Orlando Weeks, The Maccabees (Photo: Gary Mather for Live4ever Media)
From the London studio they’ve called home for ten years The Maccabees have been on the front-line observing the changes to the city’s Elephant & Castle area, observations which formed the backbone of this year’s UK number one album ‘Marks To Prove It‘.
No surprise then, after news was confirmed yesterday that the London Coronet will finally succumb to urban development at the start of 2017, the band have felt compelled to express their disappointment at another example of heritage being forgotten.
“A city chews up and spits out, that’s how it survives,” frontman Orlando Weeks says. “But at the same time, you need places that have an unspoken heritage. If it’s somewhere new it can’t help but feel synthesised or themed, and that’s a very different experience.”
“So when places like the Astoria go, you can’t manufacture that atmosphere – because it’s not just about soundsystems and stage height. That is a shame and that is something that will be missed.”
The Coronet has just renewed its lease until January 5th, 2017, but will close its doors for good from that date.