Camden in London was once home to the world’s most influential grassroots venue. Now, Barfly is back. Propaganda Independent Venues has announced the return of Barfly on Monday 22nd June. The venue on Chalk Farm Road will reopen under its iconic original name with a landmark show from Frank Turner, who played his first ever sold-out solo show at Barfly back in 2006. Tickets are accessed via sign-up only and are on sale from 9am on Monday 15th June. Sign-up is open now at www.barflycamden.com.
From 1996 to 2016, Barfly earned an unrivalled reputation. If you were tipped for big things, you played Barfly, a rite of passage that could pave the way to stadium tours and chart hits. A room that held just 200 people, saw performances from Coldplay, Adele, Muse, The Cure, Ed Sheeran (who famously played 4 shows in one night in 2011), Elbow, Biffy Clyro, Snow Patrol, The Strokes, Jamie T, Franz Ferdinand, Feeder, Idles, The Killers, The 1975, Ash, Avril Lavigne, MGMT, Kate Nash, Sam Fender, Bring Me The Horizon, Royal Blood, Doves, Keane, Interpol, Queens Of The Stone Age, Bloc Party, The Libertines, My Chemical Romance, Kasabian, The Kooks, Maroon 5, Razorlight, Bombay Bicycle Club, Supergrass, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Everything Everything, The Petshop Boys, Catfish & The Bottlemen, The Fratellis, Suede, The Vaccines, Two Door Cinema Club, The National, Embrace, Scissor Sisters, The Fall, Bastille, Declan McKenna – the list goes on and on.
Barfly became more than a venue. It became the centre of a scene. From Camden, the Barfly brand expanded into multiple venues across the UK, launched The Fly magazine, and created the Barfly Sessions TV series, helping introduce countless artists to new audiences and establishing itself as one of the most influential names in grassroots music.
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L-R: Coldplay / Kaiser Chiefs / Ed Sheeran (credit Barfly Venue Archives)
Few stories capture Barfly’s spirit better than Frank Turner’s. His band Million Dead played their first ever show at Barfly in 2001 (the band’s bass player, Julia, was working at Barfly at the time), recorded the video for ‘Living The Dream’ there, and returned to perform many times. As a solo artist, he played a record six shows on the Barfly stage, and now, in a full-circle moment, Frank Turner will headline the venue’s reopening night on 22nd June.
Barfly’s return seeks to preserve an essential part of UK culture at a time when grassroots venues face an increasingly challenging landscape. Propaganda Independent Venues co-founders Dan Ickowitz-Seidler and Richard Buck acquired the venue and are now joined by co-owner Chris McCormack, a Camden resident for more than three decades and one of its most recognisable music figures.
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L-R: Suede / Kate Nash / Pete Doherty (credit Barfly Venue Archives)
The venue’s return is deeply personal for all three owners. Chris McCormack first headlined Barfly in 1997 with his band 3 Colours Red before going on to create and promote the legendary Camden Rocks Festival. Dan Ickowitz-Seidler grew up in Hackney, attended school in Camden, celebrated his 18th birthday at Barfly, performed on its stage with his own band and later promoted the venue’s weekly Saturday club nights. In another full-circle moment, ten years after DJing at Barfly’s closing night in June 2016, he is now reopening the venue under its original name.
Dan said, “Barfly means so much to us all, and we’re honoured to be starting a new chapter in its story. We’ll be announcing more very special shows shortly, but Frank Turner is the perfect artist to relaunch the Barfly stage. He embodies everything Barfly stands for.
I hope live music fans will come out and support not just Barfly, but grassroots venues across the country. Before so many of today’s biggest artists were filling arenas and headlining festivals, they played at Barfly. You could be watching the next festival headliner on our stage on any night. Before the arenas, they were here!”
Barfly reopens on Monday 22nd June with Frank Turner. Tickets are limited – fans are urged to move quickly. Full information and tickets at www.barflycamden.com.
