A popular gig venue closes tomorrow as another victim of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic

The Booking Hall in Dover will not reopen until at least April 11.

And managers are asking music fans to give donations to help the venue survive long enough to reopen.

By today (Friday) £2,435 of a £3,000 online target was reached.

A statement from the venue said: " The recent announcement from our government informed people not to attend shows at clubs, theatres and music venues.

"This leaves us in a very difficult situation.

"This along with the risk of spreading the corona virus further, has left us with no choice but to as of Saturday, March 21, close the venue until Saturday, April 11, perhaps longer.

"To make matters worse, this is normally a busy time of year for us.

"The artists do not want to be part of the problem by potentially spreading the corona virus, and The Booking Hall wants to do its bit to combat this serious problem.

" But this puts the future of The Booking Hall at serious risk from a financial point of view.

"If it is to close its doors for weeks, sadly there is no guarantee they will open again.

"As we are a dedicated music venue and do not operate as another entity, this leaves us in a very bad position with no other source of income to keep us going.

"The venue operates on such tight margins in order to secure some great acts for Dover.

"Sadly this means we don’t have a large sum of cash that we can fall back on.

" So we are turning to you, our loyal customers, to help us out in this difficult time."

All shows booked for tomorrow (Friday) until Saturday, April 11, are postponed or cancelled.

All tickets will remain valid for rescheduled dates.

Ticket buyers have already been refunded for completely cancelled shows such as a Doors tribute night on Saturday, April 4, and one for Bryan Adams on Friday, April 10.

The Booking Hall, at The Old Harbour Station in Elizabeth Street, has been running for three years.

It is an independent venue with a standing capacity for 280 people.

It has had tribute bands such as Fleetingwood Mac, for Fleetwood Mac, and Who's Next for The Who.

It also has original groups such as the Seventies-founded ska group The Selecter, booked to play on Wednesday, May 6.

Clash drummer Topper Headon, who lives in Dover, played with the late Ian Dury's group The Blockheads in November 2018.

For further details visit the The Booking Hall website.

For the latest coronavirus news and advice, click here.

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