Another London venue bites the dust.
Reports have emerged on social media that East London venue Rhythm Factory, based in Whitechapel, will be shutting down at the end of May.
On Friday a tweet from Business Insider advertising editor Lara O’Reilly claimed that the venue was shutting down. This was followed on Saturday by tweets from grime DJs Elijah and Spooky, the latter claiming that a Mode FM show he was booked at for on June 12 was now on “ice due to Rhythm Factory being closed by the council.”
Update: Reader James Woodcock sheds some light:
@FACTmag I enqired about a booking yesterday and was told this also – I got the impression it will be reopening under new mgmt
— James Woodcock (@jamesmontrave) May 16, 2015
Rhythm Factory had been in business for 15 years. It was best known as an indie venue, a regular home to The Libertines during their rise to fame, but in recent years had hosted more electronic artists. In 2012 its bar area was painted by Los Angeles artist Teebs.
Speaking to Clash in 2010, founder Bernard Bakpa said “the original vision for Rhythm Factory was to offer a voice for the exciting creative platforms that were the foundations of the underground music and art scenes.”
The venue has yet to officially comment and could not be reached by FACT to clarify the situation. The venue was still promoting events via Facebook on May 11.
