Top to bottom: Rock‘n’Roll Ping Pong at the Bongo; the crowd at Cab Vol; Erol Alkan at Gasoline Dance Machine. ‘PEOPLE COME HERE BECAUSE IT’S “NICE”, NOT BECAUSE IT’S EXCITING’
EDINBURGH VENUES ROB HOON MANAGER OF BONGO CLUB’S PARENT ORGANISATION, OUT OF THE BLUE
‘The Bongo Club has always put imaginative aspirations before the mighty dollar, encouraging the community to get involved and artists to do their own thing. The venue is a stalwart of the Edinburgh Fringe with a list of guests that reads like a who’s who of cultural alternatives; the loss of this venue would be of real detriment to the city. ‘By giving the Bongo Club notice to quit its premises the current Edinburgh University decision makers are undoing the fi ne work of their predecessors who eight years ago established a partnership with Bongo owners Out of the Blue – a social enterprise of great signifi cance to the people of Edinburgh. Clubs and arts spaces come and go but institutions (call it the brand if you like) such as the Bongo Club are built up through the collective love, sweat, tears and imagination of Edinburgh people for people from Edinburgh (and beyond!) to experience year-round.
‘We have seven months to ensure that the club that comedian Mark
Thomas calls, “a rare and wonderful thing” continues to fl ourish.’
TALLAH BRASH MUSIC BOOKER, ELECTRIC CIRCUS, AND PROMOTER OF THIS IS MUSIC AT SNEAKY PETE’S
‘ There’s no denying it would be a massive loss to Edinburgh’s underground community if the Bongo Club were no more. The work they’ve done in the nine years since moving from their old home on New Street has been second to none, and if the University are adamant that Bongo must get out, then we need to support them.
‘Cabaret Voltaire is a completely different story altogether. It’s clear something hasn’t been right for quite some time now and, as an ex-member of staff, I can honestly say that everything has been done to try and save the venue, but for whatever reason the formula just hasn’t been working like it used to. It’s all fi ne and well to put on some of the biggest and best DJs in the world (Diplo, Fake Blood and Erol Alkan to name but a few), but at the end of the day big names cost big money and it’s just not fi nancially sustainable in such a small space. ‘I in no way want to stick up for G1. I do, however, believe that the chance to prove its worth has been there for Cab Vol for almost a year now. In the middle of a recession these changes are not surprising, but it doesn’t stop it being an unbearably heartbreaking scenario to witness.
‘It really doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom though. Independent venues, not-for-profi t organisations and promoters need to stick together, support each other where possible and keep plugging away at what they love most and do best. And as for the gig goers and clubbers, start supporting your (for want of a better phrase) ‘music scene’, and stop complaining about it.’
RUPERT THOMSON ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF SUMMERHALL, AND FORMER DIRECTOR OF ROXY ART HOUSE
‘What Edinburgh needs is a change in the reason young people come here to live and work. People come here because it’s “nice”, not because it’s exciting. But I think the city is tantalisingly close to solving this problem. Music and clubs are part of a much more complete system of art, performance and lifestyle (just look at Berlin or Barcelona). If we had just one or two artists emerge on a national or better still international level (of the Belle & Sebastian or Douglas Gordon sort), and a few more effective champions (people who will speak positively for Edinburgh’s scene, not just to amplify their interests but with a sense of what happens across the city) I think the artistic talent is here to attract people to settle in the city for that experience.’
Save the Bongo ‘Raveclash’! featuring Wolfjazz & Hobbes, Bongo Club, Fri 23 Mar. See facebook.com/savethebongo for more information and list.co.uk for longer versions of all these opinions, as well as a statement from G1 Group. 16 THE LIST 1–29 Mar 2012