Music
The 100 Club saved by Converse
by Ciaran Thompson
February 15, 2011
The oldest live music venue in London, one that gave a stage to punk bands like the Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks and The Clash in the mid-’70s, will remain open after announcing last year it would close due to financial problems. The savior? Chuck Taylors.
According to XFM, The 100 Club has signed a sponsorship deal with Converse who intend to “introduce it to a new generation.”
“With Converse we have literally found the perfect partner,” 100 Club owner Jeff Horton said. “I don’t think I could have cherry-picked [a] better [company]. They’re not interested in ownership, they’re not interested in shareholding… They just want to stand alongside us as our partners, to make sure that our club coexists with them and through them.”
Thanks to the new deal, Horton said the venue’s “mid-term future is certainly saved,” however details regarding what the shoe company will want in return has yet to be revealed.
“[Converse] wanted to give us a hand,” he continued. “They were the first people to come and see me and ask if they could do anything to help… The fact that the club will remain independent [is what] appeals to them so much.”
Originally opened in 1942 as a restaurant called Macks, the first music to ever be played at The 100 Club was swing and it became a popular hangout for American GIs. Many years later, it became host to the first International Punk Festival and then a regular venue for various UK punk bands in the ’80s.
