Debut has returned to the Brunel Museum, bringing a fresh series of classical music concerts to the venue’s subterranean Thames Tunnel Shaft.
The monthly events – set to run this year from March until September, 2024 – combine the delights of cocktail pop-up Midnight Apothecary, Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches from Lo Viet and performances by musicians for audiences of up to 65 people sat at cabaret-style, candle-lit tables.
The vibe is welcoming and accessible, based on a format created by Debut founder – curator, host and soprano Lizzie Holmes.
“I launched the company back in 2015, with concerts in different locations,” she said.
“The Shoreditch Treehouse was our first regular series and it became really popular.
“I’d attended an acoustic pop gig there through Sofar Sounds and told the owner that it was an amazing experience but that they needed to get some classical pianists and opera singers in to match the size and volume of the venue’s Steinway Model D concert piano.
“We also did performances in places like the Old Operating Theatre and at the Cutty Sark, but that’s more challenging as there’s no piano.
Debut’s Lizzie Holmes
“Then a friend mentioned the Brunel Museum – we went along and saw the Grade II listed Thames Tunnel Shaft and remarkably, there’s a piano that lives down there.
“The environment and the atmosphere are beautiful – the acoustic is like a church and it’s steeped in history.
“It dates to the 1840s and so much classical music was created around that time.
“With Midnight Apothecary on the roof, it’s a match made in heaven.
“It’s very exciting to be able to breathe new life into the space and to encourage audiences to discover it.”
A typical Debut evening begins at 6.30pm with botanical cocktails created by Brunel stalwart Lottie Muir and her team.
“At 7pm the Tunnel Shaft opens with the first performances starting at 7.20pm.
“There’s a half-hour interval at 8pm, with the second half finishing around 9.15pm with the bar (and its fire pits) open until 10pm.
“When people come to a concert, first of all they’ll be greeted on arrival and then encouraged to chat to the performers,” said Lizzie, who trained at the Royal College Of Music.
“In London, or any big city it can be hard to find connections and we want everyone to leave feeling they’re part of a community – that they’ve had a communal experience for an evening.
“The energy is electric. During the concerts the musicians will share anecdotes to connect with the audience – something we often don’t get the opportunity to do, having performed to thousands of tiny faces at bigger venues.
The Brunel Museum’s roof garden above the venue
“We make sure that audiences are never spoken down to – we just share the music.
“If a performer just enters a room and breaks out into an aria, people’s jaws will be on the floor. Sometimes you don’t need to do any more.
“It can be amazing and thrilling, but it has to be presented in the right way with the right story.
“People like seeing that the incredible skills of an instrumentalist or a singer are coming from a normal person who you might see going to the shops or queuing up at the dentist.
“It’s about creating that sense of normality alongside the extraordinary.”
Lizzie said: “People love Sam, he takes lots of requests and is also a brilliant collaborator.
“Prezemek is a superstar from Poland who has a big following on Instagram – he’s flying over from Europe.
“The whole idea is that people get a real mash up of different composers and musical feelings throughout the evening.
Audiences sit cabaret-style in the Thames Tunnel Shaft
“Leila is a wonderful singer who I met six years ago and Rianna is a woman of many talents who is joining us for the first time – she also plays clarinet and saxophone and has just graduated from the Royal College.
“We’ve got Debussy, Chopin, a little bit of jazz, Offenbach, Bizet, Mendelssohn and Mozart, with the Flight Of The Bumblebee to finish.
“It’s nice to have that variety and a combination of rising stars and people who are firmly embedded in the industry and making waves already.
“We’ll always have a guest singer and a guest instrumentalist, and sometimes a duo, such as guitar and flute. It’s always a very healthy mix.”
Lizzie finds musicians for Debut through her extensive contacts, word of mouth and via direct application.
She said: “We get about one a week applying and our doors are always open.
“In 2020, we also ran an artists development programme called the Horizon Project, which attracted 150 applications.
“This year we held an open stage for the first time where we had 25 new musicians we hadn’t worked with before coming along to play a couple of pieces.
“It was like a Debut night, but without an audience.
Midnight Apothecary’s botanical cocktails are available at the events
“To perform with us, you need to be a brilliant musician, but it’s also about personality.
“The audience will miss so much if you can’t show them that inner person and so that event was really helpful in identifying the right performers for Debut.
“For some musicians, it can be quite disarming to be that open with an audience – it’s an interesting balance.”
Lizzie often performs at Debut nights herself, but says her main interest is in providing a platform.
“I do a solo here and there – I love to sing – but I revel in seeing other musicians flourish,” she said.
