A SCOTS music venue has been forced to close down after it was damaged – by folk music.
Edinburgh council has raised concerns over the safety of the Fiddler’s Elbow pub after enthusiastic folk musicians and dancers caused structural damage.
Rock bands have previously cornered the market in causing physical damage, both to people and things.
But it has emerged that a support beam was broken and the floor slipped several inches at the Fiddler’s Elbow following a particularly lively folk bash at Hogmanay.
Fearing they could literally bring the house down, licensing chiefs have banned further performances until the building can be made safe.
Dip
The pub only opened 12 weeks ago and the owners hope to resume their gutsy brand of folk entertainment next month.
Manager Ruairi Harrington insisted: “We did not do anything to endanger anyone’s life.
“There was a little dip in the floor originally. Some time in the new year I had noticed it had got worse so I reported it to the brewery and closed off the room.
“The brewery became concerned that the room should not be used and it was checked out.
“Buildings standards came in and I asked them for a full rundown of what was going on and they said ‘shut the bar down.’”
He added: “We went into a tired building and we have done extremely well in a short period of time.
“We’ve really grown the business and developed a regular clientèle.”
The pub, previously known as the Metropolitan cocktail bar, has been told it would not be able to occupy the building until adequate propping had been installed.
