London’s barfly venue to be revived with historic name

One of London’s oldest grassroots music venues is returning to its roots. North London venue Camden Assembly, formerly known as The Barfly, is preparing to revive its historic name after nearly a decade operating under its current brand name.

The move follows the acquisition of the venue by Propaganda Independent Venues, led by co-founders Dan Ikowitz-Seidler and Richard Bach, and joined by co-owner Chris McCormack.

The new era begins on June 22 with British rocker Frank Turner’s show. Ticket registration will open on June 15th at 9am BST and access will be limited to those who have signed up in advance. More information about tickets can be found on Barfly Camden’s Instagram page.

Located on Camden’s Chalk Farm Road, this 200-capacity venue has been a staple of London’s live music scene since the 1980s, when it first operated as The Monarch. In the early 2000s it became The Barfly and gained a reputation as one of the UK’s most important small venues, hosting early performances by artists such as Coldplay, Amy Winehouse and The XX, as well as Ed Sheeran’s four-night residency.

The venue underwent a change of ownership and renovation and was rebranded as Camden Assembly in 2016. Ikowitz-Zidler and Buck said restoring the Barfly name is part of a broader effort to reconnect the venue with its musical heritage.

“Barfly means so much to all of us, and we are honored to begin a new chapter in its story,” Ikowitz-Zidler said in a statement. “We have more special shows to announce soon, but Frank Turner is the perfect artist to bring Barfly back to the stage. He embodies everything Barfly stands for.”

“We hope live music fans will come and support not just Barfly, but grassroots venues across the country. They played at Barfly before many of today’s biggest artists filled arenas and headlined festivals. You can always see the next festival headliner on our stage. They were here before there were arenas!”

The new owners plan to build a “Wall of Fame” featuring images and memorabilia, according to a report from Access All Areas. Over the coming months, a series of blue plaques marking notable artists and helping shape their history will also be unveiled at the venue. The new version of Camden Barfly will also reportedly feature a vinyl listening bar inspired by Tokyo’s famous listening bar culture.