Biffy Clyro’s frontman, guitarist and vocalist Simon Neil has shared his thoughts on the current state of the music industry, specifically the loss of many UK venues, most of them grassroots venues.
Neil spoke to Music Week about the urgency of protecting them, saying, “If venues disappear, we’re losing a generation, if not more, of talent.” He continued, “The music that comes from this small island is, across the board, astounding. There’s generations of kids that are going to lose opportunities from study to job opportunities, we cannot fucking rip the culture away from them as well. All they have is this expression.”
Neil, like so many bands and artists, began his career playing in small music venues with Biffy Clyro, and is not only saddened, but angry to think that future musicians could be deprived of that opportunity. There is also something to be said about the cultural effects of this; “One of the few things to admire about our country is the culture and most of these fuckers in the government won’t have been to a gig or a show ever.”
Biffy Clyro are on the cover of this week’s @MusicWeek magazine – read the full interview here: https://t.co/ReWERnovPX pic.twitter.com/Oi2oe3vqKl
— Biffy Clyro (@BiffyClyro) July 23, 2020
While the government finally announced that they would be putting £1.57 billion into all arts industries, this offer comes too late for many. However, thanks to the charity of owners and artists, some have struggled through. Just yesterday, it was announced that Manchester venues Gorilla and The Deaf Institute have been saved from closure.
Numerous other artists have also spoken out about this issue – most recently, James Bay and Mumford & Sons’ Ben Lovett discussed it via video chat and offered fans links to donate to #SaveOurVenues.
Biffy Clyro is made up of members Simon Neil (guitar and lead vocals), James Johnston (bass), and Ben Johnston (drums). The band has released numerous albums, with four reaching the top 5 in the UK Albums Chart and one album, ‘Opposites’, claiming number 1. Formed in 1995, they are currently signed to 14th Floor Records and have headlined many big UK Festivals including Reading & Leeds in 2013. Biffy Clyro have won four NME Awards and received nominations for two Brit Awards. Their hit song ‘Many of Horror’ was covered by X Factor winner Matt Cardle in 2010, gaining it much success.
The band’s new album ‘A Celebration Of Endings’ will be released on 14th August and they are planning to tour later this year, depending on Covid-19 safety advice. Check out the full dates below and find tickets on their website.
25/09/2020 – P&J Arena – Aberdeen, UK
26/09 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow, UK
27/09 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham, UK
29/09 – Utilita Arena – Newcastle, UK
30/09 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham, UK
01/10 – O2 Arena – London, UK
03/10 – Manchester Arena – Manchester, UK
04/10 – First Direct Arena – Leeds, UK}
06/10 – SSE Arena – Belfast, UK
07/10 – 3Arena – Dublin, Ireland
09/10 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff, UK
11/10 – BIC – Bournemouth, UK
