Great Britain?, was awarded 8 out of 10 by NME.
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 260 for standing music concerts and 120 for seated events. In November 2014, it was named "Britain's Best Small Venue" by the NME.
Foals, stylised as 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 and rhythm guitarist Jimmy Smith. 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.
Bedford Esquires is a pub, nightclub and live music venue, located in the town of Bedford, England.
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.
"Inhaler" is a song by British band Foals. It is the lead single from their third album, Holy Fire. The track and music video were released on 5 November 2012 in the United Kingdom. The official video was directed by Foals' frequent collaborator Dave Ma and features artwork from Tinhead.
Bearded Theory's Spring Gathering, also known as Bearded Theory, is an independent music festival which has no sponsorship or branding that takes place every May on the South Derbyshire, West Midland and Staffordshire border in the National Forest in Britain. The festival is organised by Bearded Theory and was first held in 2008. The festival has nine stages which are the large supernova type Main Stage, The Pallet, The Woodland, Magical Sounds, Showcase Stage The Maui Wai, The Ship, Convoy Cabaret, Something Else Stage, Rogues Hideout and the festival also hosts a Cinema, Craft Village, Healing Area, smaller DJ venues, several public real ale bars, several cocktail or gin bars, Festival School, Children's Village and a Victorian Funfair. The festival has several campsites and campervan fields, multiple arena areas and are all spread over 250 acres at Catton Park.
Luke Smith is an English record producer, mixing engineer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, songwriter, guitarist and vocalist of the band Clor. His production and writing credits include Foals, Depeche Mode, Foxes, Anna of The North, Keaton Henson, Crystal Fighters, Slow Club, Everything Everything, Fryars and Petite Noir. He has worked on such popular and critically acclaimed albums as Total Life Forever and Sounds of the Universe.
C86 is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine NME in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based music genre characterized by jangling guitars and melodic power pop song structures, although other musical styles were represented on the tape. In its time, it became a pejorative term for its associations with so-called "shambling" and underachievement. The C86 scene is now recognized as a pivotal moment for independent music in the UK, as was recognized in the subtitle of the compilation's 2006 CD issue: CD86: 48 Tracks from the Birth of Indie Pop. 2014 saw the original compilation reissued in a 3CD expanded edition from Cherry Red Records; the 2014 box-set came with an 11,500-word book of sleevenotes by one of the tape's original curators, former NME journalist Neil Taylor.
False Heads are an English, London-based three piece rock/punk band, consisting of Luke Griffiths (vocals/guitar), Jake Elliott (bass) and Barney Nash (drums/vocals).
