Over recent times The Rainbow pub in Digbeth has risen to prominence as the shining beacon on the Birmingham nightlife landscape. Since being transformed from a sleepy Victorian Irish boozer in 2003, The Rainbow has built up a cult like following with its individual blend of good music, cool people and unique surroundings and has fast developed into an independently organised empire for the musically minded. Once The Rainbow pub was firmly established on the musical map and regularly packed to the rafters, it became obvious expansion was necessary. First came The Rainbow Warehouse, then The Street and now the latest in the spectacular line of Rainbow Venues, to be known as “Cellar Door“.
One year ago The Rainbow was handed a noise abatement order, prompted by complaints about its stylish sounds shaking a nearby residential development. The future looked bleak for the popular venue, but the public took up the fight. Within 10 days 22,000 people had signed up to a Save The Rainbow Facebook group (indicative of the emotion the venue stirs) – newspaper editorials covered the story almost daily, BBC TV Inside Out scheduled a programme on the subject and BBC Breakfast broadcast live to the nation from inside The Rainbow. Locally based 60 million record selling UB40 performed a fundraising concert at The Rainbow Warehouse to ‘Raise the Roof’ – with proceeds enabling a sound insulating roof to be installed, which prevented further council action. Many would see the post abatement era as a time to consolidate and reflect, but that is not the Rainbow way.
The English compound noun “cellar door” has often been used in films and literature as an example of a word or phrase which is beautiful in terms of phonoaesthetics (sound) with no regard for semantics (meaning), and that synopsis applies just as aptly to the venue. How do you get more underground than The Rainbow? Only one way – turn the cellar into a venue. The Cellar Door opened on May 28 2010 and is under the very floorboards of the The Rainbow itself. True to form, Cellar Door provides yet another stylish modern urban venue which is indicative of the ethos which it represents.
The original Rainbow now consists of Bar, Courtyard and Cellar each delivering a specific flavour to the overall taste of this unique venue. With The Warehouse just a few steps further down Adderley Street, The Rainbow provides a unique portfolio of venues that it is incomparable to any other in the UK. This has earned The Rainbow a reputation that has seen artists such as Grammy award winner Joss Stone, mercury nominee La Roux and The Prodigy to name but three, chose to gig there above more established yet more homogeneous venue chains.
Landlord Kent Davis is now confident the pub can now play a significant role in supporting a “Birmingham scene”.
He recently said in The Birmingham Post: “We have completely gutted it and put about £150,000 investment into developing the space, and it looks fantastic.” “We are keen to develop a Birmingham scene, a bit like Manchester had its Hacienda and Liverpool had the Cavern Club. “It is our responsibility to provide the venues where this can happen.”
With future venues The Mezzanine and The Arena on the way, The Rainbow Complex will soon contain 9 separate venues on the same street that can be utilised for events of 200-5000 in isolation, or can combined by way of pre agreed road closures to create a unique self contained Urban complex for up to 10,000 people which is licensed until 6am. This is unprecedented anywhere else in the UK. Some are saying The Rainbow is now the best underground music venue in the UK, and I for one do not disagree with that statement. The Rainbow looks set to provide a haven of for the musical masses for the foreseeable future and we will keep you up to date with their charge to the top.
Line BreakAuthor: Andy Ball (215 Articles)
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