awdl22125 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Has anybody any good experiences of getting gigs in London. My original rock band would like to try the big smoke to get a bit more recognition, any promoters we can trust etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Well seasoned hardened cynic of gigging in London here. Be prepared to do all the promotion and legwork yourselves, expect your fan base to travel with and then play to just them as the 'promoter' has booked 4 bands from opposite ends of the country, the other bands won't have the courtesy to watch you and then the venue will have a go at you for not being a big enough draw after you've taken a day off work, paid the congestion charge, God knows what for parking, food and drink and you could play your local to the same crowd without the wallet rape and overwhelming sense of your soul evaporating. But it works for some..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 One of the bands I play with, was 'offered' a gig down in 'That there London'. The deal was that we paid for £300 worth of tickets 'at a discount' and sold them 'for a profit' to our HUGE London fanbase. Since we didn't have any fans in London (because we're from Edinburgh) we said thanks but no thanks. This is probably the deal that your band can expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taunton-hobbit Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) London is a big place - I'd suggest that you do a net search for entertainment agencies and send some email/make a few calls - most of it will be a total waste of time, but I gigged the Marquee, 100 Club & a handful of others from Agency contacts. You just have to be sure that your agent knows what you do - a good demo is vital........ Edit: I'd offer some promoter suggestions, but most of the ones that I knew are dead - several deservedly so......... Edited February 14, 2015 by taunton-hobbit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Arkadin Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 One of the advatnages of living in London is that as hard as it is to get decent gigs, I at least have a number of mates who will turn up and I don't have to worry too much about transport. Of course, I've never made much on a gig yet, maybe £20 up on one night I seem to remember, but I do it for shits and giggles (and art) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-bbb Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 (edited) some people slag off function bands chasing corporate events but unless you're big enough to be headlining hammersmith odeon then corporate gigs and similar calibre private bookings are the order of the day for many bands- , as scalpy says above, to make it worth the 'very significant logistical hassle' , anything but these type of gigs is a road to melting your bands finances and sanity Edited February 14, 2015 by steve-bbb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Use Facebook to make contact with bands from London, who play similar music, use them to play support gigs and maybe build a fan base there, otherwise it's a waste of time. Why is it a waste of time ? Because no-one knows you there, so unless you expect your fans from wherever you live to travel with you, which is maybe a bit pointless, then you'll have no-one watching you. Find some venues that have bands like yours playing there. Find out what bands are playing, make contact with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 [quote name='awdl22125' timestamp='1423921409' post='2690382'] ...any promoters we can trust etc. [/quote] I will be very surprised to see any substantive responses to this bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andytoad Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 [quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1423935479' post='2690587'] Well seasoned hardened cynic of gigging in London here. Be prepared to do all the promotion and legwork yourselves, expect your fan base to travel with and then play to just them as the 'promoter' has booked 4 bands from opposite ends of the country, the other bands won't have the courtesy to watch you and then the venue will have a go at you for not being a big enough draw after you've taken a day off work, paid the congestion charge, God knows what for parking, food and drink and you could play your local to the same crowd without the wallet rape and overwhelming sense of your soul evaporating. But it works for some..... [/quote] haha! thats exactly how i found it, had to argue with some tw#t once at the borderline to get back in a retrieve my bass! "you'l never play here again...." like i care..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 [quote name='awdl22125' timestamp='1423921409' post='2690382'] Has anybody any good experiences of getting gigs in London. My original rock band would like to try the big smoke to get a bit more recognition, any promoters we can trust etc. [/quote] London is a very big place. Do you know exactly what you want out of the exercise? As Loz says, there are some proper rip off merchants in the city and at the well known venues. Generally you'll get offered a weekday slot. But if it's just exposure to lots of people you'd be better off heading to some of the venues on the outskirts where you'll get people who don't have to travel into the centre. ie pubs with good local support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awdl22125 Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 TimR, that's what we are looking for, exposure. What areas should we be targeting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswareham Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Ironically, you'll get a better audience if you're a bit more niche and can find the promoters who cater for that scene. So a Goth or industrial/EBM outfit can be guaranteed a good audience through a promoter like Flag Promotions. A more mainstream, but unknown band will play to an empty venue usually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctorbass Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 No point trying to get gigs in central London just to say you've done it - cant see the point. A good manager and promoter will get you gigs there if its worth it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 [quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1423935479' post='2690587'] Well seasoned hardened cynic of gigging in London here. Be prepared to do all the promotion and legwork yourselves, expect your fan base to travel with and then play to just them as the 'promoter' has booked 4 bands from opposite ends of the country, the other bands won't have the courtesy to watch you and then the venue will have a go at you for not being a big enough draw after you've taken a day off work, paid the congestion charge, God knows what for parking, food and drink and you could play your local to the same crowd without the wallet rape and overwhelming sense of your soul evaporating. [/quote] But on the down side... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M@23 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Did one gig in London with an originals band, it was a complete waste of time. Supported a popular German band in a very trendy part of London. We thought it would be a great chance and all the right people would be there... Well, no one was there! Actually, there were a few, but they couldn't have cared less. The gig cost us money, and efforts would have been far better spent playing closer to home or expanding our online profile. But, looking back, at least we have done it. It's all experience. Just, for us, wasn't particularly productive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Honestly, don't bother! Look at satellite towns like Watford, St. Albans, High Wycombe, Slough, Reading, Luton etc instead. There's less competition and they'll be cheaper to get to. Most of them have smaller intimate venues that you'll have a better chance of filling. Another good tactic is to look at University bars and venues. There'll be a captive audience and they always look after their acts. I wouldn't look at London until I was absolutely guaranteed a crowd. Otherwise it's just a costly and logistically nightmarish ego-trip. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Also, do you have a link to your music? I'd like to hear it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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