More about: Vince Power

Camden is one of the busiest areas in London. The place seems to move simultaneously at the speed of sound and a snail’s pace as tourists and locals make their way past colourful corner shops, bars and canals. Food from all over the world fills your nostrils as you turn to go into the market and planted amongst those smells, those tourists, shops, bars and locals is the newest venue owned by Vince Power: Powerhaus (formerly knowns as Dingwalls).

“Please grab a drink, take a seat and I’ll be over in a minute,” Vince says, taking a moment from his meeting to welcome me. He wears a white shirt and navy-blue mac whilst engaged in a conversation that looks more important than anything I’ve ever been a part of in my entire life. I head over to the bar and grab a tonic water, to which the bartender tells me they only serve gin and tonic, taking too much pride in his joke as he adds ice and a slice to my glass.

Waiting for Vince, there is a sense of community mixed in the newly renamed Powerhaus. It’s full despite it been midday, the music plays a mix of modern and classic and the people there are happy. The love for the place is most likely a reflection of Vince’s love for what he does and how he puts that into his venues. There is an openness and familiarity that he reels off which makes even the most exciting of stories with the biggest of names sound equivalent to reciting a shopping list.

“He was a little bit drunk,” he tells me when talking about Johnny Cash playing a gig he was putting on one day, “and ended up having a row on stage with the family”. I ask him what the row was over. “I couldn’t tell you,” he says, “I think it was just too much drink. I remember one of the family ran out into the alleyway of the Fiddler so someone had to go after her because it wasn’t a great place to be in the middle of the night. We had to have one of our doormen take her back to Knightsbridge. Cash is still great though”.

Johnny Cash is just one of the big names that Vince has worked with since leaving the furniture world and moving into the music business. “I was doing well in furniture but I didn’t have a love for it,” he says, “I decided to go to Nashville for a week and that’s where the Mean Fiddler was born. Some of the venues out there, you’re just spitting sawdust and everyone is having a good time, I became kind of hooked on that.”

The venue started with a focus on country music but that changed as Vince moved further away from his own music taste. “The first band we had was a Scottish band from Glasgow. They played country, this is when I thought it was going to be a country venue. We ended it been just that by booking The Pogues,” this was a decision that a lot of people welcomed but not everyone, “we had a country DJ and he made a speech saying it was his last Friday there because we were having the Pogues in. All of the Pogues fans cheered and our DJ left that night. That was the change really.”

Since that night Vince has worked with near enough every big name in music. I ask him if he has any favourites and he pulls out a list of acts which reads like a who’s who of classics. “Looking through it’s very hard”. New Order. The Pogues. Pixies. “It reads like a fiction really”. Iggy Pop. James. Neil Young. “It’s amazing the amount of venues we’ve had”. Prince. Bob Dylan. Scissor Sisters. “The amount of artists”. Prodigy. Gorillaz. Primal Scream. “We just take it all bit by bit”.

To celebrate 40 years of the Mean Fiddler, Powerhaus put on a number of shows throughout December. 40 years is a long time and during it, Vince has been no stranger to both ups and downs. It begs the question, if he could go back in time, catch himself toe tapping to that Scottish country band, would he pass on any advice or do anything differently? The quick answer: no.

“I’ve learnt a hell of a lot since then but I still have the same ideas if I was to do it all again,” he said, “I say to my children, you’ve got to be fearless and brave about it. You might lose money, but you’ll gain experience. You’ve got to believe in yourself”.

Vince seems excited about the 40^th year anniversary, almost as if greeting the shows in the same way he always has, with optimism, excitement and a genuine love for what he does. He tells me that I need to get myself down to a show and gives me his number for when I come. Seeing him get this excited about gigs 40 years after initially beginning his career in music sparks one more question.

“Will you ever stop?” I ask, to which he laughs and responds honestly.

“They always say to me ‘when are you going to retire?’ and I always say, ‘when I’m six months dead’”.

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More about: Vince Power