Save Overdrive Studios

Overdrive Studios is an independently run practise rooms and DIY music venue in the heart of Deptford, South-East London. It was set up in 2011 by members of the 80’s punk band ‘Conflict’. It was founded based on providing cheap and accessible storage and rehearsal space and has continued to do so. It has since turned into a community hub for many of London’s various music scenes; from Tippa Ire to Iron Monkey.

A lot has happened since Overdrive was set up, most importantly; the creation of ‘The Arch Company’, a landlord company set up to administer practically all of Network Rail’s commercial railway arch property, and the pandemic, when Overdrive had to shut its doors to trade (but keep paying rent and business rate council tax)

Overdrive was hit hard by Covid-19, accumulating a large amount of debt due to the inability to be able to trade and rent cheques still going out each month.

Big John and Sarah set up a go fund me in 2021, and as a community we managed to raise enough money to keep Overdrive afloat, but they’re not out of the water yet. With the debts accumulated during lockdown, business rates going up, increasing energy bills, and a potential rent hike being proposed by the landlord (The Arch Company), they’re at risk of being back to square one and losing out on all the progress we’ve made over the last 3 years.

Overdrive has long been a community space bringing together creatives of differing backgrounds, creating connections and support networks that ultimately have spread throughout the UK. With over 125 venues closing last year, live music is under threat and where is the first-place music starts? The rehearsal studio! For bands that don’t have the space or finances to set up a practise room at home, overdrive provides a much-needed space for musical creativity. This pocket of South-East London has a rich musical history with famous bands, venues and schools tied into local history. (Blur, Placebo, Bloc Party, Dire Straits, Kate Bush, Kae Tempest, Squeeze, Maxi Priest etc. The Albany, The Amersham Arms, The Ivy House, and Lewisham Odeon. Goldsmiths and Trinity). If the smallest acts, with the least support, cannot find a cheap place to rehearse then the musical reputation of the area will disappear in just a few years.

So, we’re coming together again, not just to fight to keep Overdrive open, but also to make it thrive as a communal music space. And we need your help! To overcome these financial barriers, we need to raise some money to pay off Overdrive’s existing debt and to negotiate the proposed rent hike down to a price that is sustainable going forward (we’re currently working on the latter).

We don’t just want to rescue the studio; we want to improve and adapt it! If everything goes to plan, going forward we envision Overdrive Studios growing and including even more people from the London music scene, supporting grassroots music for years to come!

Love and solidarity,

Save Overdrive Studios!