March 30, 2007 11:59

Hammersmith Palais set to close this weekend

Stars pay tribute to classic London venue

Photo Gallery: The Clash

Hammersmith Palais is set to stage its last few gigs this weekend before the venue closes for good on April 1.

The Good, The Bad & The Queen will play a farewell show on Saturday (March 31), while veterans The Fall will play the final show the next night (April 1).

After that, the venue which has hosted the Shockwaves NME Awards for the last five years will be demolished to make room for flats.

The Palais has been the scene of classic gigs by bands including U2, PIL, Kasabian and My Chemical Romance, and subject of The Clash's classic song ‘(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais’. And a host of bands contacted NME.COM to bid it farewell.

“It’s really sad,” declared Jamie T. “I was talking to some girl the other day who’s trying to save the Astoria, I’ve said I’ll support it as much as I can, but in my heart of hearts, I don’t really think it’s worth it. These people have a lot of money, they don’t give a shit about you or me. They give a shit about making a fuck load of money.”

“It’s part of history now, I feel,” said The Clash's Mick Jones, who performed ‘(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais’ in the venue for the last time ever with Primal Scream at this year's Shockwaves NME Awards. “It’s a terrible shame they're knocking this place down.”

Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos added: “The Hammersmith Palais is special because it has a lot of history to it We played one of our first exciting shows in London there. It’ll be very sad to see the place go.”

The Killers’ Brandon Flowers also voiced his dissatisfaction with the impending flattening.

“Given the history of these places, I don’t understand why they’re being allowed to close,” he moaned. “I’d support any campaign to save them, definitely!”