The Kashmir Klub was a non-profit making, live music club that operated in central

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

between 1997 and 2003. It was located at 6

Nottingham Place Nottingham Place is a street in the City of Westminster that runs from Marylebone Road in the north to Paddington Street in the south. The street was named after the Harley family estates in Nottinghamshire. Former residents include the social r ...

, in the basement of a restaurant and bar called "Fabrizio" at the "Baker and Oven".Tony Moore – Musician, Broadcaster and Concert Promoter; Founder, Kashmir Klub – MusicTank
/ref> The club was started in November 1997 by musician and early

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

member Tony Moore to provide a different approach to discovering, developing and promoting the best signed and

unsigned artist An unsigned artist, unsigned band or independent artist is a musician or musical group not under a contract with a record label. The terms are used in the music industry as a marketing technique. Bands that release their own material on self-publi ...

s available, and to create a "fertile, creative and spontaneous" atmosphere. The name was inspired by the

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

track "Kashmir". Moore loved the track and also the band. He said "It seemed to me that Led Zeppelin covered nearly every genre of music in their time, from rock to acoustic. So I thought "The Kashmir Klub" would be perfect."

Concept

No one paid an entrance fee, no artists were paid for their performance or had to pay to play, and the organisers were not paid a wage for doing it, except for a sound engineer whose pay was funded by a 10% cut of bar takings.Behind the Music: Tony Moore is proof live music need not cost a fortune , Music , The Guardian
/ref> The equipment in the club was sponsored and donated by commercial companies. There was also a strict "No talking during the music" policy. Moore, who hosted the events, commenced each show with the statement "As you've noticed there's no cover charge. All you have to pay is attention."

Operation

Originally open on Tuesday nights, the club expanded to run from Tuesday through Friday nights, as well as occasional Monday and Saturday evenings for special events. It was described by

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

in 2000 as "the coolest club in town." The shows had a set format, with the artist performing two songs in the first set, followed by another two in a second set later in the evening. Sets would be acoustic and 'stripped back'. On Tuesday, January 25, 2000 The Kashmir Klub, in conjunction with BMI, also began a monthly

webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...

showcase of BMI writers and artists live from London. The club was known for championing artists early in their career, and various singers such as

Paolo Nutini Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9 January 1987) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley. Nutini's debut album, ''These Streets'' (2006), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Its follow-up, ''Sunny ...

, KT Tunstall and

Damien Rice Damien George Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He began his career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper, who were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate success i ...

. The club had famous artists ‘drop in’ and play unannounced including

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

Kiki Dee Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records. Dee is best known for h ...

and

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

.The Legendary Kashmir Klub Returns To London
/ref>

Closure

The club finally closed on Saturday 17 May 2003, when the building was closed for redevelopment. Tony Moore continues to run a similar live music venue at

The Bedford The Bedford, originally named The Bedford Hotel, is a Grade II listed public house at 77 Bedford Hill, Balham, London SW12 9HD. History The original building (then named The Bedford Hotel) was built in the 1870s. In 1876, the pub building hou ...

, a pub in

Balham Balham () is an area in south London, England, mostly within the London Borough of Wandsworth with small parts within the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. The area has been settled since Saxon times and appears in the Domesday Book as B ...

, south London. In 2004 other members of the Kashmir team opened 4 Sticks Live at The Cobden Members Club, a private club in west

References

External links

BMI Press release 1.25.2000
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kashmir Klub, The Music venues completed in 1997 2003 disestablishments in England Nightclubs in London