Iconic Sydney Live Music Venue Gets Last-Minute Reprieve

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In a much-needed win for live music, iconic Sydney venue The Basement has been given a last-minute reprieve.

The Macquarie Place venue closed its doors earlier this month, prompting a demonstration outside NSW Parliament calling for the venue to be saved.

And now Melbourne businessman and musician Albert Dadon has swooped in to save the day, buying the name and assets of the club.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Dadon "doubted very much" that he would re-open in the current location but said it would likely be "in the CBD or very close to it".

A keen jazz guitarist, Dadon opened Bird's Basement in Melbourne's CBD in 2016 and seems keen to add another location.

"The idea is to do something like Bird's Basement in Sydney," he said. "It would be good to have a place where there is a hotel in close proximity or the bar of a hotel above the club.

"It's a tough space but we are doing it well in Melbourne and we think we can do it well in Sydney.

"It makes sense to give the artists we bring to Bird's Basement a second place where they can also stop. There is a bit of an economy of scale so you can say that it is the mind but as far as the heart - music is an affair of the heart."

The Basement, which first opened its doors 45 years ago, has played host to some huge names; Prince famously dropped in for a surprise show in 2012 and James Morrison, sax player David Murray and Cuban pianist Omar Sosa have all stopped by for a drink and ended up on stage.

20 April 2018




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