A CAFE in Leamington that has become a hotspot for live music – attracting the likes of Chris Difford from the Squeeze – is launching its own record label.
Temperance, on Bath Street, was opened by Adrian Gains in 2018 as a café and art gallery by day, and a bar and music venue by night.
It quickly established itself as a hub for creativity and a space to showcase local talent, expanding to National Theatre Live, film, spoken word and comedy nights, as well as serving vegan food and drink.
But it was help offered during the pandemic which really saw the music side of the business take off.
When the hospitality industry took a hit during Covid-19, Adrian was offered guidance from Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.
Working with Chamber business advisor Sarah Humphreys, Adrian was given one-to-one support and training to help raise the profile of the café, enhance his website, and market the range of eclectic events it hosts.
As a result, Adrian has seen his events space boom – attracting artists close to home and as far away as Australia, as well as famous faces including ex-Dr. Feelgood guitarist Steve Walwyn, Jo Boden from Bellowhead, Horace Panter from The Specials and Chris Difford from Squeeze. Former Radio 1 DJ Andy Kershaw is also a big fan.
And Adrian is now taking the next step to launch his own record label ‘Temperance Live’.
He said: “It’s really exciting. We have a great technical set-up and superb sound engineer and our reputation is growing fast.
“We can now offer musicians the opportunity to record their amazing live performances and get them heard by a much wider audience. We’ll have live sessions released on platforms such as Bandcamp and will be selling CDs.
“We are keen to support up and coming musicians and already offer our venue as a free rehearsal space. Now we can also record their music and help them get it played on radio. Live music played to a live audience. We have waited a long time for that.
“Anybody who comes here always says the sound and acoustics are fantastic, and since we’ve been recording more and more musicians are wanting to play here.”
Adrian bought his Grade-II listed building in 2016 and spent two years refurbishing it, with Covid presenting an opportunity to freshen up the look with a new PA system, seating and lighting.
Prior to Temperance, he worked as a management consultant and with charities based in London, but Adrian – who is originally from the West Midlands – now feels at home with his multi-use café venue, and even hopes to expand to other sites in the future.
