The Saturday List #429 - A list of all the gigs the False Dots have played in 45 years!

The False Dots did a rather spiffing gig on Sunday night, even if I do say so myself, at London's most iconic pub venue, The Dublin Castle in Camden Town. It was the 9th time we've played their in three years, a residency we've thourougly enjoyed. This time, the Dublin Castle enjoyed us so much, they asked us back this Saturday, the 22nd June for a very special gig, the 50th Birthday of Charly Records! We will be supporting iconic punk band, The Bollock Brothers who feture the legend that is Jock MacDonald on vocals. 

Every single gig The False Dots have played have been at small, independent grassroots venues. So it seems fit to celebrate by listing all of our gigs, ever! The Red Italics are not UK gigs. As you can see the band had some years where we were frantically busy, a few years where we weren't and a few big gaps, where we were doing other things.

1980

Our first ever gig after nearly two years of trying to get it together. Our singer, Pete Conway didn't show up! For these gigs, Craig Withecombe, myself (Roger Tichborne) and Paul Hircombe shared vocals duties. We decide to continue like this!

13 December  - The Harwood Hall, Mill Hill

1981

31 January - The Harwood Hall

18 February - Orange Hill School, Burnt Oak

13 March - Hendon Rugby Club (supporting The Chevrons)

3rd April - The Midland Arms (Supporting Way of The West)

18th July - Harwood Hall, Mill Hill

26th September - Kenton Jewish Youth Club (our drummer Mark Barnet was a member and got us a couple of well paid gigs here!)

18th October - Kenton Jewish Youth Club

1982 

We start 1982 with a bang, a tour of Scandinavia with The Gagget band!

13th January, Karsbygarden,  Norseborg  - Stockholm

15th January, The Underground club, Stockholm

16th January, Pub Bastun, Aland, Finland

19th January, Tumba Gymasium, Stockholm

20th January, Alby, Stockholm

7th March, The Moonlight Club, West Hampstead

27th August, Bell MCC Rally, Elstree

Around this time Eleanor Caine joined as a singer

26th November, Gooners Club, The Copper, Tower Bridge Road

1983

28th January, Gooners Club, The Copper, Tower Bridge Road

1st February, The Ad Lib Club, Kensington

23rd February, The Moonlight Club (supporting Tokyo Olympics)

15th March, The Tunnel Club Greenwich

26th March, Harrow Music Festival (daytime)

26th March, BACS Ltd (supporting David Anderson) 

8th April, The Moonlight Club, West Hampstead

Craig & Eleanor leave and Venessa Sagoe joins on vocals

26th August Bell MCC Rally, Elstree

16th September, Chequers MCC Rally, Cambridge

3rd October, Prince Albert, Golders Green

28th October Prowlers MCC Rally, Abbots Langley

18th December, Barnet College

1984

7th January, George IV, Kentish Town

26th February, Dingwalls, Camden Town

15th March, Bald Faced Stag, Burnt Oak

19th April, Bald Faced Stag Burnt Oak.

25th May, Bald Faced Stag, Burnt Oak

3rd July, Pindar of Wakefield (venue now The Water Rats), Kings Cross

2nd August, Grahame Park Festival

24 August, Hendon Rugby Club

3rd September, Watling Festival, Montrose Park

Vanessa Sagoe leaves the band

1985

Allen Ashley joins the band on vocals

12th July, Old Bull Arts Centre, Barnet

23rd November, Le Tiki Club, Belgium (supporting Soldier Bike)

30th November, Cricklwood Hotel, Cricklewood

13 December, Old Bull Arts Centre, Barnet

22nd December, The Three Hammers Pub, Mill Hill

Allen Ashley Leaves the band

1988

Neil Cox formerly of The Mods (appeared on the Mods Mayday album) joins on vocals

22 August - Mill Hill Music Complex Party

28th December, The Midland Arms (now Claddagh Ring), Hendon

1989

23rd February, The Midland Arms (now Claddagh Ring), Hendon

1990

Neil Cox leaves and Tony Robotham joins on vocals

19th May, St Josephs College

Tony Robotham leaves - The Band takes a short break from activity

2002

Fil Ross joins on guitar and vocals 

20th April, The Red Lion, Colindale

7th September, Mill Hill Music Complex Party

2nd November, Mill Hill Sports Club

20th December, The Three Hammers (Boz Boorer joined us on guitar)

2003

6 June, Mill Hill Music Festival, Mill Hill Sports Club

26th June, The Three Hammers Mill Hill

2005

1st June 1985, MHMF,Mill Hill Sports Club

2006

3rd November, Mill Hill Sports Club (Kate Nash was support act)

