UK Edition
England’s empty churches to host series of pop and rock concerts
For centuries, they have been filled with congregations singing hymns to send spirits soaring.
Now, empty churches are to be be filled with the sound of pop, rock and folk music, in a bid to make them the centres of the community once again.
Dave Stewart, of the Eurythmics, has partnered with the Churches Conservation Trust to bring a series of concerts to England’s historic churches, aiming to “repurpose England’s most venerated and historic buildings for their original purpose: the creation and celebration of music”.
The first stage of the project, entitled Church Keys, saw Stewart, Chris Difford, and Nik Kershaw perform at All Saints’ Church at Langport, near Glastonbury last week.
The Lake Poets, the folk-pop band, will take up the baton for the next gig before the project is spread across the country, in churches that are no longer in regular use by parishioners.
Loyd Grossman, chairman of the Churches Conservation Trust, said the buildings would remain consecrated, with “sacred buildings having a different feeling to just a secular building”.
He told the Telegraph: “In order to ensure the future of these buildings we want to make them what they used to be, when the parish church was the hub of the community.
“Wherever you go, usually the parish church is going to be the most impressive, beautiful, inspirational building, and we want to make sure that communities use and love these buildings.
“Music and churches are just so closely intertwined, whether it’s sacred music or pop music is almost irrelevant because these are such great venues and the music brings people together.”
Stewart said the project reflected his love of restoring empty buildings on the verge of “rack and ruin” to their former glory.
He has previously bought and fixed up a derelict church in Crouch End, London, turning it into a recording studio with Annie Lennox, and repurposed an old hospital for what is not the Hospital Club.
“I think it’s built in me to see old buildings and think: there should be loads of people having creative fun in there,” he said. “Music is a kind of spiritual thing anyway.”
Speaking over the phone from LA, Stewart said he hoped the project would also help up-and-coming bands get live gigs, in an era where few people pay for records and new acts struggle to make money.
He added: “A lot of it is to introduce new artists as well because they have such a hard time.
“There used to be a simple route, which was to play in your local town, make a recording, and then people bought it – which is a rarity now – and that allows you to move and play. Often for a band to play now it costs them money.
“I can’t think of a better way to bring the community together to celebrate these historic churches than with music.”
Church performances are now planned in selected venues across the country, including Colchester, Cambridge, Blackburn, Lancaster, Kings Lynn and a candlelit show in York.