Late night hangout Crobar announces documentary to support crowdfunding campaign as fans raise more than £40k

Local hero: the Crobar is loved by its regulars and celebrity drop-ins alike 
Bernard Galewski
David Ellis @dvh_ellis21 January 2021

Beloved by titans of heavy metal, popstars and locals alike, Soho’s favourite drinking dive Crobar has managed to crowdfund almost £43,000 of a £95,000 target, as owner Richard Thomas tries to secure its future with the announcement of a new documentary. 

Detailing the bar’s 20 year history on Manette Street, Music When The Lights Go Out has been produced by fans of the bar, filmmakers Lucy Brown and Andrew Wildey, and will premiere on Youtube on Wednesday January 27 at 8pm. It’s hoped the short film will draw more attention to the bar’s fundraising initiative. 

Brown said of the film: "We had a huge response of photos, videos and stories from people who miss the Crobar and who used to party in the ‘Golden Triangle of rock n’ roll’. 

"Reading the messages from people remembering better times really struck us with what was being lost to the pandemic. I think everyone knows and loves a place like The Crobar. As Richard says in the film – it’s not about the four walls, it’s about the people, and I think now we should take an ‘all hands on deck’ attitude when it comes to supporting the live music venue industry.” 

The bar launched its fundraising campaign at the end of October last year, with Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson and Foo Fighters’ man Dave Grohl among those to donate prizes to its online raffle, which is still live on this page. Other famous fans of the spot include the Alice Cooper and Lars Ulrich of Metallica, as well as Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and P!nk. The bar has such a loyal following it has hosted three weddings over the years, and even sells Crobar-branded baby grows and bibs.

Thomas said of the project: "When Lucy approached me to do a documentary about the bar and Soho, I was overcome with emotion as it just demonstrated to me again exactly how important it is to reopen in this area so that people can see their friends and rock families again – and get home safely.”

“I have to admit, I did a little dance when we hit £40,000, as it gave me hope and more determination to save Soho and reopen The Crobar,” continues Richard. “I know we meant a lot to our customers, but I didn’t realise just how much! People want a proper rock n’ roll bar to remain in Soho. Otherwise, where else will they go?

“There is so much history here and it does feel to many that all roads in London lead to this area,” Thomas continued. “Rock n’ roll will never die, but if we don’t fight to keep its integrity and quirkiness, then we will just fall victim to faceless gentrification eradicating everything Soho has stood for: tolerance and individuality, love, and rock n’ roll for all.”

The film will be available to watch here and donations can be made to the campaign here

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT