It’s been a tough week for Bozza. After his reprimand from the PM over his ‘Kosovo style social cleansing’ comments regarding new housing benefit proposals, the Mayor then took a fair bit of flak as London ground to a halt with another Tube strike.
Mind you, this was small fry compared to the jeering reception that the Mayor’s statement over the threatened 100 Club received when it was read out at the iconic music venue this week.
The 100 Club has been the launch-pad for many bands including the Sex Pistols, The Clash and Oasis. A cash crisis has brought the club to the brink of closure and a campaign to keep it open has been launched, supported by musicians as diverse as Mick Jagger and Paul Weller.
The Rolling Stones frontman said: “What is important is that you have places where bands can cut their teeth and places of a certain intimacy and size, that new bands can experiment in. There aren’t that many great places in London, or indeed any city, that you can say that about.”
However, Bozza seems less keen to help the 100 Club stay open. A statement from the Mayor, read aloud by music critic David Quantick, said: “The mayor understands the importance of the 100 Club. Unfortunately, the Greater London Authority has no statutory powers to intervene in commercial rental costs.”
LondonNet reported that ‘when Johnson’s words were read out last night at a meeting of campaigners trying to save the 100 Club, there were jeers all round and shouts of “w***er!”.’
In a blatantly political points scoring exercise show of support for the venue, BoJo’s rival Ken Livingstone said he would have “drawn up proposals to protect such venues through planning law”.