February 25, 2005 12:46

THE OTHERS TO MAKE EXHIBITION OF THEMSELVES! The Others Tickets

The band announce a show outside the V&A museum in London…

The Othersare planning a guerrilla raid on one of Britain’s most venerable institutions tonight (February 25).

The band had been due to play at the V&A museum tonight as part of the Agitate! Educate! Organise! exhibition, however organisers decided to cancel it issuing the following statement.

“We have been surprised by the incredibly high level of interest in this event. We have been told by our security, health and safety advisers that when the numbers reach this high level for a single event with limited capacity, there is a danger of severe overcrowding and it is extremely difficult to guarantee safety. To avoid any risk to the public or the Museum's collections, we have therefore taken the decision to cancel the event. We apologise for any disappointment this will cause.”

The Others however have hit back, and will be doing a gig on the pavement outside the South Kensington museum at 7.45pm.

Disagreeing with the museum’s decision a spokesperson for the band said. “The V&A decided to cancel at 48 hours notice. They claimed a ‘danger of severe overcrowding’ which, in a venue that has held upwards of 4,500 people, is a ludicrous statement.

“The irony of cancelling an event devoted to showing how artists have to find alternative methods of making themselves heard, because of an overly rigid establishment, has obviously not been noticed by the V&A.”

However a V&A spokesperson contacted NME.COM saying that the figure of 4,500 was “misleading”. The capacity of the hall The Others had been scheduled to play in was 300.

After the guerrilla gig the band will play a second set tonight at the Polish Club at 55 Exhibition Road, a three-minute walk from the V&A.

This event will also feature Tom Sheehan’s film on Selfish Cunt plus Mark Wigan’s installation on 20 Years Of British Club Culture. However, as the whole thing has been set-up at short notice after the V&A cancellation, organisers warn there could be overcrowding.