Allo Darlin special Sunday 11 December

Like scarlet fever and Noel Edmonds, there's no getting rid of the Hangover Lounge. We're back at the Water Rats from midday to 7pm on Sunday 11 December, right before and right by the final Allo Darlin gig.

This event is for Allo Darlin fans to congregate before the gig. Things you can do there:

• eat (all-day breakfasts, brunches and Sunday roasts are available)
• listen to great music (it'll be low key, because that's what we do, and we know some of you might have been at the Saturday night gig and feeling a little fragile)
• chat with like-minded folks

Allo Darlin will be there for a while, so this is your chance to tell them how much you love them and get records signed and selfies taken.

It's all free (apart from the food) but Bill Botting will probably charge you £1 for a photo or an autograph. Nothing we can do about that, but you could try haggling.

There's a facebook event.

The Last Lounge: Sunday November 20

After 8.5 years the final curtain is coming down. Yes, we’ve climbed every mountain and forded every stream. More importantly, we’ve made some lifelong friends and released some fantastic records by brilliant bands.

One of the things we’ve done that we’re most proud of is put on dozens of gigs. So we’re putting 6 (SIX) bands on for our last fandango. Think of Sunday November 20 as less of another nail in the coffin of 2016, a shitty year without doubt, and more of a chance to celebrate with friends and great music.

So come out and watch this lot see us out in style:

Birdie

They’re masters of Left Banke psych and Laura Nyro pop. They stopped in 2001. We persuaded them to reform and play again. They did several times for us and even recorded a new song that we released. Birdie have to play the final Hangover Lounge. So they are.

Darren Hayman

Darren’s been a regular attendee, played many gigs for us, released a record on our label and even designed a Hangover Lounge poster. We like to think that after years at the business end of the music industry, he rediscovered that you can do a club, release records and promote gigs for love not money. “It was a brilliant thing. You created so many connections. I know so many people through the Hangover Lounge. Thank you.”

Oslo House

It’s been an absolute delight to put on so many brilliant new bands. So let’s carry on that tradition at the last Lounge. Oslo House’s Plateau is one of 2016’s great debuts, especially if you think Woods-style psych and Feelies jangle is great. We definitely do.

Hacia Dos Veranos

We released their album Limay. One day it’ll get full-page features in magazines calling it a lost classic. It’s a classic alright. The Clientele’s Alasdair Maclean said: "Their guitarist is a maestro: economical, precise, lyrical. His rolling, arpeggiated style will remind you of Felt’s Maurice Deebank or Vini Reilly, but he also possesses a faint echo of Johnny Marr, in that for all his sense of space and harmony he’s playing tunes first and foremost."

Woodpigeon

Aka Mark Hamilton, who specialises in "sad words wrapped in pretty pop music". Recent album Trouble is their best yet - baroque folk by way of Fleetwood Mac that sidles up to Roxy Music for a record about rhythm and sex and sadness.

Whoa Melodic

This is the latest musical moniker for Michael Wood, who’s just released his first single, Hey Hey My Reflection. If you like timeless, gentle, breezily melancholy folk pop, along the lines of Badly Drawn Boy, the Lilac Time, M Craft or even Squeeze this will be right up your street. Of course you’ll recognise Michael from Adekola Sound, the Hayman Kupa Band, Singing Adams, and helping make the Leaf Library such a great live act.

Beer mats. No, not a band. Our Tim has made superb Hangover Lounge beer mats over the last 5 years. He’s got some especially good new ones for this occasion. First come, first served.

Venue: Betsey Trotwood.

Doors open at 2pm. First band on at 3pm. It's free. Children are welcome.

Allo Darlin free gig Sunday December 20

Allo Darlin, or half of them in the form of Elizabeth Morris and Paul Rains, are returning to the Hangover Lounge on Sunday December 20. 

Fresh from 2 gigs the day before, the hardest working band in indiepop are playing an afternoon gig at 3pm at the Betsey Trotwood.

It's free to get in, so get there in good time to catch this intimate performance. If you've seen any of their previous gigs for us, you know how special they are. Here's a reminder, or a taster, of them playing Europe at the Lounge Allo Darlin' - "Europe" at The Lexington, London, 27 May 2012

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This Sunday: November 8th 2015

Headline: this Sunday, November 8th, we'll be having a Hangover Lounge at the Betsey Trotwood, from 3pm to 9pmish, as usual. It'll be us quietly playing brilliant records, hanging out and having a pleasingly relaxed time.

