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  • 3 months ago
NME recently launched a campaign to find Britain's best small venue. Here, ex-Libertines man Carl Barat discusses the importance of the grass roots music scene. Vote for your favorite venue at NME.COM/smallvenues.

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Music
Transcript
00:13It's really important to have somewhere to hone your craft, really, for all bands.
00:18It's traditionally the toilet tour, isn't it, and the wilderness in your training.
00:23And without that, you wouldn't quite get the level of togetherness.
00:27But, I mean, it's taken me years to get this confident playing in the little venues,
00:31and I'm still breaking it about tonight.
00:40I think tonight would be debauchous, slightly uncomfortable carnage.
00:47You can never really predict how it's going to be when the crowd are in your face,
00:50and that kind of gives it an energy of its own, really.
00:53I mean, it's a good crowd.
00:54I think it should be sort of reciprocal, you know?
00:58I think you pay off each other, and you've got no choice to put them in your face.
01:02It's funny, when you're playing in a venue like this, and it's really packed and intense,
01:07I think it's better to go with a Beatles and Hamburg kind of vibe.
01:11I mean, that's another good example of small venues, and how important it is for a band,
01:15because without Hamburg, you know, without the Kaiser Keller and whatnot, then we won't have the Beatles.
01:29It's so important that venues like this continue.
01:34The trouble is, you know, the way things are going,
01:37it's much more financially viable to have a gastropub than it is to have a music venue.
01:43But, I mean, culturally, I think we can end up paying for that.
01:46It's all about that culture secretary.
01:47I think they'll open letters and all that.
01:49The UK is full of, like, legendary venues.
01:52Everyone's played there, from, you know, Nirvana, Sir Hendrix, Supergrass, Oasis and the like.
01:58I mean, everyone plays them, so.
02:00But, there's the Princess Charlotte.
02:02I mean, I don't know, I don't know, you know, in Leicester.
02:04I don't know how many of these venues like this have been taken.
02:08There's the Limelight in Belfast.
02:12There's Dublin Castle, the Hundred Club.
02:15I don't know, there's so many of them, but still, they should be protected.
02:24The first time the Libertines played the Hundred Club, I think it was carnage.
02:28The phones were blocked for hours.
02:30I think they were a bit pissed off about that.
02:31And then, when the show happened, it was just monstrous.
02:37It was amazing, though.
02:38And they only came up afterwards and said it was only that show, Oasis and The Clash.
02:42So, there was a standout moment.
02:46It's always an honour to play somewhere.
02:49There's an iconic and legendary.
02:51There's the Hundred Club.
02:52It's not playing.
02:52It's like London CBGB's, really.
02:55You know, and it looks like it's probably going the same way.
02:57So, I think everyone feels like part of a bit of history playing here.
03:02Well, they should do anyway.
03:03I mean, just look around the walls.
03:14Oh yeah.
03:16Oh yeah.
03:18Oh yeah.
03:18Oh yeah.
03:19Oh yeah.
03:20Alright.
03:20This is two.
03:21You know, we'll have a good one.

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