‘Cheesy’ loud music from Simmons bar has given residents sleepless nights

A BAR in Farringdon accused of blasting out “cheesy American singalong songs” until 2am will have its licence reviewed next week after complaints from neighbours.

People living above Simmons in Charterhouse Street – once home to the old Smithfield Tavern – say they have been left stressed out and exhausted, and can recognise most of the songs from their own homes.

Upstairs neighbours keeping noise diaries say they have been kept awake for hours as their beds are rocked to the sounds of songs such as American Boy by Kanye West and Estelle and Havana by Camilla Cabello, along with other “cheesy music from 2000-2015”.

The fed-up neighbours have filed a log of their complaints – which also included patrons of the bar climbing on the bar roof at midnight one evening – as well as “shouting” loudly in the street.

One resident told the council he has “resorted to chain smoking” to get him through long sleepless nights, adding: “On a cold night like tonight, after a long day at work, three months of disrupted sleep, and many helpful but failed interventions from the Islington ASB [anti social behaviour] team, I feel deeply depressed and agitated.”

They added: “Now the time is 1.42am. I’m going to put in my earplugs, wait for 20 minutes, and finally I’ll be able to sleep without disturbance at 2am – at least until Saturday night comes and the bar lures in more intoxicated people using cheap alcohol and cheesy, thumping music again.”

The applicant for the review, which will be heard on Tuesday, said he had “learned not to sleep before 2am” and went on to state how “loud rhythmic bass music penetrating through my ear plugs” left him feeling like “someone was hitting my face repeatedly with an Oxford dictionary”. He added his bedroom was “reminiscent of my pre-Covid trips to club bathrooms”.

Describing themselves on their website, Simmons bar say: “We have a banging underground club space and with the best DJs around, from 8pm onward, Thursday-Saturday. And of course we have the signature Simmons FIVE hour-long Happy Hour, perfect for those much-needed after-work drinks!”

In documents submitted to the review hearing, lawyers representing the building’s freeholders said: “Our client is an experienced property owner who takes pride in a carefully curated and professionally managed property portfolio, which extends to 34 investments located mainly in Farringdon, Soho and Covent Garden. Of these properties, 14 are licensed but this is the first review it has had in 11 years.”

They added: “Our client understands that the premises licence holder is taking steps to address the points raised in the review and work closely with the responsible authorities. In addition, our client understands that the premises licence holder is seeking expert advice from an independent acoustic consultant experienced in the operation of licensed premises.”

Since the bar reopened in July following Covid-enforced shutdowns, Islington’s noise team had been called out on 13 occasions.

Councillors hold the final say on whether new conditions should be applied.