Finally some good news among the doom and gloom of venue closures, midnight pub curfews, and a lack of decent spots in central London in which to go out dancing after hours: Tottenham Court Road venues HERE and The Lower Third have both been granted late night licences, and will soon be allowed to stay open until 4am.
Both venues are part of the Outernet district, which opened its doors for the first time last summer. They will now be able to stay open until the early hours on Friday and Saturday nights, offering all sorts of brand new opportunities for everything from club nights to artist residencies.
“We are thrilled to extend our operating hours in both HERE & The Lower Third,” said venue co-founder Karrie Goldberg. “Since opening a year ago, we have delivered what we promised - a diverse and wide range of programming, everything from comedy, DJs, bands to fashion shows, product launches and more.”
“Now, with this new late licence, it allows us to provide an even broader spectrum of cultural programming,” she continues. “We will create space for new promoters, for sub-cultures to flourish, so we can welcome even more touring and international artists. It will support diversity and bring more live music back to central London, driving job opportunities in the music and events industries. It’s important to us to give up-and-coming artists a new place to launch their careers, as well as be a platform for global stars - and this licence extension will help us continue doing what we do best.”
Since HERE and The Lower Third opened, they have hosted performances from the likes of James Blake, Gabriels, FLO, Metronomy, Kae Tempest, Floating Points, Years and Years, and Jorja Smith, and has sold over 87,000 tickets across 160 events.
Historically, Denmark Street has been something of a hub for rock’n’roll and live music. A young David Bowie, hungry to make it in the music business, once camped out here in an ambulance. Sex Pistols played one of their early shows in somebody’s flat on this very street. Paul Simon, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley are just a few of the many artists to record here at various points, while the Astoria once stood just across the road. Now long-demolished to make way for Crossrail, it used to host everyone from Arctic Monkeys to Radiohead.
In more recent years it’s been tough for venues to remain open here in the face of huge developments such as Crossrail, and surging rental prices. Those that have managed to stick around often close by midnight, while many of Soho’s clubs have been forced to close. Just a few Soho casualties over the last twenty years: Velvet Rooms, Madame Jojos, The Blow Up Metro Club, Astoria, 12 Bar Club.
Following the licence change, HERE and The Lower Third will be the only late-night spots in Soho permitted to open until 4am - here’s hoping it paves the way for a wider resurgence.
