Camden News - by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS Published: 26 February 2009
St Michael’s Church
And the reverend said: Let there be rock!
St Michael’s to open its doors to musicians as part of this year’s Crawl
IT could be the perfect venue for The Reverend and the Makers, or All Saints, or even Spiritualized.
For the first time in its history, St Michael’s Church in Camden Road is set to add its name to Camden Town’s list of famous music venues and host a pop concert.
The identity of the band that will take the stage has not been released but it won’t be hymns emanating from the chapel on April 25.
Plans for the historic gig are part of the Camden Crawl – the borough’s biggest annual music event in which clubs and bars join together to host some of the country’s best bands.
This year, the organisers are setting up a dedicated day of music for teenagers not usually allowed into venues for over-18s, called All Ages Day. The gig in St Michael’s will be part of that.
Reverend Philip North said: “This building is not just for the Sunday congregations – it belongs to Camden Town.”
It is not the first church to invite rock stars to perform and musicians elsewhere have grown to enjoy the atmospheric surroundings of stained glass and pulpits, as well as the good acoustics that churches offer.
St James’s Church in Piccadilly recently hosted Brit Award-winner Duffy, while the success of the Union Chapel in Islington has proved what a winning formula pop and pews can be. The Highbury church first began holding pop concerts in the early 1990s as a way of fundraising and now hosts the Little Noise Sessions – an annual acoustic music event – as well as staging comedy and theatre.
Reverend North said the clergy needed to rethink the way churches operate if they want to make their buildings more open and attractive to all, suggesting many had become “privatised”. “We’ve privatised church space far too much and restricted its use,” he said.
However he said the tranquility of the building was his priority and there wouldn’t be more than five music events a year.
The Crawl, this year partly sponsored by the New Journal, has become known for putting hundreds of artists on stages across Camden Town’s venues and works by booking new and established acts, including Amy Winehouse, Supergrass and Graham Coxon in recent years.
Reverend North admits he is more of a classical music man but says he plans to join in the day’s fun. In return for tickets to the event, teenage volunteers will give the church garden a makeover.
