12 Bar Club

12 Bar Club
The 12 Bar Club logo on the main stage
Map
Address
  • 203 Holloway Road (2015–2016)
  • 26 Denmark Street (1994–2015)
LocationLondon, England
OwnerCarlo 'Fagin' Mattiucci[1]
Typenightclub
Genre(s)blues, rock, punk, folk, antifolk
Capacity150 (Denmark Street)
Opened1994
Closed2016

The 12 Bar Club was a music venue in London that opened in 1994 on Denmark Street – known as Britain's "Tin Pan Alley" – just off Charing Cross Road and close to Soho.[2]

Some of the most famous musicians and groups to play at the 12 Bar before they reached a wider audience include Adele, Martha Wainwright, Joanna Newsom, KT Tunstall (all of whose first London dates were at the 12 Bar), Damien Rice, Rolf Harris, Regina Spektor, The Libertines, Keane, Seasick Steve and Jamie T.[citation needed] Jeff Buckley also played an impromptu set at the 12 Bar before the launch of his debut album Grace.[3]

The Denmark Street venue officially closed 16 January 2015 as part of a redevelopment for the area, despite a lengthy battle to keep it open. Shortly after its closure, activists occupied the building and re-opened it to live music. Property owners attempted to evict the activists. The club relocated to Islington, shutting for good a year later. The original Denmark Street venue reopened as The Lower Third in 2022.

  1. ^ "We should be protecting Soho's musical hotspots, not bringing in the bulldozers". The Independent. 25 August 2012. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  2. ^ Taylor, Diane (23 January 2015). "Music fans flood in as squatters throw open doors of Soho live venue". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  3. ^ Pinnock, Tom (13 November 2015). "Jeff Buckley "was creating something bigger than the song"". Uncut. Retrieved 9 August 2024.