In late August, we announced that Hidden Agenda, the legendary livehouse in Kwun Tong, would be closing down after a warrant was issued for its closure.
Last night, however, Hidden Agenda made a statement on Facebook that the beloved venue would live on… but not as we know it.
Following a weeklong crowdfunding campaign, Hidden Agenda’s supporters have raised HKD517,368 (exceeding their HKD500,000 goal) to help pay the rest of the deposit on a newer and bigger location, spruce the place up, and apply for a Food Factory Licence.
That’s right – HA 4.0 is going to be a takeaway food stall… where there will be live music, of course! They didn’t just get everyone to pay for a completely new and different venture.
A graphic what HA 4.0’s layout might look like.
So far details have been kept under wraps, but the staff said on Facebook that the new concept would hopefully be “the first step to making HA a legal business” by reinventing it as an F&B operation, which would “ideally” open in early December.
Local band The Yours (now Ex-Punishment) performing at Hidden Agenda on July 19, 2014. Photo: Annette Chan/Coconuts Media
Hidden Agenda has been a darling of the local indie music scene ever since it was founded in 2009, and has hosted countless international acts as well as providing a haven for budding Hong Kong musicians. However, it’s also been plagued with licensing problems for its entire seven-year tenure, and has had to relocate twice.
Mike Sullivan of American post-metal band performing at Hidden Agenda on Jul. 22, 2014. Photo: Annette Chan/Coconuts Media
In the first half of 2016 alone, Hidden Agenda founder Hui Chung-wo received three letters from the Lands Department warning him to stop using the club as anything other than industrial, storage and select offensive trades purposes.
Upon receiving the most recent letter in June, Hui spoke of his struggle to find an affordable space in Kwun Tong zoned for commercial use. “Please forgive me, I cannot get [an entertainment licence]”, he wrote on Facebook. “The real estate agents I know have searched all Kwun Tong industrial buildings and they all have the same contracts.”
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