A live music venue in Newcastle, The Pink Lane Jazz Co-op, has won two awards for its commitment to live music. The venue is the result of a transformation of a run-down pub that was known as The Globe until 8 years ago, at which point the co-op took it over and brought it back to life.
The small venue has been named Small Community Co-op of the Year by Co-operatives UK, and it has also won a Lockdown Innovation Award at the Parliamentary Jazz awards to recognise its amazing work in the face of the pandemic.
The co-chair of the Pink Lane Jazz Co-op, Dave Parker, said in Business Live that “We’re delighted with this award because it recognises the vision, determination and hard work of members, volunteers and everyone else who helped keep us going during the pandemic, providing income for musicians, employment for staff, and joy for lovers of live music…Eight years ago, The Globe was a failing pub. Today it is an award-winning music venue and learning centre owned and run by a co-operative….It’s often been a struggle but we’ve succeeded by keeping people engaged.”
Although it was difficult keeping the venue going throughout the lockdowns and wider coronavirus crisis, Parker explained that streaming played a part in the co-op’s success, saying: “We worked with musicians to develop livestreaming, and soon decided this was the way forward. The Globe was refurbished, and new equipment was installed by volunteers. We were fortunate in accessing funding from Power to Change and the Culture Recovery Fund.” This enabled the co-op to hold live events virtually when attendance by music lovers wasn’t possible.
The Co-op is committed to more than just live music, and also rents out rehearsal spaces across the UK as well as offering a programme of music courses and jam sessions so that people are able to access music.