South coast music promoters One Inch Badge have called dibs on Hastings Pier in the hope of staging some truly memorable shows in the refurbished venue that has fond-but-fading memories for generations of gig-goers.
One Inch Badge will soon be hosting their first major live music shows on this soon-to-be-once-again-iconic pier after the official opening party (featuring Madness) takes place later this month.
For two days in September, a pair of ‘all-dayers’ will bring a festival vibe to the town as a collection of seminal acts and young upstarts deliver on a number classic albums and fresh new sounds to audiences perched out above the waves of the English Channel.
The pier is a crowd (and Lottery) funded phoenix and, from the ashes of the suspected arson attack that nearly destroyed it in 2010, soon will emerge a new live music venue that should have the crowds flocking back to this upwardly artistic seaside haunt.
The notorious sex-magician Alistair Crowley famously spent his last days in the town and reputedly left a curse hanging over the rooftops, but perhaps the burning down of the pier and a subsequent period of economic gloom has worn out that particular hex.
Because Hastings is no longer considered Brighton’s bumpkin cousin.
Indeed, the town is gradually reinventing itself as a hipster haunt, from previously sleepy St Leonards-on-Sea to Rock-a-Nore, in the charming but vibrant Old Town. Upmarket art galleries, artisan ales, and avant-garde homes are all signs that the Hastings hey-day has come around again.
And the newly rejuvenated pier, formerly a staple of the Victorian tourist trade, will soon be hosting memorable 2,500 capacity gigs that music fans will undoubtedly want to tell their grandkids about.
To kick-start this rebirth, headlining the first night of the forthcoming weekender on Saturday 17th September, the Happy Mondays will be taking fans through the entire tracklisting of their 25-year-old ‘Pills’n’Thrills and Bellyaches’ (as well as a carefully chosen collection of other favourite tunes) – hoping, no doubt, that the rolling sea below the stage hasn’t induced any queasiness amongst the band or the crowd.
Shaun Ryder for one is clearly looking forward to the show. We asked him why he thought the event would be a little bit special, and he told us: “Piers go as far back in my memories as my mind allows, there was and still is something exciting about them. As a five year old I had a strong urge to jump off one into the sea, and fish and chips always seemed to taste better on them. Piers make great live music venues – pier fairgrounds, the waltzers and the whip are rock roll as you can get”
The Mondays will be more than ably supported by The Orb – who will be continuing the classic album theme by delivering a song-by-song playthrough of ‘Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld’.
With other acts still to be announced, the day also features south London dance-pop upstarts, Formation, whose festival journey is now well-established, and who are building a solid legion of fans thanks to some quite simply gripping songs and a great live set.
Day two of the event brings The Levellers to the fore, with the perennially popular folk-rockers also celebrating a silver jubilee for their platinum-selling long player, Levelling the Land.
Levellers’ guitarist Simon Friend explained to us why he was particularly looking forward to the Hastings show as part of their latest UK tour.
“The last time we played Hastings pier I remember we were all exhausted by the time we went on stage because we’d spent the afternoon chasing each other up and down stairs in the lazerquest venue.” Friend said. “I loved exploring the town and bought some lovely old cufflinks in a great little antique shop.
“I’ve also got some brilliant memories of the area as we recorded one of our albums at Parkgate just up the road in Battle, and I recall waking up in a field with an empty bottle of scotch after Mark [Chadwick]’s birthday before jumping on my motorbike and heading off to see Led Zepplin play Glastonbury. I know from friends who’ve moved to the town that the last ten years have seen the place really start to take off, so all of the band are really chuffed to be back on the pier after so many years away.”
The Levs will be preceded by Turin Brakes, whose most recent (9th) studio album, ‘Lost Property’, has received four star reviews in the national press – and whose members may remember the period many years ago when, like the Levellers, they also spent time recording early demos a few miles up the coast, this time in Rye, before retreating to California to master their second major release.
The third act so far confirmed for day two is Ferocious Dog – notable perhaps not only for being a rather splendid festival-friendly funk-folk-ska band, but also for regularly featuring one half of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine on guitar duties.
With this sort of quality programme Hastings pier is without a shadow of a doubt going to throw open the floodgates for a whole new era of music tourism.
The pier’s history is, of course, already steeped in rock legend.
That’s why the latest generation of gig-goers can turn to their own grandparents for tales of the time they saw bands like The Who, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Hendrix grace the original timbers of the subsequently fire-ravaged structure.
Alex Murray of One Inch Badge explained how the ten-year-old live music promotions company, which thrives on helping artists grow to play to bigger and bigger audiences, were drawn to the pier.
He said: “We visited the pier in the final stages of completion with the idea of promoting concerts there. The Hastings Pier team have been extremely helpful and excited about the projects we’re going to deliver.
“The pier and town have a great musical history and it was such a shame what happened [when it burnt down]. Many of Hastings’ residents will still remember the incredible concerts that took place there, so it’s our ambition to deliver the same for future generations. People love seeing a unique concert, and the pier is that option.”
As well as the prospect of bringing the pier back, Alex is a big fan of Hastings’ existing live music spots, as he explained: “Of course there’s also St Mary in the Castle and The Union Bar which are awesome venues. The town has a rich history in music, so the people there know how to have a good time at a show.”
The local Labour-run council are also keen supporters of everything cultural that is currently happening in and around Hastings. Over the last decade or so there has been a steady influx of both talent and money to the area as people with an eye for a great new lifestyle have gradually migrated south from London.
Councillor Dawn Poole, the council’s lead on culture, said: “I’m passionate about music and I’m really proud to live in a town where we have such a thriving music scene. Whilst the council does directly support some shows the majority are led by local people who put on musical events as diverse as a classical composers concert though to folk festivals and our very own Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday. That’s alongside loads of other gigs in what seems like every available nook and cranny.”
She went on to outline the fact that the authority is serious enough about the value of a thriving music scene to want to invest time and energy – if not a huge amount of cash in these austere times – into even more activity.
“I’m keen to see Hastings Borough Council support more live music and we plan to talk to local musicians and people interested in the scene to see if we can put on our own event.” Councillor Poole explained. “Whilst finances are limited I would hope that we could help address any practical issues might otherwise pose obstacles.”
As for the pier, the hope clearly is that this will become a mainstay for bigger names than can be hosted in the town’s smaller venues. Cllr Poole concluded: “It’s great to see the pier has already got some great bands lined up. I didn’t manage to get tickets for Madness but I will probably be on the beach singing along! Whilst the pier is run by its own board of trustees I hope that music continues to be a significant part of its events calendar.”
Day and weekend tickets to the Hastings Pier Weekender are still available (but selling fast) for £37 or £65 (plus booking fees). Anyone heading down from London can book a train in advance (up to three months before) with return fares as low as £15.
Visit www.hastingspier.org.uk/event/happy-mondays-levellers-live-on-hastings-pier for more information.
The post The battle of Hastings Pier: Happy Mondays and Levellers to help relaunch an icon of the British seaside appeared first on Virtual Festivals.