Vince Power has revived one of Camden Town’s best known venues

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WHEN timber merchant Mr TE Dingwall painted his name proudly across a canal-side warehouse, the Victorian businessman could never have fore­seen what a valuable and long-lasting addition to Camden Town he was making.

Now the concert venue in the building that once bore the Dingwalls name is returning – after its current owners settled a trademark wrangle over the moniker.

Four years ago, Dingwalls was on the market and music promoter and venue owner Vince Power stepped in.
Mr Power, who has run venues including the Mean Fiddler, The Jazz Cafe and the Garage, knew of Dingwalls’ history and reputation – and was delighted to take it on.

He explained to the New Journal: “When I bought the place, I thought the name came with it. That seemed a reasonable assumption, but soon after I was sent a letter from a person who had trademarked the name, saying she was happy to speak to me about it and was willing to discuss offers. I thought: what is there to discuss?”

The legendary promoter and concert venue owner was soon to find out. A former employee had set up a business at the dancehall and Dingwalls had become her intellectual property.

He said: “She told me she owned the name and wanted £100,000 to buy it back. That was a lot of money in anyone’s language.”

Mr Power decided the figure was far too high and instead made a counter offer of £10,000, which was rejected.

He said: “I left it at that. We got the venue open and used the name Powerhaus, after a venue we ran in Islington that was very successful.
“We’ve run it for more than three years as the Powerhaus and it works – but we still felt we should give the building the name it’s known for back if we could.”

Dingwalls marks its 50th anniversary this summer. In 1973, as the Lock markets took hold and attracted a new Bohemian crowd, demand was high for somewhere to let their hair down after a day on the stalls.

The answer was a new dancehall – called the name that it already proudly displayed.
Dingwalls has gone through various guises, guided by trends. As Punk developed the venue played host to the likes of The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Ramones.

Blondie made their UK debut there, Etta James and Desmond Dekker performed and more recent bands scrawling their names on dressing room walls include REM, Coldplay and Foo Fighters. DJ Giles Peterson ran a jazz and funk-orientated venue.

As the anniversary approaches – and this summer will see a host of famous names perform to mark the five decades of rock’n’roll – Mr Power returned to the issue of the name.

He said: “I called her back and offered her a significant sum. I was pleasantly surprised – she said yes.” He added the name was “too good” to be discarded over trademark wrangles.

He said: “Dingwalls has a long and illustrious history. Everybody played Dingwalls. When you look back, it has such a good name and there is a reason for that. It is important for the cachet it carries.

“And, to mark the 50th year, I thought I should have another go at getting the name back.”

It will mean a tweak to the branding on items such as flyers, websites and menus – but not so much on the exterior of the lockside venue.

Mr Power added: “The Dingwalls signs from the past are still here, so we are going to give them a lick of paint and a freshen-up.”

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