The Dublin Castle is situated 5 minutes away from Camden Town tube station and is an iconic pub slash live music venue. The bright red venue is hard not to miss on the busy streets of Camden Town, it is home to upcoming talent and has been the starting point for many musicians in the early stages of their career.
The venue came to prominence in the late 1970s after the band, Madness become a reoccurring name at The Dublin Castle. Lead singer of Madness, Graham McPherson better known as Suggs, jokes that Madness had to pretend to be a jazz band to get a booking, however after the amazing turnout once they perform Landlord Alo Conlon invited the group back for a residency. Madness still come back to celebrate at The Dublin Castle, from afterparty’s after their live shows at The Roundhouse or even Christmas ‘Madness’ specials. The venue has become a symbol for Madness’ career, and we have this venue to thank.
During the 90s The Dublin Castle also launched the careers of Britpop artists like Blur and The Libertines. It is home to many London based musicians and because of its appeal it has brought a wide variety of musical fans to come and see upcoming bands. Amy Winehouse was also a regular visitor of the venue proving this venue is steep in musical history and is a key component to understanding the beginnings of British music.
Unlike other pub slash music venues, the music venue is in the backroom which gives the music venue a 90s grunge feel. It is a small room perfect for intimate performance with a capacity of 200. No matter where you are standing you will always have a perfect view of the stage and with tickets only costing about £5 it’s a venue everyone should check out.
The bar area is super cosy, friendly staff and loads of seats, the best bit about The Dublin Castle is the atmosphere where you end up making friends for the night with people you never usually would talk to.
The venue is staple to Camden live music and it would be heart-breaking to see a venue as amazing and rich in culture to leave the scene. We need to continue supporting local venues and ensuring we don’t lose our venues to the pandemic.
If you want to help protect venues such as The Dublin Castle donate here at The Edge’s fundraising event for Music Venue Trust.
