It was the biggest little 98-seat club in London. The Firehall / Talbot Inn was such an iconic venue for London blues fans for so many years that when it was gone, it left a hole in the soul of London’s music scene that never really went away.
In 1997, seven years after it’s closing the Firehall was resurrected in spirit via a reunion concert that paid tribute to the blues-love that marked the club’s 60s, 70s and 80s heyday. It was such as success that 12 more reunions followed with this year marking the 20th such since the club shuttered.
Although event organizers Brian Mortimer and Brad Harwood are responsible for pulling together the Firehall Reunion, Mortimer for one gives full credit to the work of the Great Lakes Blues Society for keeping the blues flame alive in London.
“It’s amazing that the Firehall which was only licensed for 98 people can attract six or seven hundred people for the reunion,” Mortimer chuckles.
“For the first seven years we never saw the need to have the reunion primarily because we had different bars open,” Mortimer adds. “It wasn’t until some time after that that we missed all our friends.”
A good time is most definitely on-tap for this years reunion taking place at the London Music Hall with performers including Jack De Keyzer, Paul James, Danny Brooks and many others (go to www.londonmusichall.com for the full list).
“It’s a real crowd-pleasing lineup,” says Mortimer. “The vibe will be unbelievable and all the musicians are friends of each other so they’ll be getting up to support each other while they’re playing. The jam possibilities are mind blowing.”
The event’s reputation has grown so much over the years that Mortimer says the reserved tables sold out almost instantly and he suspects the remaining tickets will move quickly.
The word ‘friends’ comes up a lot in a conversation with Mortimer. He calls many of the musicians friends and as well as the blues fans that he and his long-time staff have come to know over the years. That sense of community is another reason the event has retained its reputation.
Community has been an underlying theme for Mortimer since his Firehall days, which led him to have charities involved with all the events he’s been involved with over the years from Corporate Challenge and 24-hour Relay to the Rib and Balloon Fests.
The Tara ‘Boom’ Houston Children’s Foundation (www.tbhcf.com) will be the beneficiary of this year’s Firehall Reunion. The charity came to Mortimer’s attention appropriately enough from his business life. The parents of Tara ‘Boom’ Houston were customers at one of Mortimer’s establishments.
“When Tara was six or seven she got an inoperable brain tumour,” he explains. “Like most families they were devastated. Unlike most families they decided to do something about it.
“They were our customers and we grew to be friends with them and identified with their cause. We put charities to almost all of our shows but this is our biggest one and this is our favorite charity. That’s the kind of charity we like to be involved with. Blues people, close to the roots, helping children and helping families.
“It will be a love in I promise you that,” adds Mortimer, “and you will leave the event with your spirits soaring.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment