The Social has hit its Crowdfunder target just eight days after launching thanks to overwhelming support from punters, bands, DJs, gig promoters, live agents, local businesses and friends and family.
☆ A thank-you from The Social ☆
We can’t thank you enough for helping to secure the future for the Social. It has been a genuinely staggering response.
As explained in the initial Crowdfunder statement, the raise of £95,000 was to help take the bar off the market and secure a stake in the lease which would give us a share of the business.
Your incredibly generous pledges have stopped any potential sale and given us breathing space. Now, we’re going to extend the funding period until the middle of April to try to raise a more money to do some essential bar improvements and give us time to effectively plan how to finance the next twenty years of the Social.
We’re not asking for donations. Rather, we will be adding incredibly generous rewards given to us by friends of the bar or dreamt up by us. We’ll also be throwing a series of fundraising gigs and club nights (beginning on March 23rd with a Fatboy Slim DJ set).
These shows will be announced through the Social’s Twitter and Facebook pages; tickets will mostly be sold via Dice.FM, all proceeds will be added to the Crowdfunder page once they’ve sold out. So, we wanted to say a huge thank you for your support so far.
Please keep an eye on the Social’s Crowdfunder page for daily additions to the rewards. Your help has got us this far – let’s see how much further we can go.
All our love, believe in magic.
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What’s so special about The Social?
The Social, the legendary West End venue that’s hosted a list of names that includes the Chemical Brothers, Beck, Edna O’Brien, Wolf Alice, Adele, Bon Iver, Aphex Twin, Florence and the Machine and Cold War Steve is under threat of closure just as it reaches the milestone of its twentieth birthday. Rising rents and an offer to the building’s leaseholder from a cocktail and wine bar chain have put The Social under very serious threat. The bar’s founders need to raise money to buy a controlling share in the venue from the leaseholder in order to keep The Social open. Unless new investment is found in the next 2 weeks then the iconic venue will be forced to close its doors.
“It really is a place of extraordinary cultural alchemy and fun. It sometimes felt like I imagined the Village in New York might have in the 1950s: a bunch of people invested in the counter-culture, spreading the gospel, mixing up the medicine of literature and music, two great folk traditions.”
– The Observer –
“Every time I went back I’d end up in a group of extraordinarily lovely people. They all knew each other but it wasn’t a clique, they simply had a shared philosophy, a belief in the magical potential of music that extends from the owners to the bar staff, the doormen to the sound technician.”
– The Quietus –
“No one will replace these spaces. What’s never acknowledged when you see stories of the kinds of rent rises and rates increases that take out more and more venues is that they are vital parts of the community – as vital as the BHS cafe on the high street or the public library. They are places for people to meet, to let go, to come alive. People need to hug these places close, as they’ll miss them when they’re gone.”
– The Guardian –
“It almost goes without saying that losing The Social would be a major loss to live music in central London, which has already lost iconic venues including the Astoria, the Metro and Madame JoJo’s in recent years. Everyone from Adele to the Arctic Monkeys has played there over the years, and it’s also hosted literary salons, art and photography exhibitions and countless club nights. In short: it’s an important, long-running cultural hub right in the heart of W1.”
– Time Out –
“Too many of the UK’s historic clubs have closed. Please save this iconic venue by donating whatever pennies you can afford”
– DJ Magazine –
“One of central London’s last live music venues is facing a “heartbreaking” closure within weeks, its founders warned today.”
– The Standard –
“Give these venues some love now because they won’t be there forever and you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Going to gigs, buying a couple of pints and feeding frantic energy into venues…that’s what makes these places tick.”
– NME –
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✸ The Social Needs Your Help ✸
#SAVETHESOCIAL