Type and hit ENTER

Commonly used tags...

Brighton Festival Brighton Fringe Brighton Pride British Sea Power Cinecity Lewes Psychedelic Festival Locally Sourced Lost & Found Love Supreme Festival Mutations Festival Nick Cave Poets Vs MCs Politics Rag'n'Bone Man Record Store Day Save Our Venues Six Of The Best Source Virgins Streets Of Brighton Street Source Tattoos The Great Escape Tru Thoughts Unsung Heroes
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
Features

Paul Seivewright & Ambre France, Unsung Heroes, No.21

Aug 3, 2011
-
Posted by James Kendall

The Green Door Store owners opened their doors when everyone else was closing theirs, thank god.

Was it scary seeing other venues closing when you were planning to open?
Paul: Well, at the risk of sounding conceited, no. It reinforced in my mind what we were doing was right. Your Broken Brighton headline – that was in my mind as well. When we were planning this place it was obvious to me that this is what Brighton needed.

Why has the Green Door Store been so successful?

P: The venue, our musical programme, the staff that we have here, our programmer Ed Lilo – all that combined just works. And we don’t tell any lies – it is what it is. The club nights are free to get in; we’re looking for the newest music and the coolest music.

Some of the music is quite challenging.

P: Yeah. I sit down with Ed on a frequent basis and come up with some random ideas. He’s talking about skating indoors now and I’m like, no. We start with this stupid idea and it usually flourishes into something that is quite cool and works. But we’re open seven days a week, every week of the year and you can’t have all cool, all challenging. So we do have blues and jazz – regular kind of stuff – on a weekly basis because you need to pay the rent.

The place has a really distinctive look – you told us once that if you had more money you’d have fucked it up.
Ambre: I might have said that when I was drunk.
P: Well, I think it’s true. If you’ve got lots of money then you’ve got lots of time, and with time comes doubt and with doubt you change your original ideas. We didn’t have time and we didn’t have any money.
A: Some of the décor in there was down to me being quite nerdy. Like about exposing all the brickwork around the doorways. It pretty much took a week to get the paint off each doorway.

Words by James Kendall and Sol Brown
Photo By James Kendall

Unsung Heroes
Aug 3, 2011
Email
James Kendall
James Kendall was the co-owner and editor of SOURCE. He’s been a music journalist since 1992 and spent over a decade travelling the globe covering dance music for DJmag. He’s interviewed a range of subjects from Bat For Lashes, Foals and James ‘LCD Soundsystem’ Murphy to Katie Price and the Sugababes. He’s a keen photographer and has work featured in The Guardian.
← PREVIOUS POST
Secret Eater: BBQ Shack
NEXT POST →
Street Style, Kerry
Mailing List

Recent Posts
  • Brighton Psych Fest 2025 Review
    Sep 26, 2025

    The second Brighton Psych Fest was a beauty as we got down with Getdown Services as the evening sunlight glowed through the Concorde Stained Glass.

  • David Devant & His Spirit Wife, Friday 12th December
    Sep 23, 2025

    One of Brighton's greatest live bands returns for a pre-Xmas homecoming party.

  • Nick Cave To Play Exclusive Brighton Show Next Summer
    Sep 15, 2025

    Nick Cave returns to Brighton next Summer for an exclusive show with The Bad Seeds in Preston Park.

  • Death Comes to Pemberley Review
    Sep 3, 2025

    Set six years after the marriage of Elizabeth to Mr Darcy, a murder on their estate takes this story into thriller territory.

  • The Lightning Thief Review
    Sep 1, 2025

    A high octane modern musical coming of age adventure about demi-god teens, complete with committed performances, stunning voices, and brilliantly inventive staging.

  • Betty Boo, Sunday 23rd November
    Sep 1, 2025

    The legendary Betty Boo is going on her first ever solo UK tour and you can catch her at The Green Door Store in November.

  • Mutations Festival 2025 Line Up Announcement
    Aug 28, 2025

    FORM are treating us to a Bonfire Weekend full of warm goodness, bangers and fireworks!

  • Pride And Prejudice Review
    Aug 27, 2025

    A beautifully realised adaptation of one of Jane Austen’s best loved books: giving us a grounded, real and hilarious retelling in perfect balance.

Website developed in Brighton by Infobo
Copyright © Brighton Source 2009-2023
Paul Seivewright & Ambre France, Unsung Heroes, No.21 - Brighton Source