Venue Squaring up to continue legacy

By Chris Moss

FROM this year forward, July 4 should be remembered by music fans as the day The Square finally broke free from the farcical red-tape handcuffs imposed by County Hall bureaucrats.

It will be the day when the thriving local music community reclaims a missing part of its collective soul, scores a priceless victory over The Man and gives a two-fingered salute to the authorities who would have seen it marginalised for good.

Ever since Essex County Council bigwigs arbitrarily decided to slap a prohibitive age limit on entry to The Square, enforce a blanket alcohol ban and by so doing all but destroy 30 glorious years of musical heritage in a single stroke, the future of Harlow's beloved music venue had been clouded by doubt.

But thanks to the passion, dedication and sheer hard graft of an unassuming bunch of musicians, technicians and promoters, the venue is now stirring from its induced coma.

It won't be long before you can dust off your leathers, squeeze into your drainpipes and head down to Fourth Avenue for a tearful reunion with your first love - and (the horror, the horror!) even enjoy a pint or two while you're there.

"It's been a long time coming, but we're almost there, thank God," says a relieved Richard Holgarth, guitarist with legendary pub rockers Eddie & The Hot Rods and self-proclaimed spokesman for The SquareOne Partnership.

Nursing a pint in a Harlow pub following a public meeting on the progress of the takeover, he speaks candidly about the months of unnecessarily protracted negotiations with a bizarrely defiant county council.

"There was a point when we really thought this would never happen," he admitted. "But we all knew that we couldn't just sit back and watch The Square go under without putting up a fight.

"There's always going to be problems when the people making the decisions on the venue's future have never even seen the place, let alone been to a gig. With them, its all about bureaucracy and hitting targets - there's little understanding of the real importance of somewhere like The Square to the local community."

He's undoubtedly angry about the way County Hall has handled the takeover, and there's even more resentment over the fact the authority is now refusing to allow the county-funded Rock School to stay on at the venue on the grounds that alcohol will be available on the premises ("We've bent over backwards to accommodate them, but they're adamant that as long as alcohol is even on site they won't consider it"), but he is understandably more eager to talk about the future.

"We want The Square to become again what it once was. It's much more than just a music venue, it's a piece of musical history and it belongs to the town. It's always tried to cater for everyone and that's the way it will continue to be under our ownership.

"We'll be operating an open-door policy, catering for all ages and with no dress code. We believe no more in uniform dress than we do in uniform thinking and this is what has always made The Square a vibrant melting pot of cultures, fashions and social groups."

With some big names already in the pipeline, the new management is hoping The Square's reputation will help attract the top touring bands back to the venue whose stage has been graced by the likes of a little-known bunch called Oasis through to garrulous gutter punks The Libertines.

Sunday nights will be held over for the oldies and will feature some of the best tribute acts on the circuit, as well as reliable favourites such as Chas 'n' Dave and Richard's very own Eddie & The Hot Rods, while the bar will now open between noon-6pm on weekends, giving customers plenty of time to catch up on the drinking they've missed out on over the past year.

"We want to make it the hub of the community again," reasoned Richard. "The number of people who've started bands after meeting up in The Square is incredible; it's like this organic being that keeps feeding itself.

"You used to get people dropping in not so much because there was a band on they wanted to see but just because it was The Square and it was a great, relaxed place to have a drink and a game of pool - if you ended up enjoying the music, it was a bonus. We want to bring all that back, but make it bigger and better."

And as current Square employee and SquareOne partner Steve Harcourt points out, no-one in the new management set-up will be drawing a wage - all profits will be ploughed straight back into the venue.

"We won't be giving up our day jobs, that's for sure!" he said. "This is about our passion to keep the venue alive for the benefit of everyone in the town who appreciates live music.

"Ultimately, the future of The Square will be up to the people of Harlow themselves - without their continued support, we won't survive."