Blue Note Jazz Club boss says restrictive licensing laws are killing music after late licence refused
The boss of an iconic jazz bar says he’s been left “surprised” and “confused” after his late licence application for a London site was turned down, making him question support for live music in the capital.
Steven Bensusan – president of Blue Note Entertainment Group and son of the original Blue Note Cafe founder Danny Bensusan – told Sky News: “If they’re not giving us a late licence, I can’t imagine how they would be supportive of other smaller venues, which are important for the ecosystem in general.
“For music to survive and continue to thrive and grow, you need the feeder venues. They need the smaller venues, and you need the venues like the Blue Note. It’s important for the music.”
The planned venue at a former gym on St Martin’s Lane, Covent Garden, had been set to become the bar’s flagship European site.
The club had applied to Westminster City Council to remain open until 1am serving alcohol.
However, in February, the Met Police objected to the jazz club’s application over fears it could cause an “uptick in crime”.
Responding to the refusal, Mr Bensusan said: “In every city that we’ve ever opened the club they’ve rolled out the red carpet and really tried to go above and beyond and want us there because they realise that we’re good for the economy.
“We generate a lot of jobs and we bring not just nightlife but a cultural moment to the city. I’ve never experienced this before.”
Ezra Collective have played at Blue Note venues around the world. Pic: Michael Kusumadjaja
‘There seems to be a bigger problem’
Many of the capital’s nightlife venues have been struggling since the pandemic and Brexit, amid the cost of living crisis, rising rents and decreasing footfall.
Mr Bensusan says the rejection of his late licence highlights a bigger issue: “There seems to be a problem in general. A lot of music venues have closed over the years since COVID and they’re not coming back. Many people believe it has to do with a lot of restrictive policies like this.”
While Mr Bensusan has flagged the “more mature and respectful” nature of the jazz audience, police concerns seem to be around guests falling prey to crime rather than perpetrating it.
In their objection, the Met said jazz fans “leaving the venue late at night” could become a target for phone snatchers as well as illegal taxis who “prey on vulnerable, intoxicated lone females”.
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Local residents also urged councillors to limit the venue’s closing time to 11pm, with one saying they feared “inebriated” club visitors, “disorientated by their emergence into the cool night air” would be “immediately vulnerable to the gangs of criminals who already prey on similar groups of people in the Soho area”.
Mr Bensusan says a proposed closing time of 11.30pm would be “impossible”, and would not allow for musicians to play two sets per night.
He said he was also “a little confused” as to why the Blue Note was denied a 1am licence while others in the area had a later licence.
For comparison, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club just down the road in Soho has a licence up to 3am.
Mr Bensusan has now filed an appeal.
A change.org petition set up by a jazz fan in support of the club has so far attracted over 2,500 signatures.
Robert Glasper performing at Blue Note. Pic: Dervon Dixon
Plans to nurture emerging talent
The Blue Note site in London had proposed a 250-capacity main showroom “featuring legendary artists”, plus a smaller 100-capacity room to showcase emerging artists.
Mr Bensusan told Sky News: “There are so many great UK artists that we want to help build. I think we can do that given the platform that we have, and our ability to tour some of the artists to markets where we are around the world.”
Many UK artists who have played in the Blue Note clubs over the years, including Ezra Collective, Jamie Cullum and Nubya Garcia, have since found international success. Mr Bensusan says he wants “to help that continue to grow”.
He goes on: “Our goal is to focus on the best artists from around the world and give them the platform to play long runs. They’re not just coming to the city for a concert and then leaving. Typically, our runs go between four and six nights a week, for two shows per night.”
The original Blue Note Jazz Cafe opened in 1981 in New York City, and now has nine sister venues around the world including in Tokyo, Shanghai and Milan. A new venue in LA will open this summer.
Mary J Blige performing at Blue Note. Pic: Dervon Dixon
The bigger nightlife picture
A 2024 report from the Night Time Industries Association showed the UK night-time cultural economy was worth £33.3bn, down from £37.2bn in 2019.
The association says that over the past four years, the UK has lost 37% of its clubs, which works out at a rate of around 10 clubs per month.
And last year, City Hall was told by industry representatives that night venues were being pushed to the brink of closure due to issues including strict licensing laws.
In response, London mayor Sadiq Khan has set up a dedicated “nightlife taskforce”, made up of 11 independent industry professionals, to address issues facing the industry.
They will be advised by bodies including the Met Police and Transport For London.
