The Ding Dong Lounge, for the past 15 years one of Melbourne’s most treasured music venues, will close in January 2018.
Ding Dong was founded by former Cosmic Psychos member Billy Walsh. Walsh was also one of the founders of Cherry Bar, a few blocks away.
Walsh started Ding Dong Lounge in 2003. The venue has been used by Ed Sheeran, L7, White Stripes, Tony Joe White, Mr Bungle and Queens of the Stone Age.
In a statement Billy Walsh said, “It’s an open secret that venues in the Melbourne CBD have been struggling lately due in part to the broader proliferation of similar clubs and bars across the inner north and combination of the heartbreaking homeless issue and ongoing late night violence in the CBD the time is right to pull up stumps”.
That pull up stumps date will be January 13.
“We’ll be going out with a huge bang, so look out for our last gigs leading up to our closing party on Saturday 13th January. Until then, have a safe and happy Christmas,” Billy said.
“I’m proud of the venue and what we were able to achieve in helping to create an important part of the Melbourne music fabric. We’ve always been a venue that presented unique offering in the Melbourne CBD and people embraced us. We didn’t big note ourselves, we tried to be hospitable, caring and fair, although, there have been times when we struggled to make ends meet. We received wide support from all quarters, including band managers, agents, touring companies, media, and most importantly the musicians themselves. Our staff really cared about the welfare of our customers and we stayed true to ourselves”.
However, staff member Jacqui Piccone tells a different story. Read her statement here:
RE: Ding Dong Lounge Closing pic.twitter.com/GBWCGNjgu3
— Jacqui Picone (@jacquipicone) December 18, 2017
