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Vince Power
John Vincent Power CBE (29 April 1947 – 9 March 2024) was an Irish music venue and festival owner, and the founder of Mean Fiddler who lived and operated mainly in London.
John Vincent Power was born in Kilmacthomas, County Waterford on 29 April 1947, one of eleven children. Power had enrolled to go to his local agricultural college at 16, instead he took the boat to Britain and travelled to Hemel Hempstead where his aunt lived. He found work at Woolworths but became homesick and returned home to Ireland. A few months later, returning with a friend, he arrived in Kilburn, London during 1963, the time known as the Swinging Sixties, a decade that saw an estimated 100,000 Irish people, travel to Britain seeking employment.
Power worked in various manual labour jobs before his move into the demolition of tenement slums, where he often came upon abandoned second hand furniture and identified an opportunity that he could profit from. He branched out into house clearance, his flair for advertising helped give him regular sales and turnover of stock. His several shops by now, were stocked with affordable and used furniture for a ready market in North West London. The success of the businesses and the income they generated allowed him to also pursue his main passion, music, more specifically country & western music.
A trip to Tennessee triggered his desire to bring the sound of Nashville to London, prompting Power to acquire and open the original Mean Fiddler, his first country and western club, which opened in 1982, within a former boxing gym in Harlesden. It soon became a key music venue attracting up and coming talent, Irish music and country stars. It was there that his music empire was founded and was soon expanded to eight major music festivals, 14 live music venues and a string of successful nightclubs and restaurants, once valued at £60 million. Power's background in authentic music saw him promote, book and re-book many famous artists of the rock and roll era including Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Roy Orbison, Paul Weller Johnny Cash, Paul McCartney and Neil Young.
Power was seen by some as a controversial figure and he was impatient to change the way the British live music scene, of the time was organised. His hands on business approach gave him easy access to agents and musicians. He developed a skill of spotting niche gaps in the market that saw him outpace his competitors. Building his reputation he formed productive relationships with brewers and financiers and he was to earn the affectionate nickname of 'The Godfather of Gigs'. His venue quickly gained a reputation for its Irish music nights, showcasing new bands such as The Pogues and Billy Bragg. Within five years The Mean Fiddler was staging high-profile gigs with big name artists such as Roy Orbison, who was to play his last ever UK gig there, in 1987.
By the late 1980s, it had become a showcase venue for new and established talent within the capital's expanding live music scene. It was the springboard for expansion into other venues and bars and created an opportunity for the Mean Fiddler Group (MFG) with Power at the helm, to dominate the UK outdoor music festival market. He acquired the Finsbury Park Astoria, the Kentish Town Forum, the Highbury Garage, the Camden Jazz Café and the Subterania in London. Aside from the Reading and Leeds festival, the organisation also promoted the London Fleadh, Glasgow Gig On The Green and the Homelands dance festivals. Then in 2001, Home a multi storey venue, in Leicester Square was purchased for £18.5m.
In December 1996, Power opened a bar on Kilburn High Road. Initially known as Zincbar and Zn, it had to change its name after Terence Conran won a trademark case. His nearby Power's Bar, a pub and music venue, was managed by his son until it closed in September 2013 after 18 years.
Between 2001 and 2005, Power saw a significant share dilution of his holding in MFG, in return for him receiving payments of at least £13m. By May 2021, he had bought and become involved in the running of Dingwalls in Camden using his management vehicle PowerHaus.
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Vince Power
John Vincent Power CBE (29 April 1947 – 9 March 2024) was an Irish music venue and festival owner, and the founder of Mean Fiddler who lived and operated mainly in London.
John Vincent Power was born in Kilmacthomas, County Waterford on 29 April 1947, one of eleven children. Power had enrolled to go to his local agricultural college at 16, instead he took the boat to Britain and travelled to Hemel Hempstead where his aunt lived. He found work at Woolworths but became homesick and returned home to Ireland. A few months later, returning with a friend, he arrived in Kilburn, London during 1963, the time known as the Swinging Sixties, a decade that saw an estimated 100,000 Irish people, travel to Britain seeking employment.
Power worked in various manual labour jobs before his move into the demolition of tenement slums, where he often came upon abandoned second hand furniture and identified an opportunity that he could profit from. He branched out into house clearance, his flair for advertising helped give him regular sales and turnover of stock. His several shops by now, were stocked with affordable and used furniture for a ready market in North West London. The success of the businesses and the income they generated allowed him to also pursue his main passion, music, more specifically country & western music.
A trip to Tennessee triggered his desire to bring the sound of Nashville to London, prompting Power to acquire and open the original Mean Fiddler, his first country and western club, which opened in 1982, within a former boxing gym in Harlesden. It soon became a key music venue attracting up and coming talent, Irish music and country stars. It was there that his music empire was founded and was soon expanded to eight major music festivals, 14 live music venues and a string of successful nightclubs and restaurants, once valued at £60 million. Power's background in authentic music saw him promote, book and re-book many famous artists of the rock and roll era including Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Roy Orbison, Paul Weller Johnny Cash, Paul McCartney and Neil Young.
Power was seen by some as a controversial figure and he was impatient to change the way the British live music scene, of the time was organised. His hands on business approach gave him easy access to agents and musicians. He developed a skill of spotting niche gaps in the market that saw him outpace his competitors. Building his reputation he formed productive relationships with brewers and financiers and he was to earn the affectionate nickname of 'The Godfather of Gigs'. His venue quickly gained a reputation for its Irish music nights, showcasing new bands such as The Pogues and Billy Bragg. Within five years The Mean Fiddler was staging high-profile gigs with big name artists such as Roy Orbison, who was to play his last ever UK gig there, in 1987.
By the late 1980s, it had become a showcase venue for new and established talent within the capital's expanding live music scene. It was the springboard for expansion into other venues and bars and created an opportunity for the Mean Fiddler Group (MFG) with Power at the helm, to dominate the UK outdoor music festival market. He acquired the Finsbury Park Astoria, the Kentish Town Forum, the Highbury Garage, the Camden Jazz Café and the Subterania in London. Aside from the Reading and Leeds festival, the organisation also promoted the London Fleadh, Glasgow Gig On The Green and the Homelands dance festivals. Then in 2001, Home a multi storey venue, in Leicester Square was purchased for £18.5m.
In December 1996, Power opened a bar on Kilburn High Road. Initially known as Zincbar and Zn, it had to change its name after Terence Conran won a trademark case. His nearby Power's Bar, a pub and music venue, was managed by his son until it closed in September 2013 after 18 years.
Between 2001 and 2005, Power saw a significant share dilution of his holding in MFG, in return for him receiving payments of at least £13m. By May 2021, he had bought and become involved in the running of Dingwalls in Camden using his management vehicle PowerHaus.