In support of Blue Note’s renewed application, the Music Venue Trust said: “Having a new grassroots music venue in Westminster is extremely important both for a sense of community the venue brings to its local community and also the mental health benefits of being able to attend and enjoy grassroots music and arts.
“Through our engagement with West End Jazz Limited (Blue Note Jazz Club) we have viewed the proposals for the space which contain absolute commitments to grassroots live music programming.”
The next steps as to the future of the club should be known over the coming months.
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A Banksy artwork, where a glass police box looks like a tank of piranhas, has been moved into protective storage ahead of its display at the London Museum’s new location.
The artwork made headlines last summer when it featured as part of the street artist’s animal-themed collection in the capital, which concluded with a gorilla appearing to lift up a shutter on the entrance to London Zoo.
The piranhas piece is now in the care of the London Museum and will be kept in secure storage before it becomes accessible to the public as part of a permanent display at the museum’s Smithfield location, which is opening in 2026.
The artwork is moved from London’s Guildhall. Pic: PA
The police box had stood in Ludgate Hill since the 1990s before it was painted to resemble a fish tank.
The box was temporarily relocated by the City Of London Corporation to Guildhall Yard, where thousands of visitors viewed it from behind safety barriers, after Banksy confirmed he was responsible for the artwork.
It was later moved to Guildhall’s South Ambulatory.
Banksy’s London animals collection was made up of nine works including a rhino seemingly mounting a silver Nissan Micra, two elephant silhouettes with their trunks stretched out towards each other, and three monkeys that appeared as though they were swinging on a bridge.
Some of the works, which also included a howling wolf on a satellite dish, were removed, covered up or vandalised, after being painted across the city from 5 to 13 August 2024.
Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, said: “Banksy stopped Londoners in their tracks when this piece appeared in the Square Mile – and now, we’re making it available to millions.
“By securing it for London Museum, we’re not only protecting a unique slice of the City’s story, but also adding an artwork that will become one of the museum’s star attractions.”
The artwork after it first emerged. Pic: PA
Brendan Barns, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s culture, heritage, and libraries committee, said: “Banksy’s Piranhas are already part of City legend – and soon, they’ll be part of London’s story, too.
“Moving this piece into the care of London Museum guarantees that millions of people will be able to enjoy it, alongside an extraordinary collection that celebrates the capital’s creativity and diversity.”
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Glyn Davies, head of curatorial at London Museum, added: “With the arrival of Banksy’s Piranhas, our collection now spans from Roman graffiti to our first piece of contemporary street art.
“This work by one of the world’s most iconic artists now belongs to Londoners, and will keep making waves when it goes on show next year in the Museum’s new Smithfield home.”
London Museum’s London Wall site opened in 1976 and closed in December 2022 in preparation for the move to Smithfield.
London Museum Docklands remains open.
Taylor Swift has announced she is getting married to her NFL star boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
The pop star and Kansas City Chiefs tight end shared the news in a joint post on Instagram, with the caption: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
The announcement was liked more than 1.7 million times just over 30 minutes after it was posted.
Pic: Instagram / @taylorswift
Swift and Kelce started their relationship in 2023, after the three-time Super Bowl winner said on his podcast New Heights that he tried and failed to meet the singer at her Eras Tour concert in Kansas City.
Rumours grew that the couple were dating after Swift was spotted at a number of Chiefs games. On her seventh time in the stands, she brought her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, along.
Kelce told the Wall Street Journal in November 2023: “There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: ‘Yo! Did you know he was coming [to the Eras Tour]?’
“I had somebody playing Cupid… She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out.”
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From January: Taylor cheers on Travis after Chiefs win
Earlier this month, Swift appeared on Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, and announced her 12th album, titled The Life Of A Showgirl.
Speaking to Kelce and his brother Jason, Swift said it was inspired by the Eras Tour – and also talked about his attempt at meeting her two years ago.
While she said his plan to give her his number on a friendship bracelet was a “wild, romantic gesture,” she joked he “didn’t do any proper logistical planning” and thought he would be allowed backstage.
“Because he knows the elevator lady, he thought he could talk to her about just getting down to my dressing room,” she added. “That’s how it works in 1973.”
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The new album, which will be released on 3 October, marks her first release since she took back control over her entire back catalogue from private equity firm Shamrock Capital.
Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.
Despite rumours he would retire after losing this year’s Super Bowl, Kelce will play for the Kansas City Chiefs again this season.
He told GQ magazine his on-field performances “slipped a little bit” as he started acting, and added: “I’m just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.”
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