2007

8th June, MHMF, Mill Hill Sports Club

18th December, Mill Hill Music Complex Party

2008

3rd March, The Bull Theatre (supporting Lee Thompson & Chris Spedding band)

2009

15th December, The Claddagh Ring, Hendon

2010

Connie Abbe joins on Vocals

15th Februrary, Lock 17, Dingwalls, Camden

14th May, Mill Hill Sports Club

19th May, Fiddlers Elbow, Camden Town

15th June, Purple Turtle, Camden Town (supporting The Bollock Brother)

13 November, The Claddagh Ring

2011 

29th January, The Arts Depot, Finchely (supporting The Foundations)

27th June, MHMF, Mill Hill Sports Club

Connie Abbe leaves the band

2012

Allen Ashley rejoins the band on vocals, Fil Ross switches to Bass, long time bass player Paul Hircombe dies having quit in 2009 to become a career criminal. 

13 December, Friern Barnet Library (End of occupation party)

2013

11th October, The Bohemia (Occupation Party)

2014 

20th December, Midland Hotel, Hendon

2015

23rd May, Midland Hotel, Hendon

18th September, Midland Hotel, Hendon

6th November, Fiddlers Elbow (with Dell Richardson of Osibisa and The Black Doldrums)

19th December, Chandos Arms, Colindale

2016

29th April, Midland Hotel, Hendon

26th June, Chandos Arms, Colindale

21st October, Chandos Arms, Colindale

16th December, Midland Hotel, Hendon

2017

21 May, North Finchley Festival, Bohemia, Finchley

19th June, Jesterfest, Fortune Green

22nd September, The Bohemia, Finchley

9th December, Chandos Arms

2018

24th February, Midland Hotel, Hendon

12th May, Kings Head, Enfield

30th June, Mill Hill Town Square (daytime )

13th July, Midland Hotel, Hendon

13th October, Midland Hotel, Hendon

14th December, Mill Hill Rugby Club

2019

15th March, Midland Hotel, Hendon

19th June, MHMF, Adam and Eve, Mill Hill

19th November, Adam and Eve, Mill Hill

13 December, Midland Hotel, Hendon

2022

Allen Ashley leaves the band and Roger Tichborne takes over on vocals

11th June, Adam and Eve, Mill Hill

19th August, The Bohemia, Finchley

28th September, The Dublin Castle, Camden Town

23rd November, The Dublin Castle, Camden Town

2023

17th February, The Edgware Services Club, Burnt Oak

24th March, The Dublin Castle, Camden Town

6th May, The Mill Hill Services Club

15th September, The Dublin Castle, Camden Town ** Tom Hammond joins on Trumpet

28th The Old Bull Arts Centre, Barnet (with The Silencerz)

4th November, The Dublin Castle, Camden Town

23rd December, The Dublin Castle, Camden Town (supporting The London Sewage Company)

2024

3rd February, The Dublin Castle, Camden Town (The False Dots 45th Birthday Party)

23rd March, The Beehive, Bow ** Without Tom

13th April, The Bull Theatre, Barnet (supporting The Silencerz)

26th April, The Dublin Castle, Camden Town (supporting Skaface)

17th May, Mill Hill Music Complex Studios

30th May, The Horn of Plenty, St Albans

16th June, The Dublin Castle, Camden Town.

22nd June, The Dublin Castle (Charly Records 50th Birthday Party with The Bollock Brothers)  Without Tom

29th June East Barnet Festival (main band The Alan Warner Band) with Tom

6th July, Jesterfest, Fortune Green

Next Gig

17th November, The Dublin Castle

2024 has already become the joint busiest year for gigs since the band got back together in 2000 (to have a jam and record a few old numbers). We've already surpassed last years total of seven and we are only half way through the year!

We still have two to go to equal 1984, but we will be doing our best!

What is even better to hear is the response of the audiences. This was one comment posted on Instagram, saved for posterity. When you see comments like this and get the response they are talking about, it really does make it all seem worthwhile. 

Being a band on the grassroots circuit for 45 years is something of an achievement. One of  the comments we here time and time again is "Why have we never heard of you before?" from both young and old audience members. There are three reasons.

1. When we were young, we were always falling apart as band members came and went. Four times we were on the verge of deals and it all went pear shaped.

2. The sort of music we were playing was viewed "Last years thing" by 1983/4 when we really hit our peak and we were under constant pressure to blow with the wind. It was hard playing Ska/Punk when everyone wanted New Romantic music!

3. We were too naughty for many of the labels that looked at us. Although Rock and Roll music is supposed to be rebellious, apart from the punk explosion 1976-80, if you didn't play the game, they were not really interested in you. Anti war songs like Action Shock and songs sympathetic to transvestite prostitutes having relationships with Tory MP's, like Not All She Seems were just a  bit too edgy. I will never forget the look on an A&R guy from EMI's face when he said "That Not All She Seems tune is really catchy, what is it all about?" and I told him. 

