By Mark Tavender
Stroll down Tanners Bank towards the Fish Quay and you could easily miss it; nestled under The Wheel House (great coffee and cake!) is one of the best independent music venues and bars in the North East. It’s a little gem of a place called The Engine Room.
I’ve come to have a chat with its co-owner, Mark Elliott, about his passion for promoting bands and live music.
As we settle down with a beer, Mark tells me his love for live music was ignited when he went to see T Rex supported by The Damned at City Hall in 1977. He reels off other iconic bands he saw during his informative years – he talks about Joy Division and Buzzcocks being on the same bill, seeing bands like Magazine and The Jam and a story about members of The Rezillos trying to pull him and his mate through a window at ‘The Poly’ (they were underage) so they could get into the gig (they didn’t make it unfortunately).
Fast forward 20 odd years and his passion is still as strong as ever, regularly attending gigs to see bands. He began to get to know others involved in promoting and putting on events and decided to try his hand at it.
His first experience with promoting came when he realised that one of his favourite bands at the time, The Strange Boys, a garage rock band from America were on a UK tour but weren’t playing at any North East venue. They had just signed to Rough Trade so he approached the band – ‘on Myspace I think!’ – and put them on at The Other Rooms in Newcastle.
Mark was becoming well connected in the local area and a number of bands approached him asking for his help to manage or promote them and raise their profile and he was more than happy to oblige.
I feel compelled to point out here that there was no real money to be made – this was and continues to be a labour of love for him, a hobby taken to its extreme.
He has promoted and staged some well known British acts too – Public Service Broadcasting being his first big name band. It was their track ‘Spitfire’ from The War Room EP that prompted him to contact them about putting on a gig at The Cluny. They obliged and Mark made sure they were supported by a local band he was managing at the time called The Watchers. He also promoted gigs with them in Middlesbrough and Wakefield, which all sold out!
Mark has even managed to promote and put on gigs for one of his favourite bands, Sea Power (formerly British Sea Power). More recently he has promoted the fantastic Lust For Life (featuring Katie Puckrik, Clem Burke, Glen Matlock and others) and the Don Letts’ Celebrating Subcultures shows at The Exchange in North Shields.
[tds_partial_locker tds_locker_id=”100″]It isn’t always plain sailing though; in addition to managing bands and putting on gigs, Mark has a full time job and the usual family commitments which require a lot of juggling. Mark tells me that it’s all worth it when it pans out as planned; a sold out venue, a sense of unity and bringing people together to enjoy the same thing.
Yet it doesn’t always work out that way – he recalls how he put on a band called ‘The Strange Death Of Liberal England’ (what a name for a band!) and hardly a soul turned up – the venue hire still had to be paid, as well as the band themselves – all out of his own pocket. Putting on bands, hiring venues, and promoting bands is a very time consuming and costly business and although Mark could often break even, he would lose out financially quite regularly. As Mark says ‘Promoters have always been the ones to take risks, and they often lose out.’ In spite of all of that, it hasn’t stopped him – his passion for live music is as strong as ever.
In 2019 an opportunity came along to open up his own venue in North Shields. By this time he was managing a band called The Middens (they went on to form local legends Hector Gannet) whose lead singer and guitarist, Aaron, also has The Wheel House coffee bar on Tanners Bank. Recognising the need for a small music venue in the area and the potential to run it himself, Mark and Aaron’s father, Graeme, set about refurbishing and redeveloping the space beneath The Wheelhouse into a music venue and bar. Naming the venue was straightforward – continuing with the nautical theme of The Wheel House above it, calling it The Engine Room was a no brainer. Step inside and you’ll notice that the nautical theme fits perfectly – the place is adorned with maritime memorabilia. Of particular note is the old sign from a once iconic shop that was located on The Fish Quay but is sadly no longer there. ‘Wights’ was a shop that I’m sure locals will remember fondly – the signage had been left in a skip but was saved and it now adorns one of the walls inside as a nod to the Fish Quay’s recent history.
Finally, Mark was co-owning and running his own music venue – with a capacity of 60 and a bar stocking local beers he was raring to go but this was early 2020 and we all know what happened next.
Not to be deterred, he thought outside the box and put on some live shows that were streamed online – it was essential that he was still able to highlight the new venue and promote it as a venue. Local acts such as Hector Gannet, Nev Clay and Ben Holland all helped out and put on fantastic acoustic sets that can still be viewed online.
The Engine Room as a music venue has, thankfully, managed to continue despite the obstacles Mark and his colleagues have faced. It’s important to remember that it is not only a music venue; The Engine Room regularly hosts spoken word evenings, music festivals, and record fairs – and it is a bar in its own right, stocking local beers and other drinks – a perfect place to stop on your way to or from The Fish Quay.
The people of North Shields are extremely fortunate that what is essentially a passionate hobby for Mark means that we can enjoy regular local live music and other events. It is still a labour of love for him – he and his business partner often work behind the bar, with a friendly word for everyone who pops in. Bands and other artists love performing there – it’s a very up close and personal experience.
It is absolutely vital that The Engine Room, and independent venues like it, continue to operate and the way to ensure that is to use it. There’s plenty to look forward to in the coming weeks and months so make some time to pop in whether it’s for a chat and a beer (there’s a lovely sun trap to enjoy outside when the weather’s good!) or a live act.
You can check out what’s happening here:
The Engine Room
The Old Maltings
Tanners Bank
North Shields
NE30 1JH
