In its short existence, Newcastle’s newest DIY music venue The Lubber Fiend has already had to triumph over more adversity than many established venues have in years.
The pandemic and an already wounded night-time economy set the backdrop for a difficult mountain to climb in the first place before a seemingly endless stream of council bureaucracy threatened to completely derail the project before the doors even opened.
However, the three lads behind the project – Sam Booth, Tom Hopkin and Stephen Bishop (or Bish) – embarked on a fundraising mission to make things happen against the odds. Between crowdfunding, a somewhat legendary online raffle, several compilation releases on Bish’s own Opal Tapes label and a lot of long hard hours from themselves and volunteers within the community, the venue was able to eventually open its doors in the spring of this year, and it has quickly garnered a reputation as the sort of venue any city would be lucky to have.
Operating as a non-profit offering a space for gigs and performances across the underground spectrum, Lubber Fiend also has a bar with locally brewed booze on tap, aiming to offer a true independent alternative to the otherwise monotonous pub and nightclub experience. Where promoters and bands may struggle to find an affordable and professional space to host their events, The Lubber Fiend sets out to plug this gap whilst also priding itself on a safe and inclusive environment for punters and performers alike.
Despite being newcomers to running a venue, the folk behind The Lubber Fiend are veterans of the DIY music scene, with Sam and Tom having played in Newcastle noise rock band Foot Hair and Bish fronting Teesside-based Drunk in Hell in addition to running the acclaimed experimental electronic label, Opal Tapes. This eclectic mixture of tastes is also reflected in how the venue operates, with an open policy on what can and will be hosted, as reflected by the wide-ranging programme found on the venue’s Instagram page (@thelubberfiend).
There’s an almost “Field of Dreams”-esque magic to the place: “If you build it, they will come.” And it’s great to see people relentlessly committed to the DIY sub and counter-cultures offering what is a real community asset to the underground music scene. It’s the sort of venue everybody should be falling over themselves to get to.
The Lubber Fiend can be found close to the Discovery Museum on Blandford Street in Newcastle City centre.
For further information, head to thelubberfiend.com.
