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Jeremy Corbyn, Lisa Spall, Nick Ruck, Marian Spall, Valerie Harrison, Helen Spall and Sue Clark outside the Red Rose |
Last stand for comedy club that produced stars
Cult venue where big-name comedians kicked off their careers faces closure as new owner prepares to sell up to mystery investor
A LANDMARK pub where some of comedy’s biggest names cut their teeth has devastated its regulars by announcing plans to close.
The Red Rose Comedy Club in Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park – famous for its intimate and sometimes offbeat performances – is to be sold and will host its final show next Friday with a surprise line-up of special guests.
It has also provided a venue for left-leaning political meetings and a celebrated jazz club.
The identity of the new owners has not been revealed, but comedy and music promoters have already been told that they will need to look for new venues.
Deadpan comic Jimmy Carr, the host of Eight Out Of Ten Cats, who lives in Canonbury, performed at the Red Rose when he was starting out and later to try out new material up for the Edinburgh Festival.
He told the Tribune: “When I started out six years ago, they used to give me £20 a gig and backstage was particularly glamorous with beer kegs to sit on. The audience really knew their comedy and were difficult to please. The reason the UK has the best comedy scene in the world is because of clubs like it.”
Solicitor Ali Gucerin bought the Red Rose six months ago and said he has lost money on the project. He confirmed he has struck a deal with the mystery investor, who will take over the pub, its 200-seater back hall and all events programming.
He has given comedy promoter Jon Briley notice and has warned most of his music acts they will not be coming back. He said he regrets ever buying the pub.
Mr Gucerin said: “Supporters should support it financially. The musicians are really good. If they bring in money they will carry on, if they don’t they will not.
“Two months ago I was a charming boy, but now I have lots of spots on my skin because of the stress. People don’t care about comedy – if they did they would have supported it earlier. If I had thousands of pounds, for the sake of history, I would have left it as it is – but I’ve put all my life savings in, why should I lose?”
Stewart Lee, who wrote Jerry Springer The Opera, had hoped to film his next DVD at the Red Rose next month and was a follower of the jazz and alternative music scene at the club.
He said: “I’ll really miss it because it was one of the first paid gigs I ever got. It was one of the first and longest-running alternative comedy clubs and as what was alternative comedy becomes increasingly commercialised it was great to have a mid-range venue run, not like Jongleurs or The Comedy Store, with new acts for the comedy rather than to sell food or have a disco afterwards.”
He added: “I’m really upset about the music, the gigs have been fantastic. You could literally see people you might only see at the Royal Festival Hall in the back room of the Red Rose and I don’t think the new landlords could possibly have appreciated this.”
Ventriloquist Nina Conti said: “It’s a tragedy. It was a great place and had an old-fashioned feel that was unique. It’s a lovely room for comedy. It would be a gross disappointment to the punters.”
Political comedian Mark Thomas added: “It was one of the few places in London not dominated by any one style or type of performer. It was a genuinely open and broad-minded audience. It used to be one of the best clubs in town and would always be ready to put benefits to raise money for a variety of causes. I remember doing benefits there for construction trade unions as well as for peace campaigns.”
Rhona Cameron said she remembered seeing a young Eddie Izzard at the club in its glory days.
She added: “You could see what a genius he was. Inevitably things have changed dramatically since then and we have all had to suffer the consequences of post-Thatcherism. The area by the Red Rose has gone downhill dramatically over the last 15 years. The housing estates nearby are some of the worst in London. They were wonderful, exciting, but often damaging youthful times for me, and the Red Rose played a part in my early career.”
Mr Briley is searching for a new venue, but says it is impossible to find anywhere suitable in Finsbury Park and must look further afield.
He added: “It all went wrong when the man who ran it for 20 years, Joe McNamara, retired in September. The Red Rose has always been rough, but had charm. Now it’s just rough. The place is falling apart.”
Mr Briley has lined up a bill of surprise guests and comedians from the club’s past for the final show.
Red Rose founder Ivor Dembina, who now runs the Hampstead Comedy Club, said: “Once the building gets released to a different owner there’s not really a great deal you can do. It’s a loss for the comedy scene.
“I’m sad because I’ve got fond memories of it. The Red Rose was a focus for much comedy that had a politically radical, intelligent, new side. You’d always get a well-informed audience.
“Eddie Izzard, Jack Dee, Jo Brand, Lee Evans, Frank Skinner all cut their teeth at venues like the Red Rose. What made it good was its simplicity. We went for a no-frills policy.
“We didn’t bother with discos and waitress service. We always kept the status of the comedians high.”
MP Jeremy Corbyn, who lives close to the venue, was at the opening of the club in 1987.
He said: “A lot of people worked very hard to raise money to buy the Red Rose building from the Co-op.
“We bought it to establish a radical centre and open as a club and it was a centre for great comedy.
“Some brilliant people – now household names – started in the Red Rose. We have had great meetings there. Speakers have included Tony Benn, Arthur Scargill, the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four. It’s like a litany of principled and radical people in and out of the building over the past 20 years.”
Loyal supporters have already collected more than 200 names on a petition to save the club.
Labour councillor Lisa Spall said: “The people who have taken over need to realise that they are not just taking over a pub. They are taking over a club where the people in the community know each other and I don’t think they realise that. They are just in the game for making money.” |
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