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Prom queen: Lily Allen |
The eclectic Electric, 2007
IF you see someone flying out of the Roundhouse on a scooter next month during the week of the Electric Proms, don’t assume they weren’t having a good time.
Chances are, the driver will be Lorna Clarke, the Proms festival director.
“I try and catch 20 minutes of each performance,” said Ms Clarke, who plans to whizz around each of the five key venues around Camden Town.
The Electric Proms, which will run over five days, in eight venues with more than 80 artists, is Ms Clarke’s baby. Last year’s pilot – based loosely on the Classical Proms – was a resounding success, and along with the resurgence of the Camden Crawl, helped to put Camden back on the musical map.
Highlights this year include performances from Paul McCartney, the Kaiser Chiefs showing off their new album, New York whizzkid Mark Ronson – who will duet with Lily Allen and Terry Hall among others – and Jamie Cullum, who will collaborate with trendy Japanese jazz band Soil and Pimp.
So why did Ms Clarke plump for Camden, rather than the Royal Albert Hall where the Classical proms are held?
“Well, I lived in Camden for 15 years, and only moved away two years ago,” she said. “It’s a genuine music town. There are only a few of those around the country, so it made sense to pick Camden as opposed to the Albert Hall.”
And there was one other major draw – the Roundhouse. The refurbished former railway depot that reopened last year has also played a big part in bringing more sparkle back to the area.
“We really busted a gut to make sure we were the first music event after the refurb,” she said. “Is there another place like it?”
The closeness of the five venues – including the Electric Ballroom, the Jazz Cafe and Koko – was also a big plus point. “There’s a natural strip from Koko all the way to the Roundhouse. Camden has this unique range of of different sizes and types of venues.”
“I’m keen to keep it in Camden. We wouldn’t want to move it.”
However she is working on an idea to twin it with a northern city, most likely to be Liverpool.
So how does the woman who used to run BBC Radio 1 and is currently at the helm of the urban music channel BBC 1xtra choose acts for the Proms? “It’s artists who are brave, distinctive. People who have a body of work which has a quality all through it – this year Mark Ronson is a unique performer.”
And then there’s James Brown, who died just weeks after his gig at the Roundhouse last year.
Ms Clarke described his performance as a “dream come true”.
Ms Clarke has a few other heavyweights in her sights including Elton John and David Bowie, who both played at the Roundhouse during its 1970s heyday. She said: “At some point it would be amazing if David Bowie or Elton John did return. To have them back would be fantastic.”
Although some eyebrows have been raised as to why UK-wide licence-payers have had to foot the bill for a London festival, Ms Clarke is adamant it is value for money, and pointed out it is broadcast on TV, online and on the radio.
Tickets are on sale from this week.
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