Monday Club at The Cavern – 15th Anniversary
On Monday 20th July, Liverpool’s legendary Monday Club at The Cavern, celebrates its 15th anniversary – a remarkable milestone for what began as a modest six-week experiment in 2011 and has since grown into one of the UK’s most extraordinary and enduring live music institutions.
Founded and curated by Merseyside singer-songwriter Ian Prowse, the Monday Club has become a cultural cornerstone of Liverpool’s music scene and proof that only this city could make something like this thrive.
Strictly No Covers
The Monday Club launched with a strict and unusual ethos: all cover versions are strictly banned. From the very beginning, full bands were encouraged and catered for, as were poets, comedians, even a full four-hander play has graced its stage.
The club’s unwavering mission has always been to champion original songwriting, and in doing so it has nurtured a generation of Liverpool talent.
15,000 Performances
Fifteen years on, the results speak for themselves. Over 15,000 separate performances have taken place at the Monday Club. Every week the room is packed with people, poets and bands from all over the world, wanting to sing their songs at this now-famous institution.
It operates across generations and is particularly noted for the number of women who attend on their own – a testament to the safe, inclusive community Ian and his team have built.
A Testing Ground for Liverpool’s Best
Every young Liverpool band that has made a name for themselves in the past decade has used Monday Club as a testing ground. Red Rum Club came every Monday for a full year before launching themselves properly. Keyside, The Cheap Thrills and She Drew The Gun have all been regular attendees.
The club has also attracted celebrated names including Miles Hunt (The Wonder Stuff), Dr. Robert (The Blow Monkeys), Lee Mavers (The La’s), Guy Chambers (Robbie Williams), Ian McNabb (The Icicle Works), Nasher (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), Damien Dempsey, The Real People and Dan Donnelly (The Levellers).
The club’s reach has extended beyond Liverpool too, a memorable away performance at the International Bar in Dublin and a landmark takeover of the Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room for its 10th birthday celebrations showed this was no ordinary night out.
The Magic of Monday Night
From a 15-piece French Guyana choir to a performer who emerged from the toilet dressed as a silver space alien, the Monday Club has seen it all. But perhaps its most beloved tradition is the fulcrum of every single night: a song about a fight in a chippy over a sausage, written and performed by Barry Jones. As the entire room roars the chorus in unison, the bemused look on the faces of first-timers and tourists is, as Ian puts it, a joy to behold.
Monday Club has become far more than a gig night it’s a community and a resource for local musicians, a place where careers begin and friendships are forged. Liverpool is the only city in the country that could sustain a club like this, week in, week out, for fifteen years.
‘NO NAMES’ – THE NEW ALBUM
The 15th anniversary of Monday Club coincides with the release of Ian Prowse’s brand-new album ‘No Names’ (out 3rd July) featuring guests Elvis Costello, Steve Wickham, Damien Dempsey and Ian’s 14-year-old daughter Rosalita Prowse.
‘Ian doesn’t just sing of the here and now but also reaches back into the past for a passionate tale to tell, to sing of an injustice that might tell us something about today.’ Elvis Costello
‘Ian Prowse is a magnificent songwriter.’ Christy Moore
‘One of the UK’s most thrilling and underrated singer-songwriters.’ Record Collector