“Discovering new talent and sharing it is such an amazing thing.”
Tickets for Debut’s March 14 concert at the Brunel Museum cost £32.
Other events at the venue and Shoreditch Treehouse are also available.
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
Nashville Meets London (NML) is back in the East End with a fresh line-up of country talent from the UK and the USA in a new location.
Taking place at Trinity Buoy Wharf on August 24 and 25, 2022 (plus a river cruise on August 19), the festival promises cutting-edge sounds and a good ol’ country welcome.
“One of the key things we’ve proved is that NML seems to be a taste-maker for identifying artists, particularly from the US, who are about to break in the UK, Europe and beyond,” said Peter Conway who co-founded the festival.
“Russell Dickerson, for example, has gone on to become a major artist and Laura Elena is now massive in America and her profile is very wide in Europe too.
“For this year, we’ve got headliners in Shy Carter and the young Priscilla Block, both of whom have a huge fan base already.
“We always want to break a new artist too and we have Manny Blu playing exclusively for us both at the opening night party and in a major slot on the Wednesday.
“He’s really starting to make waves in America and all his socials are growing exponentially.
“On the UK side, we’re delighted to be offering The Wandering Hearts who are based in Hackney and are one of the top three country bands over here. They’re a stunning act and we are predicting great things for them.”
Shy – the main act on the first night of the festival on August 24 – is full of excitement when we connect on zoom between London and Tennessee.
He’s primarily worked as a songwriter, having been discovered by Nelly and his manager Courtney Benson, before going on to create a string of hits with other artists.
Now the 37-year-old is making a name in his own right on the country scene and can’t wait to take the stage in London.
He said: “I put so much time into being in studios, it’s a breath of fresh air to be able to get in front of an audience and see all these different people who come out and really appreciate the music.
“I really engage with the people when I do my shows – I walk into the crowd, get a handshake and make up a song with that person’s name.
“I do a lot of freestyle, it’s real free and a lot of fun, and anything can happen. I sing some hits, some new songs, and it’s really heartfelt.
“Something about being on stage just makes me feel good – if there are people out there, it makes me feel even better.
“If they’re moving to something you’ve created, it’s one of the greatest experiences and one of the best feelings I’ve had in this life. It’s party time and it also helps me as a songwriter.”
Shy has worked with a plethora of artists, including co-writing Someday, a No. 1 hit for Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20, and songs for the likes of Keith Urban, Jamie Fox, Jason Derulo, Billy Currington and Charlie Puth.
Born and raised in Tennessee he was “always around music” at home and in church, learning his first chords as a child and developing a love for r’n’b before recording his first song aged 16 at a home set-up in a friend’s apartment.
He said: “I was addicted to the process – hearing my voice on a CD. From then on I continued making music all the time and tried to find a way to make music my career.
“Now it’s a real blessing to put my own soul and my own flavours into the music. It’s good to write for others, but this lets me be a little bit more myself.
“I don’t think it really matters, but I’d say my music is country because the songs are no different to the ones I’ve written for artists in that genre.
“As a person of colour, my songs might sound a little blacker – but that’s what I’m trying to do, to bring country music to people who don’t normally listen to it. At its heart, it’s storytelling.
“Being on stage makes me a better writer because it helps me to see what songs people connect with most.”
A selection of VIP packages are also available for Nashville Meets London. The Festival VIP Ticket costs £150 and includes entry for the festival on both days at Trinity Buoy Wharf, access to the VIP backstage area and the VIP bar from 2pm and access to the meet and greet area.
The Premium Nash Pass costs £200 and includes all of the above, plus a ticket on the NML River Cruise and entry to the invitation-only Opening Night Party at Pizza Express Holborn on August 22, which will feature performances by Juna N Joey, Kaitlyn Baker, Robbie Cavanagh and special guests.
Ticket holders for Nashville Meets London can travel directly to the festival via Uber Boat By Thames Clippers as a special request stop at Trinity Buoy Wharf has been arranged. Journeys on the river bus service must be booked in advance to take advantage of this offer.
Billed as a “voyage down England’s longest river” this trip along the Thames sets off from Bankside Pier for an evening of music hosted by Absolute Radio Country presenter Matt Spracklen. Expect performances by Kyle Daniel, Vicki Manser and a set by DJ Hish (pictured).
The first day of the festival at Trinity Buoy Wharf will see performances from Sarah Darling, Manny Blu (pictured), Ruthie Collins, Arbor North and Matt Hodges. Shy Carter will headline the first night, with music selected by DJ Hish between sets.
