Burrowed into an old Victorian warehouse on a murky Newcastle side-street is World Headquarters, the epicentre of the city\u2019s pulsing alternative nightlife scene. The club\u2019s owner, Tom Caulker, started putting on inclusive, clandestine parties in the 1980s, as an antidote to the oppressive fog of racism and violence that hung over Newcastle. In Tom\u2019s own words, anyone who didn\u2019t conform to Newcastle\u2019s white, cis-macho-male image risked \u2018getting their heads kicked in if they went into town\u2019, and the glaring lack of a safe space in the city centre ultimately led to Tom taking matters into his own hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to know more then check out the World Headquarters website: https:\/\/www.welovewhq.com\/<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pretendonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/WorldHQ.jpg?resize=640%2C626&ssl=1\")
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After cutting his teeth running illicit gatherings, Tom became Newcastle\u2019s first independent and non-white license holder, transforming local boozer \u2018The Trent House\u2019 into a staggeringly cool soul-utopia, before cementing \u201cWorldies\u201d as the pounding heart of the North East underground.
Tom explains that, since its inception, \u2018the club\u2019s sole purpose has been to make Newcastle a better, more inclusive place for young people\u2019, by inspiring \u2018racially harmonic, global perspectives\u2019 and through the celebration of the success of a black-owned business.
Following the murder of George Floyd, it has become depressingly clear that this work is still essential, as the veil of ignorance that covers and protects systems of white supremacy and institutional racism across the Western world has begun to slip.
World HQ understands the importance of education and empathy in dismantling these systems. Throughout lockdown the club has been involved in the Let Us Breathe campaign, a series of live-streamed online protests for racial justice that, as the campaign\u2019s Facebook page says, \u2018is facilitated through discussion with community leaders, debating the way forward for eradicating racism from our communities, policing and political systems\u2019. Tom himself speaks in one of the protests, drawing attention to the failure of the school curriculum in addressing Britain\u2019s colonial past, and the conscious omission of black history in the classroom.
The club is one of thousands of independent venues across the country who have had their souls ripped out by the pandemic, and are now lying dormant, with faint echoes of nights past falling limp onto once loaded and vivacious dancefloors. These places don\u2019t only play a vital role in the development of new artists, but also offer an invaluable centre for young people in their community. Tom recognises this, \u2018it very much effects young people, and it is the places where young people really want to go that will be hit the hardest\u2019. He also worries for the business owners and venues themselves, predicting that there will be a \u2018phenomenal number of places that will close\u2019.
The preservation of independent venues is paramount to the wellbeing of the communities that they serve. It is no coincidence that it is often venues such as World HQ that are at the vanguard of social change. Via their very nature they have evaded the invasive tentacles of profit-driven franchises that rule over the entertainment industry, a progressive stance in itself. It may, however, be these stances that prove to be the downfall of these venues, as money dries up and landlords stand firm on rent payments.
The UK\u2019s late entry to lockdown and the continued irresponsible handling of the virus has no doubt harmed their chances of recovery\u2026 it is unlikely a solution can be found without significant investment into music\u2019s grassroots venues, and across the arts more widely. The power of community organisation will be ever more important after the \u201creturn to normal\u201d, and the examples set by groups such as World Headquarters will be resources to draw upon in the inevitable process of rebuilding that will have to take place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the Let Us Breathe Facebook Page: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/letusbreatheuk\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nGet to know some of the artists who’ve played at World HQ over the last few years<\/h2>\n\n\n\n