An open mic night is searching for new premises after being asked to leave a city centre venue.

The Catweazle Club has just celebrated its 30th anniversary but the celebrations ended abruptly when it was told it would no longer be able to use Common Ground, a cafe, venue, community hub and workspace in Little Clarendon Street, Oxford.

Matt Sage, who launched the club 30 years ago at the Victoria Arms in Jericho, said in a public statement the club had been given its "marching orders".

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In his "heart-breaking announcement", he wrote: "Just days after our triumphant, sold-out 30th birthday celebrations at Common Ground Cafe we have shockingly been given our marching orders, with immediate effect.

"I am so surprised and saddened by this as I really thought we’d found a wonderful, long-term home at Common Ground.

(Image: Matt Sage) "Just last Thursday night I was eulogising from the stage about how lucky we were to have found a space such as this, so grateful have I felt to both venue and staff from the outset.

"But, having spent the past year building a beautiful new momentum, entirely out of the blue they have now decided that Catweazle is not for them. I’m really gutted."

But Eddie Whittingham, managing director of Common Ground, said the venue had not "thrown out" The Catweazle Club.

He added: "In regards to The Catweazle Club, we haven't thrown them out - simply the event was no longer working out for us.

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"We hope The Catweazle Club is able to find a new home and continues to find success in supporting Oxford's Art and Culture scene."

(Image: The Catweazle Club) Mr Sage added that the club, which encourages musicians to perform in public, was now seeking a new venue after spending the past year at Common Ground.

He added: "And so, at the ripe old age of 30, we are once again on the move. If any of you have any ideas, please let me know: any help in getting the show back on the road would be hugely appreciated.

"There will be no further sessions at Common Ground - or anywhere - until we manage to find a new home. Ideally, weekly on Thursdays moving forwards. Hopefully see you out there, somewhere, soon, and I’ll keep you posted.

"The body may die, but the spirit lives on."

(Image: The Catweazle Club) When the club started out, it rapidly became a hit, attracting scores of plucky performers – among them a young Yannis Philippakis, now frontman of Foals, who turned up in school uniform to read poetry.

Later, the band Stornoway played their first gig at Catweazle.

Common Ground is a social enterprise pop-up in an Oxford University-owned building which opened in 2020.

One of its most popular events are the regular Jericho Comedy nights.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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