Always on
This project successfully funded on 4th July 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
Blondies at Risk: Fight for Live Music & Beer
London, Greater London, United Kingdom
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Aim
Blondies is under threat! Losing our live & background music license risks our survival. Help us fight to keep the music alive & doors open!
Ten years ago, Blondies began as a completely independent, family-run dive bar created by two Aussie sisters Sharmaine and Verity Cox. We were in our twenties and we pulled together all the savings we had and with limited funds, we had no choice but to do everything ourselves. We built everything with our own hands from the bar, the toilet cubicles, the walls, as well as pouring the concrete. With the help of friends and a whole lot of stubborn determination, we opened the doors to our tiny corridor we call Blondies.
We started hosting DJ nights and DIY gigs where people had to (and still have to) squeeze through the band to get inside. The chaos became our charm and somehow, it worked. It caught the attention of Kerrang! and we ended up hosting their iconic K! Pit sessions. Blondies became one of the smallest venues in the world to host some of the biggest bands on the planet. Mastodon, Machine Head, Bullet for My Valentine and Parkway Drive ,among others, have all played the 60 cap room.
Fast forward a decade – after years of DIY blood, sweat, tears and beers we opened our 'forever dreamed of' space: a bar and brewery in Leyton. Built from the ground up, it’s a place to bring your mates, your mum, your dog or your toddler during the day and somewhere to let loose at night. It’s more than just a bar it’s a continuation of the culture, energy and community we’ve always cultivated.
Both venues have always been built and run independently with no outside investors, no corporate funding, just a small, passionate team trying to do things differently.
Right now, that hard work is under threat.
Due to a licensing review triggered by a small number of complaints – and with no support from our landlord or local council our Leyton venue is at risk of losing the right to play any music at all. That includes live performances and recorded music, from full band nights to DJs, playlists, and background sound.
For a venue & brand built around the culture of music, that would be a devastating blow.
And the knock-on effect would reach far beyond one location – our Clapton site would also be at risk of closing as everything we have made and borrowed from that venue is now all under treat.
We don’t want to be another independent venue forced to shut down in London. We’ve seen too many losses already, and we’re fighting hard not to join them.
We Need Your Help
We’re trying to raise £100,000 in 12 weeks – with at least £20,000 needed this month to help us cover urgent costs and keep things afloat.
Your support will help us cover:
Soundproofing & Heating Insulation: To address the complaints and bring the venue up to spec.
New Sound Equipment: So we can control levels better and meet council expectations.
Loss of Earnings: We’ve had to cancel events and halt our usual programming which has had a huge financial impact.
Site Improvements: Repairs, upgrades, and outdoor space work.
Brewery Kit Improvements: To keep the beer pouring and the business running.
Some of your rewards for helping us:
Why It Matters:
Blondies has always been more than just a bar or a venue. It’s a space that champions underrepresented artists, alternative culture, grassroots music and DIY ethics. Losing the right to play music both live and background would tear the heart out of everything we’ve built.
London’s independent venues are dropping like flies pushed out by development, noise complaints, rising costs and red tape. We’ve always stood our ground, but right now, we’re in the fight of our lives.
If you’ve ever found joy in our spaces whether it was discovering your new favourite band, drinking beers in the sun or moshing in our packed room we need you now.
We’re not ready to go quietly.
Help us make noise – the right way.
Help us keep the music alive. Help us save Blondies.
With love and volume,
Sharmaine & Verity
Blondies - Clapton & Leyton
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made