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All the lonely people. Where do they all belong? Decades later, we've got an answer for Macca: Feeling Gloomy, a club night that champions miserablist indie and gloom pop while laughing itself stupid – sort of like tickling Robert Smith of The Cure with a feather duster, if you will. Ahead of the night’s tenth birthday this weekend, founder Carl Hill (pictured above with Jarvis cocker) muses on its popularity and dishes the goss on some of the more well-known faces that have got their gloom on over the years, including Jarvis, The Fass, Brett Anderson of Suede, Olivia Coleman and many more.
‘Feeling Gloomy started as an idea about the uplifting power of sad music. It’s always represented the awkward squad, the bloody minded; after all who in their right mind comes to a night that promises only sad music? It was a reaction to the fairly bland scene at the time, which was all about supposed glamour and plastic tiaras. We were more kitchen sink and rubber Marigolds and I think that’s why it struck a chord. We had handed out tea and sandwiches and had an air guitar group that mimed to Morrissey – it was pre-all-this-ironic-stuff that goes on now, we just did anything we felt like.
‘If The Gloom stands for anything, it’s blowing a raspberry at the rest of the world. We'll never be trendy, we don't want to be and I think that’s why we’ve lasted a decade. The outlook and humour are truly British, which makes it very odd that we’ve taken it to Paris, Berlin and New York – it’s been in NYC for six years and counting.
‘Musically, we like to roam around a bit. There's a lot of doleful indie, but Dolly and Elvis fans are also served, and the whole place becomes a joyous mess when Kate Bush gets dropped. Over the years we've had a lot of famous faces through the doors both performing and as guests. Michael Fassbender, Jarvis Cocker, Matt Berry… They've all come and tried to steal my beer at some point, the bastards. The real stars, though, are the people who have come for years. Some are very protective of the night, they’ll let you know if you betray the principles of Gloom. It’s a bit like a cult, as once you’re in you never get out. Come and join us, the Kool-Aid is very good!'
Feeling Gloomy's Tenth Anniversary Party is at The Phoenix, W1G 0PP, on Saturday. See more celebs getting their gloom on and read more about the night here.