The second day of the festival, now enjoying a renaissance following a two-year break, will be headlined by Priscilla Block (pictured) with artists Kyle Daniel, Candi Carpenter, The Wandering Hearts, Tebey and Essex County also taking to the stage in east London.
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Peter Conway co-founded Nashville Meets London
REFRESHING THE FESTIVAL
Cut a slice through Docklands culture over the last 40-plus years and you’ll find Peter Conway woven through the rings of the tree.
His CV includes stints at the Half Moon Theatre, a decade as principal arts officer at Tower Hamlets Council before going on to arrange music events at Cabot Hall – a former venue in Canary Wharf in a space now occupied by Boisdale.
After that was closed for redevelopment, he went on to run Blackheath Halls on the other side of the Thames, before returning to Canary Wharf in 2000 to programme outdoor music events on the estate, creating the Canary Wharf Jazz Festival and more recently Nashville Meets London in 2016 – relocated to Trinity Buoy Wharf for 2022.
“It was a moment of serendipity in Nashville in 2015,” said Peter.
“I bumped into Jeff Walker of AristoMedia and from that meeting came the idea for the festival – an event to promote the best of emerging country music talent in both Nashville and the UK.”
Sadly, Jeff died suddenly later that year, but his daughter Christy Walker Watkins and son-in-law Matt Watkins, who worked with him, joined forces with Peter to make their vision for the festival a reality.
After four years in Canary Wharf’s Canada Square and a two year break due to Covid, NML is back at a new venue in east London.
“This is a kind of new beginning for the festival – we’ve got a great person supporting us in terms of Eric Reynolds at Trinity Buoy Wharf,” said Peter.
“We’re using the Chainstore as the main venue and the building it’s attached to as a VIP area and artists’ dressing rooms.
“Then you have the wonderful terrace outside that looks over the Thames and the Lea where we’ll be having food and bars.
“Each day there will be shows running from 5pm to 11pm with non-stop music – we want people to come down and experience the joy of country music, get converted and help us on our journey to build and develop this festival into a much bigger event over the coming years.
“I’m very keen to foster a sense of country community and to make this a real East End event.”
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
The DJ and hip hop pioneer –responsible for the first expression of scratching ever released on a record – is set to mix among the towers as the headline act on the main stage on July 21, 2022. And that’s just the first night.
Running Thursday-Sunday, Festival14 is set to fill the estate with more than 50 performances encompassing comedy, theatre, dance, family activities and, of course, music.
our MUSIC picks for FESTIVAL14
- July 21 - Grandmaster Flash
8.15pm, free, Canada Square Park
- July 22 - House Gospel Choir
8.30pm, free, Canada Square Park
- July 23 - Ronnie Scotts Jazz Orchestra
time TBC, free, Canada Square Park
- July 24 - Sona
time TBC, free, Canada Square Park
The mostly free events will run daily between noon and 10pm at a diverse selection of venues designed specifically to encourage visitors to explore Canary Wharf.
“We’d seen the success of events like our Winter Lights festival, which takes place across lots of different parts of the estate and the amazing buzz people feel when they arrive for that,” said senior arts and events manager at Canary Wharf Group, Pippa Dale.
“So we wanted to create a similar feeling for Festival14 so that it’s very obvious when people get here that there’s something really exciting and new happening.
“People in Canary Wharf are often quite set on the places they know – the places they go to lunch, for example – so we’re hoping this will help them explore and discover different areas.”
Most of the performances at Festival14 will be free
In addition to the dozens of performances and activities, there will also be a street food market every day in Montgomery Square and special offers from some bars, restaurants and cafes for the duration.
Canary Wharf Group director of arts and events Lucie Moore said: “Moving forward, we’re looking at putting on larger scale events over shorter periods of time to bring as many people as possible to the estate but also to change perceptions about the area.
“Events and cultural activities have always been really important to Canary Wharf in terms of placemaking and, since Covid, they’re something people are looking at and talking about even more.
our COMEDY picks for FESTIVAL14- July 21 - Milton Jones, Jessica Fostekew
7.15pm, £11, Westferry Circus Roundabout
- July 22 - Reginald D Hunter, Jo Caulfield
6pm, £11, Westferry Circus Roundabout
-l July 23 - Paul Sinha, Felicity Ward
6pm, £11, Westferry Circus RoundaboutFollow this link for bookings
“These events are a real team effort and we couldn’t be able to do them without the work of so many people across Canary Wharf Group’s teams.
“The estate is now busy and buzzy and with the arrival of the Elizabeth Line, there’s the potential for even more people to visit.
“That’s an opportunity for us, in terms of events, because there are people who will come in from other areas who may not have done in the past.
