Colours, London

Typical Hoxton bar in a converted workshop. Emphasis on live music in large venue room at the back. Opened in the late 1990s, was operated by Barworks until 2013, when it was taken over by a small chain who also run several of the former Mean Fiddler music bars.

From Propel Aug 2019 - Bar and events company Mothership Group is set to relaunch Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen as Colours to inject a “much-needed vibrancy into Shoreditch’s music landscape”. Mothership, which also runs Shoreditch’s Queen Of Hoxton and The Book Club as well as Patterns in Brighton, will ally with fellow east London multi-art spaces Village Underground and EartH on programming. The new-look venue will host gigs, club nights and other cultural events while still operating as a restaurant during the day. Mothership said it hoped Colours would become an “incubator for invited local artists and creative networks, providing a free space for collaborators to host meetings, rehearsals and record podcasts”. Mothership head of events and marketing Chloe Uppington told Complete Music Update: “Colours will be a bold and beautiful temple of creativity and a celebration of live music. A testament to Hoxton’s past, which overflows with seminal moments across club, culture and the art scene, Colours is part of a dedicated push to keep young artists and musicians in east London.” Mothership acquired Hoxton Bar & Kitchen off previous owner MAMA in 2015 following the latter’s acquisition by Live Nation.