Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sand ...
,
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, England, with a standing capacity of 250. The venue opened in 1993, the building having previously been a public toilet.
Location
The Forum is located on Tunbridge Wells Common, close to the junction of the A26 London Road and Frant Road, opposite the Church of King Charles the Martyr and
The Pantiles
The Pantiles is a Georgian architecture , Georgian colonnade in the town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. Formerly known as "The Walks" and the (Royal) "Parade", it leads from the well that gave the town its name. The area, develope ...
The Forum was the brainchild of four friends: Michael Oyarzabal, Peter Hoare, Jason Dormon, and Mark Davyd, two of whom had previously been involved with the Rumble Club, an irregular music event that took place in a variety of locations in Tunbridge Wells during the period 1988 to 1992 – bringing bands such as The Boo Radleys, Lush and
Green Day
Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...
to the area. It was the success of The Rumble Club that prompted them to seek a permanent location for their own venue.
The Forum opened as a new music venue in January 1993 in a building on Tunbridge Wells Common which had been built as a public cold bath and was subsequently a public toilet and then a brass rubbing centre. It has since hosted a number of acts who have gone on to achieve significant commercial success.
In 2007, The Forum produced a parody of the cover of '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', showing a selection of the better known acts that had played at the venue.
In 2010, The Forum and one of its founders Jason Dormon were featured in ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
s "Happy List", profiling people who make Britain a better place to live.
In 2012, the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' voted the venue as Britain's Best Small Venue.
The Forum has been credited as a key influence by people from the local area who have become successful in the music industry, including Jeremy Pritchard of Everything Everything and
Slaves
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
.
Notable acts
Many acts have appeared at The Forum, towards the beginning of careers that saw them go onto significant commercial success. These have included Adele,Biffy Clyro,
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
Green Day
Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
,
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentRoyal Blood, The Vaccines, and Wolf Alice.
In addition, The Forum has been used as a venue for more established acts who are playing warmup or smaller shows. These have included Ash, The Divine Comedy,
Enter Shikari
Enter Shikari are a British Rock music, rock band formed in St Albans in 1999 by bassist Chris Batten, lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds, and drummer Rob Rolfe. In 2003, guitarist Rory Clewlow joined the band to complete its current li ...
Frank Turner
Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981) is an English Punk rock, punk and Folk music, folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primaril ...