I am making a film to celebrate the importance and resilience of the UK grassroots music scene.
BUT THE LOOS WERE DREADFUL
The UK’s grassroots music venues are disappearing.
Not the arenas or stadiums, but the iconic smaller venues that have shaped British music culture for generations — the sticky-floored basements, back rooms above pubs, the iconic independent clubs, and DIY spaces where scenes are born and future legends first find their voice.
The places where bands play to twenty people before they play to twenty thousand.
“But The Loos Were Dreadful” is a feature documentary celebrating the people who keep these spaces alive against all odds. It’s a film about community, creativity, resilience, and the belief that live music matters — even when the lights are flickering and the toilets barely work.
This isn’t a nostalgia piece mourning a lost scene. It’s a living, breathing portrait of an essential part of British culture.
Over the last months, I’ve travelled across the UK filming venue owners, promoters, musicians, sound engineers, superfans, and gig-goers whose lives have been shaped by these spaces. The documentary is now around 50% filmed, with incredible stories already captured from the front lines of Britain’s independent music scene.
Now I need your help to get the film over the line.
The funding raised through this campaign will go directly toward completing production — covering travel, filming remaining interviews and live shows, archive access, editing, sound, colour, and the final post-production needed to bring the documentary to audiences everywhere.
Because these places are more than venues.
They are rehearsal rooms for future artists.
Safe havens for outsiders.
Homes for local communities.
The first place someone feels seen.
The first place someone believes they belong.
Independent venues have survived decades of economic pressure, redevelopment, rising costs, and cultural change — not because they are profitable, but because people refuse to let them go.
This film exists for the very same reason.
If you’ve ever discovered your favourite band in a tiny room…
If you’ve ever stood shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers singing every word…
If you’ve ever walked into a venue and felt instantly at home…
Then you already understand why this story matters.
Behind every unforgettable gig is someone who fought to keep the doors open.
Help me finish telling their story.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 13th August 2026 at 7:00pm