Clapham Grand announces first post lockdown shows with a special re-opening party this Friday with Frank Turner

17 September 2020 - Press release

London’s iconic venue The Clapham Grand announces first post lockdown shows for 2020 with a special re-opening party with Frank Turner this Friday. Other big names announced include: Russell Howard, Jimmy Carr, The Vivienne, Louise Redknapp, Baga Chipz, Jimmy Carr, Courtney Act and Crystal Methyd. 

The venue also opens refurbished top tier balcony for first time in 15 years bringing the distanced capacity to 400. 

Following on from three successful Save Live Comedy shows in August, featuring the likes of Al Murray, Jayde Adams, Ed Gamble and Kerry Godliman, which raised over £15k; the announcement that Clapham Grand is one of 135 grassroots music venues to receive emergency funding as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund; and raising over £50k themselves, the Clapham Grand is excited to announce it is once again opening its doors to customers for a number of shows in September, October and November. 

To coincide with a number of confirmed shows, the Clapham Grand has this week unveiled the reopening of its top balcony, which has been closed for 15 years – not in use since Oasis last played at the venue! The newly refurbished area will increase the post-lockdown capacity of the venue by 100, taking it to 400 (these numbers are reduced from 1250 due to physical distancing), bringing the venue back to its original Victorian glory. Refurbishing and opening the upper circle has given the venue an extra 100 tickets to sell with distancing, although is still trading over 50% below the former capacity of 1250 – but these extra tickets give the venue more chance to make the new financial model work and survive this period.

This Sunday just gone saw Russell Howard take to the Clapham Grand stage as part of a run of ‘work in progress’ shows and this Friday 18^th September, Frank Turner, returns to Clapham Grand - after raising £25k for the ‘Save The Grand’ campaign by playing a Government endorsed pilot of his ‘Independent Venue Love’ live stream from the venue in the summer.

Frank Turner has been pivotal to the venue’s journey to survive after the enforced Covid closure, and it is therefore fitting to welcome him back to the official opening of Clapham Grand’s upper circle for the first time since 2005.

For more information and tickets visit: https://claphamgrand.com/whats-on/