London Calling is a music festival held twice a year in Paradiso,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and focuses on the latest trends and bands in music, with the main focus on the UK. Since the festival started in 1992 it has been acknowledged as the main showcase festival of the Netherlands for British music and is therefore seen as the gateway to a breakthrough in the Benelux for promising, new British bands. The name of the festival is taken from the famous third album by English punk band

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

. The festival was first held in 1992 with four bands (including the Jennifers, the band that later renamed itself into

Supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ( ...

) and was organised yearly ever since. In the first decade and a half the festival focused mainly on the latest British bands with an occasional non-British act and turned into the country's main showcase festival for new British music. Bands like

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, The Darkness,

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, Blur,

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Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...

and

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among others, played the festival before their breakthrough. For a lot of these bands it was their first gig in Amsterdam or even outside of the UK. Because of the chance to see soon-to-be-big bands play in a relatively small venue (capacity: 1500 for the big room, 300 for the small room) the festival usually sells out quickly. The last few years the festival has broadened its concept and not only focuses on the latest British bands, but on new bands/acts and trends in general, be it Britpop or dance music. This has resulted in the festival now boasting about 25 bands over two days, or over 35 acts in 2007 and 2009, when the festival lasted for three days. Various theme nights under the London Calling moniker have been organised at the venue, including 'London Calling Presents Artrocker

Artrocker Artrocker is a UK-based collective involved in music promotion and publishing. It was started by Paul Cox and Tom Fawcett who had been co-promoters of a London night called The Sausage Machine. Having started life with an online newsletter and eve ...

' and 'London Calling Goes Glasgow'. Originator–program director of the festival is Ben Kamsma. In 2007 the festival won the England Rocks! Award by tourism agency Enjoy England for its continuous support for British music.

Editions

References

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External links

Official website of the London Calling festival

Official website of Paradiso
Music festivals in the Netherlands Festivals in Amsterdam Recurring events established in 1992 1992 establishments in the Netherlands