“For Festival14 it will be really interesting to see what numbers we get in comparison to things like Winter Lights in past years.”
Events will take place from noon over the four days
The full programme for Festival14 – a name inspired by Canary Wharf’s postcode, E14 – is still being finalised, with all updates expected online by July.
Pippa said: “In contrast to previous years with our Tuesday night music concerts, we’ve booked some bigger acts.
“It’s a packed programme and, especially at the weekends, people will be able to listen from noon right through until 9pm or 10pm at night.
“Grandmaster Flash is our opening headliner and we think he will appeal to the audience that’s already here – a bit of nostalgia after a day in the office and a bit of a party.
our THEATRE picks for FESTIVAL14
- July 21 - 440 Theatre, Hamlet
1pm, free, Westferry Circus Roundabout
-l July 22 - The Canary Cabaret
7.30pm, free (ticketed), Crossrail Place Roof Garden
- July 23 - Mischief And Mayhem
5pm, free (ticketed), Crossrail Place Roof Garden
- July 24 - The Handlebards Romeo & Juliet
1pm, free, Westferry Circus RoundaboutFollow this link for bookings
“I’m really excited about having House Gospel Choir – they’re a group I’ve admired for a long time and we’ve been waiting for the right event to book them.
“They’re pretty local too, as is Hackney Colliery Band. We’re also really pleased to be able to host Sona on the Sunday, during her UK tour.
“The outdoor comedy at Westferry Circus also features some big names, so that’s ticketed because we have limited space and we’re expecting it to be very popular.
“We’ll be having open air theatre at that venue too with the return of The Handlebards who are fantastic and 440 Theatre who do Shakespeare plays in 40 minutes.”
The Handlebards are set to return to Westferry Circus
There will also be a series of theatre performances at Crossrail Place Roof Garden – ticketed but free due to the capacity of the venue.
“Whenever we do anything we try to include the local community and local businesses and organisations around the estate,” said Lucie.
“We’re very fortunate to work where we are but we’re aware there are areas around us that need supporting.
“The Space has been operating up in the Roof Garden for years now and they were an obvious choice for us as a partner for part of Festival14 because they know that venue, we know what they do and they’ve put together a whole programme for us there.”
A range of kids activities will take place on the Saturday and Sunday, including dance music party Big Fish Little Fish Family Rave at Westferry Circus and puppetry in the form of Bus King Theatre: Marvelo’s Circus at Montgomery Square.
“We’re really hoping, especially for families, that they will come and spend the whole day with us – do a workshop, have lunch and listen to some music,” said Lucie.
“We’ve really tried to cover a lot of areas and there will be one or two unexpected events too, such as a van that serves up takeaway poetry. We’re not finished yet.”
Here’s a little Grandmaster Flash to get you in the mood…
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
To paraphrase the work of the late, great Prince Rogers Nelson – it’s been 14 years and 361 days, since The O2 officially welcomed its first audience (at the time of writing).
The chords that rang out on June 24, 2007 did not come from the purple guitar of His Royal Badness – although he did play a 21-date residency at AEG’s Greenwich Peninsula venue in its inaugural year.
That honour was taken by Bon Jovi and, as the duck-quacking riff of Livin’ On A Prayer sounded in the Arena, Matt Botten was standing in the wings.
“I’d snuck in at the side, having made a promise to myself that I wasn’t going to miss it,” he said.
“I found myself standing just behind AEG president Tim Leiweke and immediately I started thinking: ‘What have I done? Should I even be here?
“But he turned round and we high-fived – it was this feeling that we’d all done it.
“It was a huge relief to hear those chords, to know everybody was in the building, that the suites were full.
“We had done it, we’d opened and we’ve never looked back.”
As head of hospitality then, and senior director of premium seating now, Matt has pretty much seen it all – making him the ideal interviewee as The O2 prepares to celebrate its 15th birthday.
“I always joke that when I finally retire or move on, there’s a book waiting to be written,” he said.
“There have been some huge events – the opening was massive and when Led Zeppelin reformed for a single show in 2007, that night was a who’s who of the music industry.
“Working on premium, I’ve been fortunate that some of my experiences have meant contact with remarkable people – just escorting the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, David Beckham and Kylie Minogue to their suites.
“But really it’s the little things that we do as a team – bringing someone a birthday cake, making those ‘wow’ moments happen. Delivering a real difference to somebody’s experience – that are huge for me.”
The O2’s senior director of premium seating Matt Botten – image Matt Grayson
For a bit of context, it’s important to realise what a massive deal The O2 is.
