The Luminaire
The Luminaire was a live music venue on Kilburn High Road in north west London, UK. It opened on 1 March 2005 in what was a nightclub called Late, above McGovern's Pub and The Kilburn Bar. Its last public show was 7 March 2011.
It was co-founded by John Donnelly, a publican from Ireland, and Andy Inglis, a Scot. Donnelly had previously had a minor role in CHiPs, the American television programme, as well as a number of Steven Seagal films before moving back to London and becoming involved in the music business. Donnelly, who played for Arsenal reserves before a leg injury finished his career, lives with Siobhan Fahey, a member of Bananarama. He was previously engaged to writer Zadie Smith. Donnelly came in second place at "The Living Statue" awards in Montreal in 2007.
Inglis (rhymes with tingles) was formerly a band and record label manager. The most notable bands he managed, between 2000 and 2002, were Utah Saints, Wet Wet Wet and Travis. He has a close friendship with fellow Scots Sean Connery and Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead. Inglis has spent increasing time in Norway over the past few years and occasionally lectures at the University of Oslo.
The venue name was inspired by a bar called Lit, in the Lower East Side, New York City. It was voted as Time Out Magazine's London Venue of The Year in 2006[1] and as Music Week's UK Venue of The Year in 2007,[2] primarily because of its positive attitude to both artist and audience.[3]
In a newsletter to their email database on 24 November 2010, The Luminaire announced their closure:
"It is with sadness that we have to announce the closure of The Luminaire and The King's Head on 1st January 2011. It's been a labour of love for a while now, and at this point it makes no sense for us to continue. We hope to be able to do some final farewell shows, probably in late March, and we'll let you know about those through the usual channels. To all of you - who supported this independent venue, and the great artists who played here, since we opened back on 1st March 2005 - you have our grateful thanks.
We were nothing without you."
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Coordinates: 51°32′39″N 0°12′04″W / 51.5442°N 0.2010°W