London music venue The Social faces closure

The long-running London venue The Social is under threat of closure and needs to raise £95,000 over the next two weeks in order to remain open.

After opening on Little Portland Street in 1999, the venue has hosted gigs from the likes of Wolf Alice, Bon Iver, Florence and the Machine, Young Fathers, Fatboy Slim, Alt-J, Arctic Monkeys, Four Tet, Jack White, Beck, Aphex Twin and more, after evolving into a regular gig venue after it played host to a successful club night by Heavenly Records in the ’90s.

A statement from the crowdfunding page started to raise the money reads: “Rising rents and an offer to the building’s leaseholder from a cocktail and wine bar chain have put The Social under very serious threat. The bar’s founders need to raise money to buy a controlling share in the venue from the leaseholder in order to keep The Social open. Unless new investment is found in the next 2 weeks then the iconic venue will be forced to close its doors. We’re asking you for help.”

They add: “We need to raise £95k asap as a down payment to get the venue off the market, save it from turning into just another bar and then kick start a second round of private investment so we can take full control of The Social lease and secure its longterm future.”

The venue remains one of London’s last few venues hosting regular live music and DJs in its central London location, after venues such as the Astoria, the LA2, the End, Turnmills, Plastic People, The Falcon, the Metro and Madame JoJos have closed over the last decade.

You can read more about - and donate to - the campaign here.