Pandemic notwithstanding, the project has taken Richard Rogers’ vacant tent following its troubled inception as the Millennium Dome and created a venue that by 2020 had sold more tickets to events than anywhere else in the whole world, every year, for more than a decade.
Right here, in London on Greenwich Peninsula. Let that sink in. Nothing compares.
With a broader range and greater number of shows than any other arena in the UK, The O2 heads into its 15th year with a packed schedule.
But there are also a host of sporting events in the pipeline including boxing with Chisora vs Pulev, UFC Fight Night London and the Laver Cup London with tennis stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal scheduled to play.
“That’s what makes The O2 unique – the sheer number and variety of events,” said Matt. “It really is quite something working here – I’ve got lots of peers and friends working at sporting venues and they talk about the 30 shows they have a year. We have 25 just in June.
“That was a real game-changer in the corporate market. Everyone was used to Twickenham and Wembley, which I say with great affection because I worked at both of them.
“I sold my first T-shirt at the old Wembley Stadium with the twin towers back in 1997 outside a tribute gig marking the release of Nelson Mandela.
“Then I ended up working there full-time after my A-Levels, and then Wembley Arena, and that threw up opportunities such as spending time on the road servicing U2 tours, selling merchandise.
“Then I was at Twickenham Stadium for many years, and then moved across to The O2 when it was still a building site inside.
“For the launch, we had to educate people. Businesses could understand the value of gigs by the Rolling Stones or Queen but what about The X-Factor or Disney events?
The American Express Lounge at The O2
“When we were launching in 2007 it was about that shift in work-life balance – if someone accepts an invitation to go to a game of football, for example, that might mean a day out of the office.
“But as a company, if you can work it so that guests can bring their whole family to an event, then you can merge the two things and over the years we’ve seen more and more use of our suites in that way.
“The companies that buy them also use them for staff incentives internally or in partnership with local organisations such as charities and schools.
“We’re proud to say, after 15 years, we still have some of our original clients with us – some having taken suites for five or even 10 years initially.
“But since then, a lot has changed – our smallest suite has 15 seats and, if you imagine 180 shows a year times 15, that’s a lot of invites to ensure you’re getting people down and making the most of your investment.”
The two levels of suites offer commanding views over the stage
An evolving business landscape and a resurgent experience economy has seen The O2 expand and develop its premium offerings in concert with those two core strands, meaning there are now more ways to experience high-end hospitality and personal luxury at the venue than ever.
“This is particularly pertinent post-Covid,” said Matt. “We’ll see if it continues, because people’s disposable income at the moment is being squeezed in all areas.
However, with people having been locked down for 18 months to two years, there seems to have been this shift from an emphasis on buying physical possessions to buying experiences.
“We’ve seen more individuals thinking that, if they’re going out, they want to make it a night to remember.
“The corporate suites are a large part of our business, but the direction we’re going in is to make them and a range of other premium experiences available to far more people.
“Even before the pandemic, there was demand for smaller numbers, simpler products – options akin to a season ticket at a football ground.
“We’ve seen smaller businesses buying into this too – they can use two, four or six seats at every event where they would struggle to deal with 20.”
This shift has resulted in a collection of products including whole suite hire for a specific event, Encore Seats offering individuals tickets to 10 shows a year, plus the option to buy more in the members’ area of the venue close to the stage and, for businesses, the chance to buy a number of seats in a shared suite for a set period of time.
The venue also offers American Express Advantage tickets to the credit card company’s customers guaranteeing seats right by the stage.
These and several of the other premium options also grant access to the luxury American Express Lounge, which offers live music, cocktails and food on event days.
The current crop of premium options – with more in the pipeline – reflects the venue’s increasingly relaxed approach to its model, something typified by the freedom its suite clients have to design their spaces.
Matt said: “Back in 2007 we were probably a little bit more corporate.
“Today our customers want to bring their brand identity into their space and we understand that.
“Companies inviting people to events need to get a return on their investment and those attending need to know who’s invited them, so we work with them and they can do pretty much anything.
“I have this idea that we’ll end up with the most eclectic collection of suites in the UK. We have some very corporate ones and one from a partner who’s just come on board that has a shuffleboard table in it.”
Suites at The O2 offer a range of attractions including a dedicated bar
- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
Something is growing in Tobacco Dock. Tucked away in one of its workspaces is The Rattle – a company that wants to give creatives the same power as tech CEOs.
Deliberately mysterious, its website and social channels are almost barren and membership is notoriously hard to come by. In five years, it has vetted 9,000 applicants and taken 600 members.
