Barfly (club)
Encyclopedia
Barfly is a chain of live music venues nightclubs in the UK
operating as part of the MAMA Group
. It has venues in Brighton
, London
& York
. They regularly feature live music. Their club nights tend to feature rock
, alternative
and independent music
. Barfly began as one club (originally at The Falcon pub before moving to The Monarch in 2000 which was then renamed The Barfly) in Camden Town
, London
in 1996. A second venue was opened in Cardiff in 2001 and others followed. Following the acquisition of Mean Fiddler, Channelfly (Barfly parent company) became MAMA Group.
MAMA Group Plc was founded in 2002. We are a public company focused on music and media businesses.
The Group has three divisions:
-Live Music, which includes the Barfly network of live music venues, the Hammersmith Apollo, the Jazz Cafe, the Forum and the Borderline in London and also holds interests in live music events including the Lovebox festival;
-Artist Services, which includes artist and producer management, music publishing, merchandising and investments in recording businesses; and
-Consumer, which includes The Fly, one of the UK's widest distributed music magazines, Campus Group, a collection of specialist media and marketing agencies working for clients interested in the student and wider youth audiences and a ticketing business.
The Barfly opened in Brighton
, in the Gloucester Nightclub in Gloucester Place.
Until 2003 Barfly ran a venue in Sheffield
in the now defunct National Centre for Popular Music
. The venue encapsulated one "pod" of the building but closed down sometime in 2002, then moving to what was then .Zero club (now The Plug) on Matilda Street. Barfly vacated these premises soon afterwards, and left Sheffield altogether.
On 2 June 2008 the Brighton Barfly (formerly the Gloucester) closed down without notice. One day later the same happened to Cambridge Barfly with the company placing "closed for refurbishment" signs on the doors to these venues. An Article in the Cambridge Crier from the 13th of January 2009 said that the Cambridge Venue would open again, though the timing is unknown. It has since been converted and is now a Wetherspoons bar.
On 17 February 2009, the Glasgow Barfly also closed down without notice.
During late May 2009, Barfly Liverpool was sold to local bar owners and transformed into the Masque nightclub and music venue, the building also contains The Masques little brother bar - Ink, a free entry daily rock'n'roll bar and the only tattoo studio themed venue in the North West of England.
In August 2010, the Cardiff Barfly closed down.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
operating as part of the MAMA Group
MAMA Group
MAMA Group Limited is a live venue and artist management company which was founded in 2002 and is owned by the HMV Group. It is a parent company of a range of music and marketing businesses...
. It has venues in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
& York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. They regularly feature live music. Their club nights tend to feature rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and independent music
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
. Barfly began as one club (originally at The Falcon pub before moving to The Monarch in 2000 which was then renamed The Barfly) in Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1996. A second venue was opened in Cardiff in 2001 and others followed. Following the acquisition of Mean Fiddler, Channelfly (Barfly parent company) became MAMA Group.
MAMA Group Plc was founded in 2002. We are a public company focused on music and media businesses.
The Group has three divisions:
-Live Music, which includes the Barfly network of live music venues, the Hammersmith Apollo, the Jazz Cafe, the Forum and the Borderline in London and also holds interests in live music events including the Lovebox festival;
-Artist Services, which includes artist and producer management, music publishing, merchandising and investments in recording businesses; and
-Consumer, which includes The Fly, one of the UK's widest distributed music magazines, Campus Group, a collection of specialist media and marketing agencies working for clients interested in the student and wider youth audiences and a ticketing business.
The Barfly opened in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, in the Gloucester Nightclub in Gloucester Place.
Until 2003 Barfly ran a venue in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
in the now defunct National Centre for Popular Music
National Centre for Popular Music
The National Centre for Popular Music was a museum in Sheffield, England for contemporary music and culture, a £15 million project largely funded with contributions from the National Lottery, which opened on 1 March 1999, and closed in June 2000....
. The venue encapsulated one "pod" of the building but closed down sometime in 2002, then moving to what was then .Zero club (now The Plug) on Matilda Street. Barfly vacated these premises soon afterwards, and left Sheffield altogether.
On 2 June 2008 the Brighton Barfly (formerly the Gloucester) closed down without notice. One day later the same happened to Cambridge Barfly with the company placing "closed for refurbishment" signs on the doors to these venues. An Article in the Cambridge Crier from the 13th of January 2009 said that the Cambridge Venue would open again, though the timing is unknown. It has since been converted and is now a Wetherspoons bar.
On 17 February 2009, the Glasgow Barfly also closed down without notice.
During late May 2009, Barfly Liverpool was sold to local bar owners and transformed into the Masque nightclub and music venue, the building also contains The Masques little brother bar - Ink, a free entry daily rock'n'roll bar and the only tattoo studio themed venue in the North West of England.
In August 2010, the Cardiff Barfly closed down.