The Buffalo Bar
Music and arts venue in Islington, London, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Islington
London, N1
United Kingdom
| |
 Interactive map of The Buffalo Bar | |
| Location | 259 Upper Street, Islington London, N1 United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 300 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | April 2000 |
| Closed | December 2014 |
The Buffalo Bar was a music and arts venue located at 259 Upper Street, Highbury Corner, Islington, from 2000 until 2014.[1]
History
The venue was situated beneath The Famous Cock Tavern, adjacent to Highbury & Islington station. The basement at 259 Upper Street had previously been a branch of Po Na Na nightclub,[2] and before that, Club Down Under.[3] The Buffalo Bar opened in 2000 and hosted performances by a large number of notable alternative and indie rock artists.
As well as live concerts the venue hosted a number of club nights, including The Cave Club,[4] Great Big Kiss,[5] Afro Cuban Lounge,[6] How Does It Feel to Be Loved?,[7] Twee As Fuck,[8] Artrocker,[9] Guided Missile[10] and Indieoke.[11]
Promotional videos were also filmed at the venue including for Electric Eel Shock, Comet Gain and the Ethical Debating Society.
Notable artists to perform at The Buffalo Bar
- Animal Collective
- Art Brut
- the Art Goblins
- Bis
- Bloc Party
- Blood Arm
- Blood Red Shoes
- Bombay Bicycle Club
- the Brian Jonestown Massacre
- Chris T-T
- Colour Me Wednesday
- Country Teasers
- the Cravats
- Desperate Journalist
- the Duke Spirit
- Electrelane
- Emmy the Great
- Thee Faction
- Factory Floor
- Fat White Family
- the Featherz
- Fiery Furnaces
- Foals
- Friendly Fires
- Futureheads
- Future of the Left
- Ed Harcourt
- High Llamas
- the Homosexuals
- Hope of the States
- the Horrors
- Hot Chip
- Joanne Joanne
- the Joy Formidable,[12]
- KaitO
- Keane
- Keith Top of the Pops & His Minor UK Indie Celebrity All-Star Backing Band.[13]
- The Kooks
- Jon Langford
- Larrikin Love
- The Libertines
- the Long Blondes
- the Lovely Eggs
- the Maccabees
- the Magic Numbers
- Male Bonding
- Martha Wainwright
- Maxïmo Park
- Scout Niblett
- the Nightingales
- Oneida
- the Organ
- the Pains of Being Pure at Heart
- Part Chimp
- Pink Grease
- the Popguns
- Poppy and the Jezebels
- Josh T. Pearson
- Jack Rose
- Savages
- Shrag
- Sleaford Mods
- Spearmint
- Stereolab
- These New Puritans
- Tiny Masters of Today
- Frank Turner
- the Tuts
- T.V. Smith
- Two Door Cinema Club
- We Are The Physics
- the Wolfhounds
- Victorian English Gentlemens Club
- Yummy Fur
- Zombina and the Skeletones
- the Zutons
Closure
In November 2014, the Buffalo Bar announced that its lease had been terminated and the club would therefore be forced to close at New Year. A petition to save the venue garnered over 5500 signatures,[14] the support of bands such as The National,[15] The Subways and Mclusky (who performed a fundraising gig for staff[16]), and the intervention of local politicians including local councillor Olly Parker and local M.P. Emily Thornberry. Parker said in a speech that the Buffalo Bar had "probably done more for cultural life in Islington than anyone"[14] and Thornberry stated that the bar "makes a very important contribution to youth culture and.. the cultural significance of this part of London."[14]
The Buffalo Bar was one of a number of grassroots London music venues subject to closure during the same period, including Madame Jojo's,[17] 12 Bar Club,[18] Power Lunches,[19] The Grosvenor,[20] Passing Clouds[21] and The Silver Bullet[22] – prompting questions over the future of venues faced with the threat of "soaring rents..noise pollution orders, and developers".[23] The Mayoral Music Venues Taskforce reported in 2015 that 35% of small venues had closed since 2007.[24] In 2016 incoming Mayor of London Sadiq Khan appointed a "Night Czar", Amy Lamé, with a remit of looking at this issue.[25]