But with founders Chris Howard, 40, and Jon Eades, 38, about to land $10million in funding for an international expansion, the subversive ploy seems to be bearing fruit. So what the hell do they actually do?
“I began investing in weird humans in 2017,” said CEO Chris. “I had this personal belief that startups are really boring and every single one was yet another Uber for olives or Netflix for donkey saddles, just the same company over and over again.
“So I gave money to musicians and authors, comedians, math olympiad competitors and psychologists. I wanted to see what happened if you joined their team for six months and, it turned out, it was really cool stuff.
“It shows if you place the same trust you would in a tech nerd in a crazy creative type, they can create something just as valuable and socially powerful as Mark Zuckerberg.”
The premise is simple, at least on the surface. Members of The Rattle pay a fee and can drop into the Wapping site anytime between 8am and 10pm.
It comprises two small studios for writing or recording demos, a live room for up to 10 musicians, which can be used for live streaming and video shoots, and a well-equipped production room for recording and later stage production.
It sounds pretty standard, but under the surface there is much more going on.
“The Rattle is deliberately mysterious and secretive,” said Chris. “We want people to find it hard to join because it implies a certain character type.
“It’s important to us that every member is fucking crazy and has a world view that makes you go: ‘What?’.
“Then they have to be insanely talented at something, particularly something creative, or have made something really special.
“Finally they need to have this magnetism that draws people in.”
The space includes recording facilities
So how do you nurture such a diverse mix of people without stifling them?
“We’re not trying to make another Abbey Road,” said Jon, referencing the studios where he worked for a decade.
“This is a very fluid, very human environment where you are free to experiment and not count the clock or be hyper-conscious of how much it’s costing you.
“It’s a laboratory free from stress for prototyping and experimenting.”
While members casually chat, live stream, record and write, behind the scenes a team of 20 experts is busy documenting every move in order to “engineer serendipity”.
“It’s behind the scenes puppet mastering,” said Chris.
“That sounds weird, but all our members know we do this and the huge wealth of data we track allows our team to understand who needs to meet who and under what conditions.
“Then, for around 20% of our members that move into the venture side, we have a veteran team of about 20 ex-hackers, founders, music folk and tech developers whose job it is to co-create these projects that we think can change the world and transition them into companies. That’s our primary business.
“The last thing we do is connect the outside works into The Rattle so we curate investors and superstars that have done incredible things to come and inspire our members to be more daring and break as many rules as humanly possible in a safe and responsible way.
“Our entire mission as a company is to help the next generation of artists, hackers and inventors become disruptive founders.
“We think they are the ones who change society and the economy and we want to make sure this category of human has a chance.”
The co-founders have very different roles, defined by their obviously contrasting personalities and the diverse paths they took to find each other.
“Day to day, Jon focuses on getting the machinery working well together,” said Chris.
“My job is to make sure the right humans are in the mix from a team point of view and that the people who give us money don’t have too much influence over what we do. So I’m kind of like the shield and Jon’s the sword.”
Neither can keep a straight face at this point but while Chris guffaws with laughter, Jon gives a wry grin.
He grew up playing in orchestras, studied music and sound engineering at the University Of Surrey and pretty much walked straight into a technical role at Abbey Road Studios.
He went on to discover a passion for startups and launched Abbey Road Red, an incubator for tech entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, Chris was the council estate kid with a music A&R dad who he defied to become a moderately successful singer-songwriter.
But believing he was “too shit or too ugly” to make it work, he jacked it in and, on completing a degree in physics and a Ph.D in computational physics, ended up across the pond at MIT conducting research into the online psychology of motivation and social influence “because why the hell not?”.
He spun this into tech company Libboo, which identified audience trends and helped a thousand authors sell their books.
But when it began to fail, alongside his marriage, he landed back in England at Tobacco Dock, as MD of the UK arm of MassChallenge, a global network for entrepreneurs.
It was through their shared passion for music and startups that the two finally crossed paths.
“Having the Abbey Road business card meant I attracted a lot of people and one of those was Chris,” said Jon.
“Most people don’t forget their first meeting with Chris and I certainly didn’t. He just tells it how it is and suffers the bullshit less than some.
“As a young founder if you have a meeting with Chris, you get the truth and sometimes it stings.”
Chris said: “I just sent Jon a random email saying: ‘Hey, you don’t know me but…’ He had his guard up, but I decided to just keep trying and finally he invited me in.
“I just had the impression that he thought: ‘Urgh another one desperate to be involved’. So I just thought: ‘Fuck it, I’m not going to sell myself I’m just going to say what I think’.
“Fair to say I didn’t play it cool. I’m not cool.”
