Music venue and pub The Black Prince celebrates 10-years since re-opening

In 2016, the Abington Square venue - previously called The Racehorse - re-opened with its venue room and garden undergoing a huge transformation.

Venue manager Phil Moore is the main promoter responsible for bringing acts including The Lovely Eggs, The Clause, Working Men’s Club and Look Mum No Computer to The Black Prince.

The Northampton native who moved back to the town not long after The Black Prince’s reopening, said: “I've been a part of its journey from almost the beginning. I kept putting gigs on semi-regularly from that first year and the manager at the time, Oliver Hepworth, said my gigs were the best attended.

“I retorted, ‘you should give me a job then,’ and lo and behold I talked myself into one come 2019.

“The first gig I put on before I worked here was in 2016, it was Ocean Alley.

“It was a Tuesday night, they are an Australian band that no one had heard of, but I'd been offered them and I thought they were really interesting.

“Only 30 people came. Last year they headlined the 10,000 capacity Alexandra Palace in London, so you can see how the place really does breed the stars of tomorrow.”

Countless local musicians and bands have performed at The Black Prince over the decade and other notable names to headline include Oasis bassist and Ride main man Andy Bell, BC Camplight, Hawthorne Heights, Jah Wobble, Jonah Matranga, Lottery Winners, Newton Faulkner, Opus Kink, Unpeople, Pale Blue Eyes, Raging Speedhorn, Steve Mason, The Subways, The Molotovs and TVAM.

Under its former moniker, the garden was largely benches on grass, however, it has since been transformed with marquees, decking, more seats and an improved outdoor stage which is also used to show major sporting events.

Downtime during the coronavirus allowed the main venue to be upgraded to a higher spec with an increased capacity.

Mr Moore added: “These two changes were really crucial in changing perception of it being a 'grungey boozer of little value' to those who were not regular patrons.

“Licensee Paul Hepworth has given me the latitude to steer the direction toward making The Black Prince a destination space centred on events, rather than just a watering hole for alternative types and real ale fanatics.

“To me The Prince can embody both things simultaneously.”

Asked about the key to the venue’s longevity and surviving the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Moore explained catering to a broad range of music fans was key.

“No one is meant to feel excluded,” he said.

“This isn't 1995 when alt-rock and Britpop were so big you could run things on a simple premise.

“This is a church of many faiths, reflecting the community of music in Northants and indeed beyond.”

Asked to pick his favourite memories from across the past decade, Mr Moore said the annual Twinfest festival each year, the summer football screenings in the garden in both 2021 and 2024 and seeing long-standing Northampton rock and metal nightclub Blast Chamber finding its new home at the venue were all things he was proud of.

Talking about The Black Prince’s importance in Northampton, he said: “I think you work here for the simple reason that it’s a safe space for anyone of any inclination to express themselves.

“The management, the tech engineers and the bar staff come to us because they see something here you might struggle to find elsewhere in town.

“There’s never a dull moment. The characters that inhibit this place are the reason you keep plodding on, even when finances are tight.

“The music scene is constantly changing and evolving and your place in it is never secure.

“The feedback we get from those musicians and DJs that play here of ‘it feels right, it sounds great’, is perhaps our greatest achievement.”

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, The Black Prince is holding a weekend of events at the end of this month.

Friday, March 28, will be headlined by London’s bby and Saturday, March 29, by Denmark’s Powersolo.

For more information about all forthcoming gigs at the venue, visit http://theblackprincenn.com