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Freebutt forced to cancel all live music
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 12 July 2010
Brighton venue The Freebutt has announced that it will no longer be able to put on live music after it was ordered to reduce the cut-off level on its volume limiter by the local council.
As previously reported, The Freebutt was served with a noise abatement notice in February this year after the council received just one complaint from a neighbouring resident. Various steps were taken to remedy the issue, though the venue, the council and audio consultants brought in on either side found it hard to properly diagnose and monitor the problem because the complainant refused them all access to their property.
Apparently this situation changed earlier this month, when audio consultants were finally allowed access to the complainant’s home. They found that there were, indeed, still sound leakage issues, and the venue’s owners estimate that it will cost twenty grand to address them – twenty grand they don’t have. The result is that the council is now strictly enforcing its noise order, basically making it impossible for Freebutt gigs to go ahead.
In a statement last week, the venue’s owners said: “It’s with huge regret that we have to announce that the volume limiter installed in the downstairs live room of The Freebutt has been reduced to a level of just 94dBA rendering it impossible for live unamplified drums or backline amplified guitars to perform in the building”.
They continued: “The immediate repercussions of this are that we are unable to host live bands in the venue. Currently booked shows (with the exception of Adelaide’s Cape on Friday 16 Jul) at the Freebutt have either been re-housed or are in process of being re-housed … We have also been forced to make redundant fourteen members of staff”.
The venue will stay open, with their penthouse bar still open seven days a week. Meanwhile efforts will be made to address the noise leakage problems, though given the immediate nature of the council’s order, it will be hard for the venue to raise the funds to install any further sound proofing.
The venue’s owners continued: “It’s difficult for us to determine the long term effects of this as obviously a substantial amount of sound proofing works must be carried out at vast expense; the initial estimate is in the region of twenty thousand pounds. Frustratingly this is very much beyond our reach, particularly when we are unable to have any of our current 2010 bookings (which totals around 100 confirmed shows) perform in our venue”.
For further information on the venue and where its shows have been moved to, head to www.thefreebutt.com