They kept in touch as The Rattle first took root and, when it secured its first investment at the end of 2017, Jon decided it was time to leave the “safe haven” of Abbey Road and follow his “entrepreneurial urges”.
“That’s how The Rattle started officially – on February 9, 2018,” he said. “It was a quick turnaround and at this point Chris decided to get married and go on honeymoon to Thailand.”
Chris, who now lives in Bath and juggles jetting round the world with parenting, laughs gleefully at this point and shortly afterwards dashes off unexpectedly once again to do a pitch to an investor.
“Man on the ground, Jon, notes his business partner has a “love-hate relationship” with raising funds, but his brilliance at doing so should soon land them enough cash to launch the next phase of The Rattle.
The Rattle began with 50 founding members
Jon, who lives in Peckham, said it started with 50 founding members as “an experiment” and they had made tonnes of mistakes along the way, but by the end of 2018 had raised $2million, which allowed them to open a second location in Silverlake, Los Angeles, in March 2020.
“Most people remember that week,” said Jon.
“I got the last flight back as America was closing its borders and we had to put a blanket over it for four months, but our founding members all stuck with it and so did the London crowd.
“There is this real feeling of belonging and being chosen.”
That nurturing environment is now evolving into an ecosystem that he wants to see spread across the world.
“In 2019, we started to explore the notion of venture building where you join someone’s team, temporarily, parachute in and leverage everything you have to help them.
“The other people who tend to provide that sort of thing in music are managers, labels and lawyers.
“Our offering was such a breath of fresh air and we were amazed by the results – that’s become the seedling of everything we have done since.
“Really what The Rattle is today is a venture studio where we can explain our world view about drawing on expertise from the startup world and approach funding in different ways to see how it can benefit them.
“Once you have built that trust you can partner with them and now we are taking long-term positions with people.
“They stop paying us and we take a bit of ownership and hope in five years they become profitable.”
Today it has 75 members per location and has started roughly 25 ventures that it thinks will help change the world.
“It’s not about trying to become famous and high numbers,” said Jon. “Streaming only really makes sense for the Ed Sheerans and Dua Lipas of the world.
“But if you really know who you are and how to engage with high-value fans, there’s real money to be made and a social impact that really affects people’s lives.
“We are the first ones who have found a way to show people a different path, which is all about behaving like a founder, taking responsibility and not handing over control to people prematurely and being taken advantage of.
“If members choose to interface with the existing industry then so be it – we are not anti-label – but we want people to do it from a position of strength so they know what they are getting involved in.”
The Rattle is structures so it shares in members’ profits
Everything The Rattle does is on an equitable basis. They never touch revenue or rights, but become shareholders, so are the last to get paid if there is any profit.
“That means we can give honest advice because if we screw the artist we are screwing ourselves,” said Jon.
“Although we are down every month from a cash flow perspective, we are signing more and more equitable agreements with people, so the assets we are accumulating are increasing.
“At the moment, we are trying to close out $10million, so that’s really exciting and we’re also trying to lead the way by doing a crypto raise, which is attracting more new investors.
“Having that money will mean we can refresh our spaces, maybe even move to new facilities and set-up New York and one or two more within the next couple of years and for the first time be on the map as a real challenger.
“We have been this scrappy outsider so far, but now it is really starting to come together and we can start to challenge some of the bigger record companies and offer the best people a real alternative.”
“Instead of signing a record deal he formed a limited company, sold shares and raised £150,000,” said Jon.
“That enabled him to explore business models and he grew a super fan community using WhatsApp and other platforms and built his whole operation around figuring out what they were interested in buying from him and being quite high touch about it.
“He isn’t very famous, but he has built up a really solid business.”
“Created a platform that allows people to create immersive 3D experiences really easily so musicians can perform inside interactive worlds and make live streaming less dull. They are just closing out a big round of investment.”
Feed Forward
“Using AI to improve music search and retrieval, which sounds quite boring but is quite impactful.”
“They call themselves high five hip-hop. It’s throwback 1990s where they are quite irreverent and write songs around topical themes. They did one for World Bee Day. They have built up a core of fans and throw house parties with beer pong and Super Nintendo.”
“British psychedelic band trying to revive that golden age of the 1970s. Saw other bands doing it and incited a whole lifestyle around tie-dye and slow living.”
The venue will welcome live audiences for black comedy EastEndless from May 28
The doors to Wilton’s will swing open on May 28 – image by Matt Grayson
The doors of Wilton’s Music Hall in Wapping, shut to the public for more than a year, are set to reopen on May 28 and the team cannot wait to welcome people back to its forthcoming programme of shows and to its bars.