We've mellowed a bit since then, but the energy is still there. 

We've just released a brand new single, to celebrate Englands participation in the Euro's. We hope you like it!

First published on the 23rd December 2023 and updated 18th June 2024

Grassroots venues are under threat - what we need to do to support them

I've just been speaking to Jumoke Fashola on BBC Radio London about the plight of the UK and London's small venues. I have a special interest in this. I mentioned that of the London venues the False Dots have played in our 45 years, maybe 50% have closed. Fantastic venues such as The Purple Turtle in Camden, The Moonlight Club in West Hampstead, The Cricklewood Hotel and the Ad Lib club in Kensington are just a few of the excellent venues we lost. Then there are the pubs, often where we played many times over many years, including The Copper on Tower Bridge Road, The Bald Faced Stag in Burnt Oak, and the Midland Hotel in Hendon are examples of great pubs the band played many times, but we've also lost. In 2015, we started the Save London Music Campaign, launching it on the Robert Elms show on BBC Radio London. It is a passion of mine.

There are still some brilliant small venues left. My band The False Dots are playing the Dublin Castle in Camden Town on Saturday 3rd Feb (why not help out and click here to book a few tickets).  We sold out our last gig on 23rd December which was an amazing night. There are audiences when venues are well run and decent artists are put on. I see such artist at my  studios  Mill Hill Music Complex. We saw Brit awards winners such as Amy, Kate Nash and Floemerge, they needed small venues to hone their trade. 

The problem is that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Amy Lame, the Mayors nigh time Tsar  are simply not doing enough. Small music venues are a very niche area of the economy with massive influence, but almost no share of the £5 billion UK Music industry pie. The industry needs a proper scheme that is easy to access The UK government receives huge tax income from the UK music industry. It would make no difference at all to give grants to all struggling venues and would ensure the ongoing health of the sector. 

The government has taken some measures, which should be acknowledged, such as rates relief on hospitality venues, but this is simply like giving a cancer victim a drip to keep the hydrated so they live a couple more days. The UK need a coherent strategy for grassroots venues. So what can be done?

The Mayor needs to make London musician friendly, with exemptions from ULEZ and Parking charges. Transport is a key requirement for musicians. we have gear to cart around and we usually have old cars and vans. It is simply not feasible to say "Buy a new van that is compliant".  If my band plays in London and we need to bring gear, that costs me £25 in Ulez and God knows how much in parking charges, if you can find somewhere to park. 

As for the government? I'd like to see small promoters given a grant. If they were given a £250 grant towards every band they put on for aa one year period, this would transform London's music scene, with a maximum of £500 per day. This would be a huge shot in the arm for promotors and give them a real incentive to put live music on. I'd stipulate that 50% of that was guaranteed as a payment to bands. This would help cover the costs of bands, engineers and promotion. It would encourage promoters to take risks with new artists, that maybe they wouldn't otherwise. It would make pubs and clubs 'try out' music. 

I promoted my first gig in 1980. I was seventeen years old and at school. As we made a profit, it meant we were inspired to do another one. We were also lucky in that there was a vibrant local press and they supported us. See the pic >>>>>

 I know many people who started in the same way. Now, it is almost impossible to do that. The UK music industry is built on mega artists, who benefitted from that environment. If the UK economy wants to continue to lead the world in music, we need an environment where young people can promote gigs and start music businesses. The grants would give people time to find their feet and learn the lessons. 

The UK music industry contributes a massive amount to the UK economy and gets zero specific support from the government. In other countries, all manner of schemes exist to help musicians, venues and promoters. I totally get that people like Sunak and Khan do not understand such a niche area as grassroots music. There are amazing organisations such as The Music Venues Trust that can advise them. Sadly, small venues, bands and promoters find it difficult to get heard at table. I contributed to a Parliamentary enquiry on live music, a few years ago. Sadly, the whole thing largely got hijacked by people with an exe to grind about secondary ticketing and nothing really got done for small venues. 

And finally, what can we all do? Support small venues and promoters. Come and see gigs like my band at The Dublin Castle on the 3rd February. We have a band coming over from Dublin called Inbetween Honey supporting us. They may be the next U2 for all I know. Earlier in the blog, I mentioned the Moonlight Club in West Hampstead. I saw U2's first ever London gig there. They were playing with a band I liked, called Modern Jazz. If, like now, the Moonlight was closed, maybe they wouldn't be the band they are now?

Here's what they sound like

And this is what you can expect from us.