Why The Windmill remains the best venue in London
All five members talk at once, “It’s gonna have to be The Windmill”, reflecting their all-time favourite venue, such that Y don’t even need a second to consider their answer: it’s obvious and unanimous.
It’s almost too obvious as their singer and synth player, Sophie Coppin, adds almost begrudgingly, “I would rather not say that because I feel like everyone would say that”, but in this instance, there is no going against the crowd when everyone wants to be part of it, bands and fans alike. When it comes to London’s best up-and-coming bands, all roads lead to Brixton.
If you ask any musician playing in bands around London, or any band from outside the city passing through, or really any artist in any other city with connections to the world of post-punk or weird rock, The Windmill will appear to them as a kind of Mecca.
Head to Brixton station, then do a little trek, and you’ll land at the pub. From the outside, it’s tough to imagine the power the place has, but this shack alone has predicted and platformed some of the biggest names in recent musical history. Something about it seems to be psychic: the bookers there can spot a big thing from a mile off, from a rough demo, or from an email.
Take for example, Picture Parlour. Katherine Parlour and Ella Risi had barely unpacked their suitcase when they arrived in London before they managed to get themselves booked to play the venue. The famed man in charge, Tim Perry, gave the new kids a shot. It’s one of the performances at the venue that now feels legendary. The story goes that the band’s first gig was so mindblowing that they were granted a kind of unofficial residency, coming back again and again until Courtney Love noticed them, and now the band are about to put out their debut album.
“Tim told us it didn’t matter if it goes shit, just enjoy it,” Risi told The Evening Standard about that show, as the booker simply wanted their first proper gig to be a good one for them. It’s a world away from the horror stories you hear from many other venues where artists are bullied into submission about ticket sales. Instead, The Windmill works differently, wherein Perry and his team listen to every demo submitted to them and have no requirements about bands selling a certain amount of tickets, or having a certain number of fans. Instead, they just take a chance on what they like, putting forth a seven-day-a-week programme of live music.
Amongst those chances taken on new acts, there is more than their fair share of wins. As just a tiny taster of the names the venue has backed early, there’s Bloc Party, Black Midi, Shame, The Vaccines, even The Last Dinner Party played there in 2021 under their prior moniker, The Dinner Party. Luvcat’s entire journey started with early performance videos set against the venue’s distinctive gold tinsel wall.
“It probably seems like a bit of a cliche answer, but I think there’s a reason,” Y’s Coppin said as another band who were picked up by the venue early, and another gaggle of musicians who have orbited around it for a long time in various other project. “It’s a bit of a cliche answer, because it really is the best one like that,” she said as they all conclude that, when it comes to the best London venue for new music discovery, there can’t really be another answer.
But the question is why? What’s the magic? It could be chalked up to vibe, as Coppin said, “It’s a welcoming venue as well. People really get behind music. You know, there’s nothing too obscure, too simple.”
Or, it could all come down the time and to the legend, Tim Perry. “He really cares, like too much,” guitarist and singer Adam Brennan said. To all the musicians backed by the venue, Perry is spoken about as a true hero of the scene who is simply deeply passionate about music and bands. “He’s done it for years,” Brennan adds, “A great guy”.
Everyone has their stories with the venue. “I’ve seen Warmduscher do some incredible shows there,” saxophonist Harry McHale recalled about some definitely overcapacity, insane nights, “There’s always, like, a gig you see where you’re like ‘Ah, they’re definitely gonna level up now’,” Coppin said, remembering nights when she saw Fat Dog, The Last Dinner Party and Man/Woman/Chainsaw at the venue and knew for certain they’d be big.
Maybe the big labels should have Tim Perry and the venue on commission at this point. As he gives chances to artists who the industry typically might not open the door to, venues like Windmill allow them to thrive, allow them to draw a crowd and eventually, allow them to be too good to ignore. That’s the power of the grassroots, and that’s why The Windmill remains London’s finest spot, even if it’s the obvious answer.
