You know when you’re chatting to someone and the subject of music comes up? The general response when asking them what genre they listen to is: “oh, I like a bit of everything”. That’s all well and good. I mean, I love ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ by the Spice Girls; but I equally love ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ by Guns N’ Roses. Go figure.
With that in mind, I do actually have a favourite genre. In fact, one of my biggest passions in life is music: specifically 90s R&B, 80s and 90s funk and soul, new jack swing, acid jazz, and 90s hip hop. I worship the band Mint Condition (you won’t have heard of them); Will Downing (you might have heard of him), and Michael Jackson (I hope you’ve heard of him).
Now I fully appreciate that my taste in music isn’t mainstream and I probably shouldn’t expect to find anyone that’s heard of these artists. But here’s the thing: it’s popular once you hit Manchester. The further south you go, the more people are listening to it. I’ve seen Mint Condition twice at the Jazz Café in London. Will Downing is playing in London, Manchester and Birmingham in March (obviously I’m going to all three venues). There are even weekly old school soul and R&B nights down south. Some occasionally crop up in Leeds. But that’s if you’re lucky.
BAD FOR THE SOUL
Living in York, there’s a very specific music scene. We’re gifted with some of the most talented local performers – more than most other cities – so our three main theatres are often filled to the brim with musicals. Pubs are overflowing with acoustic and rock soloists and bands. Bars such as the Stone Roses whet the appetites of York’s large indie music fan base. Then you’ve got Latino music in Las Iguanas and Bobo Lobo. Chart and pop music in most other bars and clubs. Rock and metal music in the Artful Dodger. Soul and R&B music nights in… oh wait. And no, not Northern Soul. That’s something different.
It got me thinking: there’s a gap in this market. Our city’s capable of a lot more when it comes to music.
So what’s next for York? We’ve got the fantastic community stadium in development at Vangarde, which already offers a new cinema; and the exciting York Festival will be a first for us. Not only that, but there are plenty of rumours going around about the potential expanding of existing venues. But what will they offer?
YORK BARBICAN
Cllr Dave Taylor recently stated that our city lacks music venues, and that many people travel further afield to experience what they really want. And he believes a solution to this could be to expand the capacity of York Barbican. By going from its existing capacity of 1,700 to 2,000, larger acts would be able to play in York.
“A lot of young people and probably many older people as well, very often travel to neighbouring cities in order to access larger concerts,” says Taylor. “If the venue could be increased by 300, it means that York could attract much larger acts to play.”
On the flip side, the Barbican’s capacity would still be significantly less than competing venues in surrounding cities, such as Leeds. Would an increase diversify the acts we host, or just give us bigger names? Probably the latter. My kind of legends, such as the Isley Brothers and George Benson, are already playing at Leeds First Direct Arena. But also playing in Leeds this year are Diana Ross, Stormzy, Barry Manilow and Snoop Dogg. They’re far too ‘celeb’ for little old York.
FIBBERS
Fibbers has moved around more times than I’ve had hot dinners (maybe an exaggeration); and for now, it’s gone completely. However, because York can’t function without having Fibbers in its life, there are new talks about it reopening in a surprise new venue.
And the current speculation, at the time of writing, is that this could be Stonebow – where it famously resided from 1992-2014.
While Fibbers might not have anywhere near the required capacity to play host to big-name R&B musicians, it’s certainly had its diverse music nights; with DJs playing tracks of different genres into the night. Not only that, but Fibbers has also been known to present indie/rock bands and artists such as Stereophonics, Kasabian and Shed Seven.
We also recently lost The Duchess – another similar venue.
So, have I convinced you yet that we’re in need of adding some spice to the York music scene? If I had an unlimited bank account, or the knowledge to start a business like this, then I’d lease a venue and open my own soul/funk/R&B bar tomorrow. Alternatively, if any existing venues want to let me and my music collection in for a night then I’d be more than happy to broaden our city’s horizons on my tod.
What are your views on York’s entertainment? Is there anything you’d particularly like to see? Email me at claire.pulpher@yourlocallink.co.uk or give me a call on 01904 735216 – I’d love to hear from you.
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