Hammersmith Palais farewell plans confirmed

Iconic London venue's closure to be marked with film

The Fall will play the last ever show at London‘s Hammersmith Palais.

The venue – home of the Shockwaves NME Awards for the last five years – is being demolished to make way for flats.

As previously reported, The Good, The Bad & The Queen will play a farewell show on March 31, then Mark E Smith’s band will close the venue the next night (April 1).

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“We’re going to play one of the last gigs there, it’s one for Paul [Simonon, The Clash and GBQ bassist] because him and Hammersmith Palais go back a long way,” Damon Albarn told NME.COM of his show.

He added it would be a first for him: “I’ve never actually played there. I tend to go and see African gigs there on a Sunday night, that’s all I’ve ever been there for, and there’s that dodgy disco too (School Disco), which I’ve never really understood, what was that all about? It’s like ‘Grange Hill’ or something?”

Meanwhile BBC4 are making a documentary to mark the venue’s end, charting its place in British cultural history.

The programme makers are hoping that concertgoers will contribute to the film, and are looking for people “who have any special experiences of going to gigs there, maybe your parents or your grandparents used to go as well”.

The show is also after old footage, bootlegs, posters and tickets. Anyone who wants to contribute should contact richard@waddellmedia.com.

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