A petition to save one of Hackney’s most-loved nightclubs has topped 33,000 signatures because of fears it could close.
New proposals for a block of flats next door to MOTH Club have raised concerns that it will lead to noise complaints and an eventual shut-down.
MOTH Club opened as a veterans’ venue in 1972 and the proposed flats would overlook its smoking area and back onto the main stage wall.
Cai Burns, who is performing with his band Blood Wizrd next month, fears it will be his last time on stage there.
He said: “MOTH is a hugely important venue for London. It would make a crack in the rich and vibrant scene that it has helped create.”
“I’d rather dance at moth club
than my bedroom”
Billi Highdale, head of the Queer Line Dance Club, has performed at MOTH Club since last November.
They said: “London is nothing without its culture and this closure means an obvious change. In the face of threat, we will always find somewhere to dance but I’d rather it be at MOTH Club than my bedroom.”
Lady Gaga, Jarvis Cocker, and Caroline Polachek are amongst the long list of stars who have performed at the club.
MOTH club said they “can’t afford to lose its next generation of live music” having served the community for the past decade.
Neil Christie, an Islington resident, said: “It would be a real loss to London’s music scene if it were replaced by some soulless development.”
Jeremy Corbyn, Your Party MP for Islington North, also supports the petition and said: “If we don’t defend live music venues and keep them then we lose out on a whole generation of musicians.”
“IT WOULD BE A REAL LOSS FOR MOTH TO BE REPLACED BY A SOULLESS DEVELOPMENT”
Music Venue Trust, a charity which aims to protect and improve UK grassroots music venues, estimates that 35 per cent have closed in the last 20 years.
TV producer and journalist, Wendy Lyn, 40, said: “MOTH is a culture container. The domino effect of losing a room like this isn’t just financial. It’s mental. It’s spiritual. It’s emotional.”
Hackney Council has said that no planning proposals suggest the venue will close, and that it is the “responsibility on a new development to mitigate for noise, not existing venues”.
“We’re proud of our nightlife and know how vital spaces like MOTH club are for the borough,” said Caroline Woodley, Mayor of Hackney.
A spokesperson from MOTH club said: “[This is] a test of whether planning protections for cultural spaces have any real weight.”
Hackney Council were due to announce their decision in December. They have yet to release a statement regarding this, and it is unknown when they will.