Bit more detail: we'd planned to host a launch do for our friend Michael White's Popkiss book about the history and aftermath of Sarah Records, which was to feature some Sarah-related groups playing live. Sadly, we have had to postpone that event, which we hope to host sometime early in 2016. So Sunday's a Hangover Lounge, pop along anyway, and if you want to talk to someone about Sarah Records there'll surely be someone there who'll chat to you about them. 

As I understand it, the Q&A at Rough Trade East on Thursday 5th is going ahead, so do pop along for that. 

If you're wondering what is going to happen to the Hangover Lounge in the longer term, well, we're not completely sure at this point. We'll use Sunday to gauge how much interest there's likely to be in a Betsey-based Lounge without live bands (all our afternoons there so far, which have been fun, have had groups playing). And then we'll have a little think. We'll let you know ASAP. 

The next four weeks in full

So! Four more Hangover Lounges until we leave the Lexington for pastures new. Gotta catch 'em all. Or at least some - please come along at some point to say cheerio for now and help us celebrate the end of an era.

Over the next month or so we'll be posting up some reflections and some thanks from the last six years.

Here are the details.

Sunday August 16th: the final Stolen Wine at the Hangover Lounge at the Lexington, though all being well not the last Stolen Wine at the Hangover Lounge because we're a TEAM now:

Sunday August 23rd: guest DJ Alan Hake, an old friend of ours who has excellent stories to tell about Creation Records, amongst other things:

Sunday August 30th: Tim's last Lexington bow, he* can't be with us on the 6th, so it's time for the Lexington to hear that Rita Lee record with the duck noises in one last time. Maybe two last times. 

Sunday September 6th: this is it, and we're going out in style with the last installment in our Gare du Nord residency, which has been pretty effing stellar so far. This one promises to be just as amazing and we wouldn't want that to be missed in the kerfuffle of our departure.

It's a ridiculously strong bill: if you know the Hangover Lounge you surely know about Rotifer and the Left Outsides: they are both long-term friends and comrades of ours, as well as being brilliant in their own right. They are joined for this show by a genuine enigmatic legend, John Howard. Just in case you're uninitiated, here's a taste of John's work:

And that's that, for a bit.

 The rest is noise.

*If you're reading carefully you'll probably be able to see that "he" is actually writing this, so that's a bit weird, but you get the idea.

Big news: last days at the Lexington

WHAT? The time has come! After a very happy six and a bit years at the Lexington, we will be moving. 

Where? We're not sure yet, we're working on it. There's a chance that we'll re-think the hours or the format or something but we will be back, rocking gently with sweet sounds and occasional amazing live acts. 

When's all this happening? 

The last Lexington Lounge will be Sunday 6th of September. Here's the plan: 

This Sunday (16th August) will be the last Stolen Wine at the Hangover Lounge at the Lexington. To prove it, here's a flyer: 

Then we've a couple of old-fashioned Hangover Lounge Sunday afternoons on the 23rd and 30th. The 30th, it turns out, is a Bank Holiday Sunday, which promises to be epic and possibly rather messy. 

On September the 6th itself our farewell will coincide with the last date in our Gare du Nord summer residency. So mark such a momentous occasion it became clear that we needed TWO flyers, look:

After that we've a couple of one-off events planned, probably at our new home, more of which very soon. Stay tuned for news of them, and confirmation of our new permanent home. 

Why's all this happening? 

The Lexington has big plans for live music in the downstairs bar on Sunday afternoons, which I'm sure they'll tell you all about by and by. There isn't really any room for Hangover Lounging in those plans, so we're moving on with no hard feelings and plenty of happy memories. And a few blank patches where happy memories may have been, but beer and whiskey washed them away. 

Having a party with the Hangover Lounge

Would you like 10% off your drinks bill? Or a free bottle of fizz?

Well, you can have that at the Lexington. If you book a table over the summer you'll get 10% off your drinks bill. If you book a table for 15 or more people you'll get a free bottle of fizz.

Book by email info@thelexington.co.uk or phone 020 7837 5371

The Lexington opens at noon on Sunday and closes at 2am. We're DJing from 3pm to 9pm. See you there.