Head of development and communications at the venue, Harry Hickmore said: “We closed the building to the public as instructed on March 16, 2020. The memory of that day is quite vivid because, like all arts organisations, we’re not used to closing our doors – especially not for an uncertain period of time.
“We haven’t been completely quiet over the past 14 months – we’ve had a lot of exciting things going on in the building, which was often used as a set for film or TV productions.
“We’ve had the BBC recording in here, as well as Amazon Prime and new Disney and Netflix films.
“So we’ve been using the building creatively – there have also been rehearsals in the building for streamed performances, but in terms of having real human beings enjoying culture together, May 28 will see us return to live performances.”
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EastEndless, May 28-29, £19-£22An obsessed EastEnders fan lands a bit part on the show in this blackly comic look at the soapQuentin Crisp: Naked Hope,Jun 1, £19-£22Mark Farrelly takes on the part of the naked civil servant in this resurrection of a workScaramouche Jones, Jun 15-26, £22.50-£25A centenarian clown breaks 50 years of silence on Millennium Eve to tell the story of his life
With restrictions constantly changing and unexpected lockdowns, the reopening means shows that have long been planned can finally go ahead.
“It’s been really rough for the artists,” said Harry. “Everyone who works in theatre, music or anything to do with industries that work with freelance creatives, knows it’s been really rocky, because people have not known when they’d be able to perform again. For all artists, it’s more than a job, it’s their livelihood, their lifestyle and their life.
“We’ve got so many who were meant to be performing in March or April last year that we moved to September or October in the first instance and, when that didn’t happen, rescheduled for January or February.
“Now we can actually say to artists with complete confidence that, in terms of being able to do socially-distanced shows initially, they will be performing to audiences who cannot wait to hear them. We’ve got a lot of frustrated performers and now they’re thrilled.
“We’re delighted that audiences and artists are coming back together in our venue – that’s what makes these buildings really sing – it’s very exciting.”
Harry Hickmore is head of development and communications at Wilton’s Music Hall – image Matt Grayson
At first Wilton’s capacity will be cut from 350 to 109 to ensure audience members can remain socially distanced and Harry said the venue could adapt its operation at short notice should government guidance change.
“Something very strange would have to happen for shows not to go ahead,” he said. “The only thing that would stop us is a full lockdown. If needs be, we can have a socially distanced auditorium for a bit longer in June.
“The other thing is that audiences will be returning to a venue that’s really comfy and sounds great.
“Wilton’s was built to have more than 1,000 people in the hall for performances in the 19th century so it could be a bit boomy. We’ve just completed a £500,000 project to install acoustic pannelling on the walls of the balcony to enable a range of shows from one person speaking on stage to a full opera.
“We’ve also had new seats put in, which will be an extra bonus for audiences. We have a lot of generous donors who support us and we’ve relied on them this year when ticket sales and other income have fallen by the wayside.”
Harry, who oversees fundraising efforts for the venue, is also looking forward to the return of weddings at Wilton’s.
“By the time this article comes out we’ll have just done our first wedding since lockdown,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of people approach us in 2020 who are planning to get married and really want to do it here so I hope there will be more in July and August when people can have a full ceremony and celebration.
“We’ll also be reopening the Mahogany Bar and we have a lot of regulars and locals who just visit us for a drink.”
Ready and waiting for an audience – image Matt Grayson
Harry, who is a trained musician and previously worked as a fundraiser for English National Opera, said he was especially looking forward to Scaramouche Jones Or The Seven White Maskslater in June.
“It’s going to be brilliant – starring Justin Butcher in the lead role, it’s 20 years since it was made famous by the late Pete Postlethwaite,” he said.
“In general though, the thing I’ve really missed over the last 14 months is that feeling that people are coming from all different areas, different day-jobs, into one space, to enjoy one thing together – an experience of about 90 minutes without any interruption from the outside world.
“There’s the brilliant magic where there are two or three artists on stage with an audience and they’re all enjoying it together.
“There’s a reason why, since humans lived in the caves, we’ve been taking part in live performance.
“We love being in a group – it’s something really simple – and we haven’t always been able to do that during the pandemic.
“There have been great things that have come from the proliferation of live streaming, which will really improve the whole theatre sector, but nothing can beat that bustle before 7.30pm, where loads of people who don’t know each other are about to share quite an intimate experience, side by side.
“It’s a really beautiful thing and it’s something we do brilliantly well in London.”
With strong demand for tickets reported, don’t delay booking if you’re planning an evening out at Wilton’s or another venue in the coming months.
