Vince Power at his new venue

THE thirst to watch a live band this summer will be “almost unquenchable”, according to the legendary music promoter Vince Power.

Mr Power, who is set to reopen the former Dingwalls venue in Camden Lock under the name Powerhaus next month, bought the venue last year but has yet to be able to put on a live act in the famous, 500-capacity dancehall. He had expected to open the venue last year, but Covid lockdowns meant he has had to delay.

Mr Power said: “You could call it madness, taking in a venue at the moment, but I think of this as a vote of confidence in Camden. I am a one-trick pony – running venues and promoting music is all I know.

“I can’t go back to labouring like I did as a young man, anyway.”

The Powerhaus’s outside terrace bar has recently been trading again, while two other areas are due to open later this month, with social distancing in place.

The jewel in its crown – the ground-floor concert hall whose stage has been graced by the likes of Blondie, Ian Dury, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Coldplay – will welcome back punters on June 21, with a special guest set to be announced later this week.

Mr Power said: “The place will be based around live music and DJs. We believe the opening show will sell out in minutes, such is the demand.”

The reopening of the club, under the stewardship of the founder of the Mean Fiddler Music Group, offers hope that a sector under intense pressure can bounce back.

Mr Power said: “Many venues have been in trouble. It’s often the case smaller ones are run on passion. There’s not a lot of money in it. We do it because we love music. But it’s clear we are needed, now more than ever.”

SEE ALSO SUGGS: ‘PROTECT THE MAGIC CAMDEN VENUES WHICH GAVE BANDS THEIR BREAK’

The entertainment and hospitality sectors were hit hard by the lockdowns, Mr Power said, adding: “A lot of smaller venues were left out at first when the government started thinking about helping. “We found ourselves at the back of the queue. It is easy to be critical of this, but it felt everyone was making it up as they went along. No one had been faced with this situation before.”

Mr Power has given his new concert hall some test-runs with events being streamed – “it was so nice to see a band on stage even without an audience,” he said – and is excited to finally be able to see people enjoying shows.

He said: “We have to come out of this some time and now would be good – in the summer, when you can have festivals outside in the fresh air. It is positive for everyone’s mental health, but there has to be the right balance.”

Mr Power recalled how as a 16-year-old with a penchant for Elvis and country music he travelled from Waterford, Ireland, to London. He worked in the furniture trade before moving into the music industry.

His venues have included Harlesden’s Mean Fiddler, Kentish Town’s Forum, The Jazz Cafe in Camden Town, The Powerhaus and The Garage in Islington.

He said: “I just loved music as a youngster. I used to go and see the show bands on tour and I was desperately disappointed to find out they were cover bands, tribute acts, not the original performers. When I was 15, I’d go to ballrooms in Waterford to listen to music, and that continued when I came here.”

Mr Power said the new Powerhaus would not fix on any one genre but offer something different across the venue’s bars. He said: “I am hoping just to make it open for all kinds of music, all types of people.”