Strange Fruit (club) - Strange Fruit London

Strange Fruit London

Just over a year after Strange Fruit began, the venue in Oxford at which it took place (a subterranean bar called "YesBut" on George Street, in the centre of the city) closed down. By this time, many of the original Strange Fruit Collective had moved away from Oxford, and the club was being run by Verity Clarkson and Paul Haswell. Paul was about to move to London, and the Strange Fruit Collective decided to try to relaunch the club there. Strange Fruit set up a base in London over the Summer of 2000 and eventually restarted in November 2000, Upstairs at The Garage in Islington, London, and for the first time featured live bands. The night Upstairs at the Garage continued until Strange Fruit disbanded at the end of 2003. The first two bands to play at Strange Fruit were Copenhagen and Tompaulin. Strange Fruit London was initially run by a large collective but as the club continued, and began to promote shows at The Spitz, Bush Hall and 93 Feet East, it was run by a core collective made up of Paul Haswell, Clare Best, Julia Boyce, Richard Tunnicliffe and Nichola Halliday.

Strange Fruit became popular for attempting to give new bands a fair deal - paying them well for performing at Strange Fruit nights that took place typically on a weekly basis. Strange Fruit saw early London appearances from The Futureheads, British Sea Power, Jeff Lewis, Ballboy, French Kicks, Future Bible Heroes, The Postal Service and Freezepop, and welcomed obscure and well-known bands from all over the world. The Strange Fruit Collective was tireless and aggressive in its promotion of events, culminating in two Strange Fruit Festivals in November 2002 and November 2003, and UK tours for the likes of Bangs, Schwervon! and The Gossip.