The Hanwell Cavern is returning live music to the landmark location that once played a key role in the stories of legendary bands like The Who, Deep Purple, The Animals, Procul Harum, Led Zeppelin and Uriah Heep; as well as solo artists such as Gene Vincent and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Hanwell Community Centre’s basement has been transformed into a music venue and will be playing host to the show on Friday (17 January). Doors will open at 6.30pm and the music will run between 7-10pm – featuring The Silvermen, Mahoney and The Moment and Marky Dawson.
The event was the idea of registered charity Hanwell Community Centre Consortium, which has been working in partnership with Ealing Council on the Hanwell Community Centre project since 2015.
By starting a regular live music venue its idea was to build upon the enormous music heritage of the Grade II listed building, while also increasing the number of visitors to the site. It test-ran the idea with a preview night in November, which proved to be a success.
The Hanwell Cavern itself was created by transforming the centre’s basement space, through the efforts of the charity’s trustees and volunteers, as well as the support of Hobbayne and Elthorne ward councillors. Live music performances will now be scheduled there at regular intervals and, in future, The Hanwell Cavern area will also be used for music rehearsals and other arts activities, either by local musicians or schools and community organisations.
Tickets for the event on Friday, were available online for £12 through Eventbright while availablity lasted.
Visit the charity’s Facebook page for more details.
Hanwell Community Centre
Hanwell Community Centre opened in 1857 and is all that remains from the Cuckoo Schools, which Charlie Chaplin and his half-brother Sydney attended. The schools were demolished in the 1930s to build more than 1,600 houses as part of a new housing estate to provide accommodation for families living in the London slums.
The centre is in Westcott Crescent and is surrounded by the Cuckoo Park – a registered Village Green. Both building and park were registered in the past few years by Hanwell Community Centre Consortium as an asset of community value.
It has been used extensively for TV and film, including Billy Elliott for the dancing and boxing scenes, a SpecSavers advertisement starring Julie Walters, scenes in Killing Eve, and many more.
