Groove Armada: Ministers not supporting nightlife have “probably never been in a nightclub”

Groove Armada have spoken out against the lack of government support for the nightlife industry in an interview with Sky News.

Speaking to the news channel, Tom Findlay called for people with an understanding of the industry to become involved in the decision making process.

He said: “It’s pretty heartbreaking at the moment to see a series of government ministers being put up there who don’t seem to care about the industry, probably never been in a nightclub or festival in their entire lives, telling us that this is a disposable industry. It’s just not.

“You can’t take these experiences away from people, so we’ve got to get people around the table, people who actually know what they’re talking about and find a way forward for music in the UK.”

Read this next: UK government minister: "It's hard to see how nightclubs will open"

Fellow member in the dance duo Andy Cato also spoke of the importance of nightlife for people both working in the industry and experiencing it as audience members.

He said: “All that togetherness, that cultural togetherness, those high points that give people a focus in their lives … these are all really crucial parts of living in a functioning society. As we take decisions about balance of risks we have to bear all this in mind.

"Behind the events there's a whole multimillion-pound industry, which is predicted to lose 70% of its workforce by the end of the year. These are highly, highly skilled people and two thirds of them will be redundant by the end of the year.

“There’s an economic question, and there’s a cultural question. Music is the togetherness of business, it’s the opposite of the social distancing business, and we’ve got to find a way of getting it back on track in some way, because the long term consequences will be dramatic.”

Read this next: Nightclubs are being left to "slip through the cracks" by the UK government

Groove Armada were due to tour to celebrate the release of their first album in a decade ‘Edge of Horizon’ this year, including a slot at Glastonbury.

A petition calling for greater government support for the nightlife industry has received more than 100,000 signatures, meaning it will be considered for a debate in parliament.

Watch the full interview clip below.

[Via: Sky News]

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Features Editor, follow him on Twitter

Read this next: Get the best of Mixmag direct to your Facebook DMs