INTERVIEW
THERE’S NO GREAT AGENDA HERE EXCEPT TO TRY TO OFFER A SPACE TO THOSE WHO MIGHT OTHERWISE STRUGGLE TO FIND SOMEWHERE FOR THEIR WORK WITH AN ACTIVE AUDIENCE OF SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE
THE LUBBER FIEND
HAVING FINALLY OPENED THEIR DOORS LAST MONTH, TOM, SAM AND BISH FROM NEW NOT-FOR-PROFIT DIY MUSIC SPACE THE LUBBER FIEND CHAT TO CLAIRE DUPREE ABOUT THEIR GRAND PLANS FOR THE VENUE Skyrocketing living costs. Brexit. The cultural industries’ precarious position. Oh, and the little matter of a worldwide pandemic. Any of these challenges alone might be enough to dampen the spirits of the most ardent entrepreneur, but all four together...there can only be one kind of fool big enough to set up a brand new community-based, not-for-profit and totally independently financed music venue in such circumstances, and that fool is The Lubber Fiend. OK, not the Fiend himself – that’s actually a creature from English folklore, “a large hairy man with a tail who will perform household chores and threshing duties in exchange for a saucer of milk and a place to kip by the fire”. As far as we know, Sam Booth, Tom Hopkin and Stephen ‘Bish’ Bishop don’t have tails (we’ll not speculate on their hirsute nature), but together the trio are behind Newcastle’s newest music venue, located on Blandford Street near the Discovery Museum. The trio have a long history in the region’s music community, and are part of the various noisy/punky/electro DIY scenes. Tom even has a PhD around how difficult the last 10 years have been for cultural spaces, so they have their eyes wide open when it comes to the potential pitfalls around opening a new venue. “I’ve spent the past four years or so researching, reading and writing about how crap things are,” Tom says, “but also seeing the benefit of being uncompromising in your ideals and remaining as independent as possible. The Lubber Fiend is a way of putting some of this into action.” Having kicked off with a crowdfunder in mid-2021, the venue’s doors are finally open, and Bish explains it’s all down to the mountain of help they’ve received. “Together the three of us have so much thanks to offer to those folks assisting in electrics,
44
digital networking, audio installation, lighting, art and design and general labour and fundraising.” Tom continues: “It’s the result of real community action and mobilisation. We’ve had an incredibly positive response from first floating the idea – people have contributed their skills, knowledge, time, equipment and money to get us to this point. It’s validated our perceived need for a space like this in Newcastle but it’s also brought us into contact with a whole range of people who care deeply about music and DIY culture.” The idea behind the venue is to provide a welcoming and affordable space for audiences, promoters and bands alike, with high quality equipment and a professional outlook. “There’s no great agenda here except to try to offer a space to those who might otherwise struggle to find somewhere for their work with an active audience of supportive people. There’s no point in delivering another night club which is immediately monopolised or an ‘alternative’ venue which never explores real alternatives.” Says Bish. As well as operating as a music venue, finances dictate that The Lubber Fiend will also operate as a bar too, but the venue is firmly a priority. “It is important to our functioning that people feel welcome to come down and have a coffee or a pint or whatever, as the balance between gigs and us being a licenced venue is going to be important to our continuation and hopefully our success.” Bish explains. “I know that increasingly there is a real care shown by many customers to where their drinks are coming from and who they are supporting with their purchase. We will absolutely be representing the wealth of independent producers and wish to collaborate on things in the future. We aim to keep prices fair for all.”
