The Sex Pistols and Frank Carter are teaming up in August in support of London’s Bush Hall for two special shows this summer on Tuesday, August 13th and Wednesday, August 14th. The Sex Pistols have promised to play their iconic 1977 album ‘Never Mind the Bollocks’ in its full. All proceeds that are raised from ticket sales will go to protecting and preserving the legendary venue.
Members of the pioneering British punk rock band Sex Pistols, Paul Cook, Glen Matlock, and Steve Jones will perform alongside tackling grunge singer Frank Carter who has been a part of groups such as Gallows, Pure Love and Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes. In an Instagram post dated the 3rd of June, Carter thanked the band for their ‘invitation’ to play the show with them. According to Blabber Mouth, Carter noted that the project “has been a joy from start to finish. When the Sex Pistols call, you answer. I’m very excited to be a part of it.”
For Sex Pistol Drummer Cook, this is a cause extremely close to his heart as Bush hall is his local venue and he grew up around the area. Situated in West London, Bush Hall has hosted acts the likes of Amy Winehouse, The Killers, Adele, Alicia Keys, Florence & The Machine, Ed Sheeran, Bombay Bicycle Club and James Acaster. I also welcomed Kings Of Leon for their first UK show in 2006 and has been open since 1904. Bush Hall was originally part of a trio of dance halls but it has had many lives including acting as a soup kitchen throughout WW2, a rehearsal space for some of the greats like Cliff Richard and The Who as well as a snooker and social club in the 80s and 90s. It was finally returned to its ‘former music glory’ in 2001. The venue is fully independent and offers an intimate environment for shows as its capacity is 430+ guests standing and 285+ guests seated. You can read more about Bush Hall on their website via the link here.
The venue team at Bush Hall are working with artists, agents and promoters to raise funds not just for Bush Hall itself but for the entire grassroots industry in its broader scheme as well as with the Music Venue Trust to foster a more sustainable way for venues to continue to survive into the future. According to an article from NME the venue were ‘four months away from “making a hideous decision” about whether to cease hosting live music events’ in March of this year and then needed to raise £42,000 via crowdfunding to sustain itself. The grassroots venues industry is experiencing a catastrophic downsizing with the ‘total the number of GMVs declining from 960 to 835 in 2023′ as reported in the 2024 Grassroots music venues House of Commons report which you can read here. Fund raising gigs like this one are vital for the continual existence of venues like Bush Hall that keep the music industry fresh and packed with new talent.
Tickets for the show go on sale tomorrow, Wednesday the 5th of June at 9am BSt and you can grab them from the Live Nation website here.
