Or should that be lines? Not if the press can
help It
NEWS GOSSIP OPINION
“x...
Music to our ears
The Subways
Edinburgh’s portfolio of music venues is about to expand. Words: Morag Bruce
ay down your alcopop bottles. brothers and sisters.
The Revolution is over. The trend for live music has
reached lidinburgh’s most commercial centre in the l‘orm ol newly rebranded and fully refurbished (iig.
It opens on a site synonymous with the bright lights and tack ol Lothian Road. on the site ol‘ the l‘ormer (‘entury 2000 and current Revolution. Now bands. both signed and unsigned. will share the stage with [Ms to include (iary l’owell from the Libertines. Alan McGee. Mary Ann
llobbs. /.ane Lowe and Beat lllo‘s .lim (ielatley. NMli
darlings the Subways are the highest prolile band playing in the lirst l‘ortnight. but there are plans alool to ensure more big names take to (iig‘s stage in the future.
According to manager (‘hris Callaghan. the aim is to till the gap between the city‘s Liquid Room and the (‘orn liscliangc. ‘\\'e‘re looking to be an ABC l‘or lidinburgh: it's a 1500 capacity venue slap bang in the centre of town.. he says. 'l’eople are increasingly interested in live music as opposed to ten-a-penny Katrina and the Waves student nights. It's a dil‘l‘erent direction for the club. and the company is fully behind the change.‘
The ‘company’ is Laminar Leisure. which owns a chain of venues across the UK. (‘allaghan says that if (iig is a success in lidinburgh. then rebranding could be rolled out to other sites.
Some might say this is a cynical cash in —- a corporate machine trying to replicate all those tiny back room in a pub band nights. But perhaps this change will lead to a new life for the area. (‘an we forget Rev‘s ever so slightly dodgy image to accommodate a new indie disco direction? (‘allaghan thinks so.
‘llopel‘ully people will put Lothian Road‘s reputation to the back of their minds when they see what we’re doing‘ he says. ‘lt doesn‘t matter where you are in the city. There‘s generally more trouble on (ieorge Street at the weekends than Lothian Road. so it‘s a bit of an outdated misconception. We want the line-up to be primary and the club’s past reputation to be secondary.‘
Gig! opens for business on Fri 7 Oct. See Clubs and Music listings for details.
THEATRES JOIN FORCES TO REVIVE SPRINGER
I After the Arts Council of England refused to fund a nationwide tour of Jerry Springer the Opera, which had lost 30% of its venues following well-publicised pressure from Christian Voice, it looked increasingly unlikely that anyone who missed its 2004 Fringe run or couldn’t afford to hot foot it to the West End would actually get to see it. But in an unprecedented move, 21 theatres from around the UK have clubbed together with the creative team and the show’s producer Avalon to ensure that the tour goes ahead as planned. It will hit Scottish shores next March at the King’s in Glasgow and April at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre. Chief executive at the Festival Theatre John Stalker thinks it’s vital the show goes on. ‘The opera is a very important piece of work, which has won many prestigious awards. It deals with major issues of today and for that reason it should be seen by the widest audience possible.’ (Morag Bruce)
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I It’s been quite a fortnight for musical sponsorship deals. The Royal Scottish National Opera has just announced a partnership with oil company Total, which will support a number of its concerts. Meanwhile, that old troubador Dean ‘Lucky Stars’ Friedman (pictured), coming your way soon, is being sponsored by goldenseed.co.uk, one of the country’s leading cannabis suppliers.
I Passes for the Royal Bank Street Party, one of the centrepieces of Hogmanay in Edinburgh. are up for grabs right now. but you'd better hurry. Call 0131473 2000 or go to edinburghshogmanaycom. Each applicant can claim up to four passes, and there's a £2.50 admin fee for each.
I Do you think Scotland’s held back by being part of the British Olympic team? Want to see it with a spun-off squad of its own? Then add your voice to C-Scot, the newly formed Campaign for a Scottish Olympic Team. It has already found that 78% of us want to send a Scottish team to London in 2012. Go to www.c- scot.org for more information.
I The winners of the inaugural Orange Playwriting Prize have been named as Alan Gilmore. for his play The Piano Lesson, and Andrew Tickell (for the
14—1 8 category) for his play The Motto of All Ouarre/s (working title). Both will be shown at Oran Mor as part of the Play. A Pie 8. A Pint season in late November.
0 ~20 ()(Il 1200:") THE LIST 7