Primal Scream star campaigns against local pub

Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie has joined a campaign with his neighbours against extending the opening hours of his local pub - because it plays loud music late into the night.

Despite his band's reputation as hellraisers, the singer has joined a campaign to keep his neighbourhood nice and quiet.

A letter sent to Islington Council signed by the singer complained that the Alma Pub on Newington Green in north-east London had been "playing recorded music at an unacceptable volume past 12 o'clock".

Gillespie, who is married with two young sons, said that music from the pub one night prevented him from sleeping, reports The Independent.

The letter, written last summer, apparently states: "There was a live percussionist playing along with the records, the sound was of a very high frequency which reverberated into my bedroom and my children's bedroom. I found the repetitiveness disturbing and I was unable to sleep because of it."

Gillespie added that a licence extension would mean that the pub was "disturbing the peace of our beautiful street and attracting noisy, drunk people to our area leaving the premises or coming into the area looking for a late-night drink - who are incidentally just [as loud] if not louder than the music being played".

The members of Licensing Sub-Committee A of the council subsequently agreed to extend the sale of alcohol at the pub and allow the live or recorded music until 1am Monday to Sunday, but they ruled it could happen no more than once a month.

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