New Slang Kingston’s 6th birthday ft. King Charles

New Slang was born from one of those rarities, an independent record shop. Banquet records is one of the few still in existence and puts on a wealth of events and gigs across Kingston. Moulded to bring fantastic live music to the South London town, New Slang is focused on the indie genre. So who better to have play your birthday than King Charles, indie god?

New Slang started out in The Works. After the club closed down, it moved to nearby McCluskys nightclub. When The Works re-opened as The Hippodrome, the night relocated back and after a two-year stint there, has returned to McCluskys – OK, so they bed-hop; everything indie does, right? We for one are very happy to see them back at McCluskys. Although the venue is not famed for its alternative and indie music, it is a much better live venue and creates a real atmosphere. With low ceilings and a wide scope of view, it is perfect for mass viewing and intimate gigs, getting sweaty and having a good time. Over the six years New Slang has been in existence, it has played host to giants including: The Vaccines, Friendly Fires, Metronomy, The Maccabees, Foals, Pete Doherty, Two Door Cinema Club and so many more. With dedicated DJs always pumping out the finest indie beats in between and after bands play, a great night is always certain.

You can’t have a party with only one band. The Heartbreaks, Terrible Eyes and The Lagan also played, with the clear highlight being The Heartbreaks whose performance got everyone too cool to dance, moving about in their own quirky ways. Their unique “cool” is wonderfully refreshing amongst a wealth of  bands who would rather copy each other than do something new that they believe in. The Heartbreaks are hopeless romantics and it shows in their emotive performances; it is like watching a band smiling while bleeding out on stage. King Charles delivered above and beyond. His energy and charisma are always hard to ignore and he was definitely not missing them on this occasion. Love Lust was his most obvious crowd pleaser; with the entire crowd singing back at him, it was quite a moving performance. Other great songs were new release Bam Bam and The Ivory Road, but in fact they were all great. A true performer, King Charles never disappoints and if you have never seen him, you should.

Over the six years, New Slang has never failed to put on a fantastic show. Every Thursday, Kingston is electrified by fantastic acts. With a dedicated customer base, there are always friendly faces to be found and it is a great place to meet real music enthusiasts. If it were not for the dedicated Banquet Records team, the South London music scene would be a darker place, as they also help launch new and upcoming artists. Our hats go off to the wonder makers of indie music and we wish them many more great years to come. 

In addition to New Slang, Banquet Records also runs D.A.N.C.E, New Noise and Repeater which support dance music, alternative rock, and drum and bass, respectively. As if that wasn’t enough, the far too motivated chaps also put on in-store gigs to support their record store which is located at 52 Eden Street, Kingston. 

Verdict: ••••

Ruth Page

For more information on New Slang events, visit the website.

For Banquet Records click here, and for King Charles click here.

Watch King Charles’ Love Lust here