Most Brightonians will be aware of the recent petition around proposals for the closure of local popular music venue The Blind Tiger. Based on Grand Parade in Brighton, the club has been having trouble for the past year or so, since a new neighbour moved in to the flat above and began to make noise complaints. The club was served a notice for noise nuisance from Brighton council; if the neighbour complains again of the noise after 19th May 2014, then the venue will be fined big sums of money.
The club had been campaigning for a while, asking punters to become fee paying members. They needed 2014 people to pay £5 per month in order to save the music venue. But alas, since this latest music ban from Brighton council, with The Blind Tiger being a live music venue, it ultimately means the venue can no longer exist.
With the clubs closure comes roughly 30 job losses in total. The venue employs bar staff, gig staff, door staff as well as management. The closure will have a devastating effect on staff; not only will they lose their jobs but also they will cease to be part of the Blind Tiger family.
The club is very small and localised, and has been a highly popular hangout for Brighton’s youth. The venue has attempted to rally local loyal Blind Tiger fans together to help financially support a facelift for the venue, with the aim of improving facilities through small individual contributions as opposed to reaching out to large, rich chains. However this latest blow from Brighton Council, means sadly the venue will now have to close.
The owner had said previously that in the event of the closure of The Blind Tiger, Brighton would suffer both economically and culturally. It’s not the first small local venue to have disappeared from the Brighton music scene. On Friday 16th May The Blind Tiger released a statement on their website sadly confirming they had failed in their battle to save the venue; with the music ban coming into force on the 19th May, the club faced their final farewell this weekend. Staff will lose jobs, and Brighton will lose a much loved music venue.
