Ripped this straight from the press release, much missed and a sad loss…….
Join us to celebrate Twenty Years Of Trouble with many of the bands responsible for Fortuna POP!’s untimely demise. Everything’s ending here.
Five Day Festival Pass guaranteeing entry to all shows – £55
Advance tickets – http://www.wegottickets.com/f/10555
Wed 22 March – MOTH Club
First night meet-up with Simon Love & The Old Romantics + DJs + Special Guests – (Five Day Pass Holders Only)
Thur 23 March – 6.30pm – Bush Hall
Withered Hand + The Ballet + Pete Astor + Would-Be-Goods + DJ Ian Watson (How Does It Feel To Be Loved?)
Fri 24 March – 6.30pm – Islington Assembly Hall
The Butterflies Of Love + Sodastream + Flowers + Darren Hayman + DJ Declan Allen
Sat 25 March – 3pm – Tufnell Park Dome / Boston Music Room (all dayer)
Comet Gain + The Proper Ornaments + Evans The Death + The Loves + Mammoth Penguins + Milky Wimpshake + Bearsuit + September Girls + Tigercats + Special Guests
Sun 26 March, 12 noon – The Lexington
Steven James Adams & The French Drops + Tender Trap / The Catenary Wires + Elva + DJs John Jervis & Ben Clancy (The Hangover Lounge) – (Five Day Pass Holders Only)
Sun 26 March, 6:30pm – Scala
Martha + Joanna Gruesome + The Spook School + Chorusgirl + DJ Paul Richards (Scared To Dance)
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More about Fortuna POP!
Fortuna POP! has become something of an indie institution since it was started in 1996 by Sean Price, just as britpop and grunge were fading from the nation’s consciousness. The label moved quickly from limited edition 7″s in plastic bags to its first bona fide hitmakers The Butterflies Of Love who were made Single Of The Week in the NME in the days when that was still a big deal, and whose debut album received glowing review across the music press. That early success allowed the label to attract an international roster of indiepop talent, including the UK’s Comet Gain, America’s The Aislers Set and The Ladybug Transistor, and Australia’s The Lucksmiths, and orphaned bands from labels such as Sarah Records and él Records such as Amelia Fletcher’s Tender Trap and Jessica Griffin’s Would-Be-Goods. Peel favourites such as Bearsuit, The Loves and Milky Wimpshake flocked to the label but, having flirted with greater success before when releasing the debut single by Fanfarlo, it was the signing of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart in 2008 that took the label to the next level, with indiepop at the time enjoying a huge resurgence thanks to clubs such as Twee As Fuck and How Does It Feel To Be Loved?
Around the same time the label signed Anglo-Australian indiepop outfit Allo Darlin’, a band who would go on to become Fortuna POP! mainstays, and on the back of their success and that of the Pains, began working with ex-Hefner main man Darren Hayman as well as releasing albums by such serious contenders as Crystal Stilts, Herman Dune and The Pipettes. While Hayman and Allo Darlin’ continued to release excellent albums alongside bands such as Withered Hand, Let’s Wrestle, Tigercats, Chain And The Gang and Pete Astor, the label nurtured a new generation of bands starting with Evans The Death and continuing with Joanna Gruesome, The Spook School, Flowers and Martha, keeping the label vital and relevant as indiepop itself moved towards a more DIY aesthetic with an emphasis on feminism and gender politics. Indeed, one of the key tenets of Fortuna POP! has always been its commitment to the representation of woman and LGBT artists, with other latter-day examples including September Girls and New York sissypop duo The Ballet.
In 2016 the label announced that it would cease operations due to rising debts. A series of farewell shows at the end of March featuring many of the bands released by the label will celebrate its twenty years of existence.
the sunday experience 