The Molotovs shut down street with Christmas guerilla gig in support of the Big Issue
- Desh Kapur
- 20 minutes ago
- 4 min read
THE MOLOTOVS
SHUT DOWN ‘OASIS STREET’ IN SOHO WITH CHRISTMAS GUERILLA GIG IN SUPPORT OF
THE BIG ISSUE
‘STOP, TALK AND SUPPORT’
The Molotovs and the Big Issue put on a spectacular show for hundreds of shoppers in London today in support of the charity’s ‘Stop, Talk and Support’ Christmas campaign.
The band, siblings Matt and Issey Cartlidge, 17 and 19, played songs from forthcoming debut album Wasted On Youth as they encouraged passersby in Soho to meet Big Issue vendors Paul and Terry, who can often be found near Oxford Circus and St Paul’s Cathedral.
The set included a singalong of Slade’s ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ and and the setting was Berwick Street, a UK rock landmark famous for its depiction on the record sleeve for Oasis’s (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?.
The band have been championed by the likes of Sex Pistols and Green Day, and dancing and pogoing broke out as crowds of onlookers celebrated the music on the final weekend before Christmas.
The Big Issue addresses poverty by enabling homeless and vulnerable people to earn money selling its weekly magazine. Its Christmas campaign highlights the decline in casual social interaction, with fewer people stopping for a chat with vendors. The campaign was launched with the single-shot video ‘Issues We Face’ in which vendors in nearby Oxford Street shared their personal and relatable stories.
Matt said: “One of the tragedies of the struggles facing society today is that so many people get left behind. The Big Issue does an amazing job at helping people but it’s down to the rest of us to make sure vendors, just like everyone else, are true parts of the community. It takes so little time to stop and have a chat with someone but too often we all just walk past with our eyes fixed on our phone or the street ahead. We all need, more often, to ‘stop, talk and support’.”
Vendor Paul said: “It makes all the difference in the world when people stop and chat. Some people do and some people don’t. It reminds people you’re human when you can have a conversation, rather than making you feel invisible.”
Issey said: “There is so much division being created in society today but we can choose to respond humanely, treating people as people, with understanding and empathy. Our lives can be fragile and all our circumstances can change in an instant. Everyone selling the Big Issue has a story to tell and deserves our support.”
Russell Blackman, Managing Director of Big Issue, said: “We’re super grateful to The Molotovs for drumming up support for our vendors on their most important weekend of the year for sales. There’s nothing like a guerilla gig to get people to stop, start a conversation and take time out of their busy shopping schedules to engage with the vendors in the vicinity. Please support your local Big Issue vendor this winter as they brave the elements to sell and earn a hugely important income.”
The Big Issue
Big Issue Group is a social enterprise working to end poverty through social business solutions. With 3.8m people in the UK experiencing destitution, Big Issue Group creates opportunities and solutions for people to work, earn, learn and thrive. It consists of a number of different entities:
Big Issue Media: A world-famous, award-winning magazine sold on the streets of the UK since 1991. Vendors who sell the magazine earn their income as their own mini enterprises, buying magazines for £2 and selling them to the public for £4, keeping the difference. Big Issue journalism champions positive solutions to ending the poverty crisis, within the pages of the magazine and on bigissue.com.
Big Issue Changing Lives CIC: A community interest company set up to enable and support people in poverty to work, earn, learn and thrive. This includes support services for Big Issue vendors, who receive help with developing skills, finding housing and improving health and wellbeing.
Big Issue Invest: A social investor which invests in organisations that work to end poverty and inequality in the UK. Founded in 2005, it offers loans and grants from £20,000 to £4 million to social-purpose businesses and charities across the UK. The capital raised by Big Issue Invest is from private sources and not from sales of the magazine.
Big Issue Recruit: A person-centred recruitment service working with employers and candidates to help people facing barriers to work to obtain and retain sustainable employment.
Big Issue Impact: An impact advisory business working with corporate clients to create better social outcomes, enhancing their ESG and sustainability thinking, capabilities and go-to-market strategies.
Lord John Bird’s parliamentary office: Lord Bird, co-founder of Big Issue Group, is a crossbench ‘People’s Peer’, appointed in 2015. He leads the Big Issue’s campaigning function, which is currently campaigning for the government to set legally binding poverty reduction targets.
For further information on the Big Issue Group, visit About Big Issue Group.
The Molotovs
Despite their young ages, The Molotovs have played more than 600 shows, both in their home town of London and around the world. They’ve shared stages with the likes of Sex Pistols feat Frank Carter, Blondie and The Libertines, and last summer won support slots with Iggy Pop and The Damned in the US.
The band have had three top-ten singles - including two number ones in the vinyl charts - and debut album Wasted On Youth will be released on Marshall records on January 30, with an accompanying tour around the UK.
The Molotovs Wasted On Youth tour
06/01 - King Tuts, Glasgow
07/01 - Lending Room, Leeds
08/01 - Gorilla, Manchester
09/01 - Thekla, Bristol
11/01 - The Cavern, Exeter
13/01 - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
14/01 - Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham
15/01 - Esquires, Bedford
16/01 - Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate
21/01 - Hallamshire Hotel, Sheffield
22/01 - The Bootleg Social, Blackpool
23/01 - The Sugarmill, Stoke
24/01 - Monks Waterside, Aylesbury
26/01 - The Brook, Southampton
27/01 - The Black Prince, Northampton
28/01 - The Waterfront Studio, Norwich
30/01 - Banquet Records At Kingston College, Kingston
31/01 - Resident Music, Shop, Brighton
01/02 - Rough Trade, Denmark Street, London
02/02 - Sister Ray at 100 Club, London
04/02 - HMV, Shop, Cardiff
05/02 - Jacaranda Records, Shop, Liverpool