The Story Hive: London's new storytelling night is a chance for people to dream, imagine and enjoy

On 29 January, Phil Ryan – former lead singer for The Animals, mountain rescue and paramedic volunteer, and the first person I employed when I started Big Issue – is launching a story night in London’s West End. The Story Hive, his creation, is so full of stories for all tastes, from fear-making to lulling you into your honeymoon bed, that he has by popular demand had to break out from his audio storytelling to tell them physically.

To tell stories to a live audience in, of all places, Denmark Street, off Central London’s Charing Cross Road. Denmark Street is one of the music industry’s most important streets, nicknamed ‘Tin Pan Alley’; the home of songwriting, music clubs and guitar shops and where Phil once had his own place called the 12 Bar Club. 

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It is no coincidence that Phil should start his break-out event at Denmark Street. He was one of the many who came forward to save the street when it almost became a victim of the Crossrail reallocation of large bits of Central London, ending up as the newly opened Elizabeth Line. 

So a saved-though-modified Denmark Street is the scene of his Story Hive going live that you would be unwise to miss. I will be there as an ornament of storytelling; but most of the stories will be told by Phil and his cohorts. 

Storytelling through The Story Hive has been a monumental job. Hundreds of stories written by Phil over the last few years means that he covers almost every niche. Such dedication; and to add to this he has recorded all of his stories so that you can listen to them without having to read them. He’s appealing to a listening audience which is proving much bigger than anything he has achieved through the written word. 

But Phil also has other strings to his bow, being fully employed for decades as a guitarist and songwriter. He has cut many records; just don’t get him started on Spotify, where hundreds of thousands of plays get translated into a few hundred quid. Not to the benefit it seems of the singer, the writer or the record producer. 

It was Phil who came to Big Issue a few years ago and suggested that we get involved in the defence of local music venues, the clubs and pubs and halls that keep live music live. It was a brilliant campaign and for quite a period of time Phil wrote regular features about what was out there and what pressure there still is to ensure live music venues stay open. 

Many decades ago Phil’s dad bought him a guitar and lessons that kickstarted his lifetime career. A Watford boy, his first break was at a Greek restaurant in Watford High Street. Often with a rose in his mouth, he serenaded the diners and made good money for a 17-year-old who looked remarkably like Elvis Costello. 

But back to The Story Hive. In Phil’s own words (he wants to keep his website a free service for people): “Cost of living increases echo around people’s lives. People get depressed and forlorn with everything about prices. But I can’t put a price on my stories. I just want to give people the chance to dream and imagine and enjoy. And not have to pay through the nose for it. In other words, I want to give people something that helps them through the rough and tough economic decisions that they are forced to make.” 

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Phil wants to spread the word about storytelling, starting classes and getting people creating their own storytelling. He has commissioned artists to work in illustrating the stories and hopefully at some stage will look to publish in book form. 

“But let’s not forget,” he says, “that libraries, those great depositories of learning and sociability – you are never alone in a library – are under great threat. The same way that my other campaign about keeping local music venues alive is about keeping the social element going when so much has been pushed into digital and away from human contact. I think if my life’s work is about anything it is about bringing people together for a creative night out. That’s why my passion for live music and now live storytelling needs to be bigged up.” 

As he was the first person I took on when I was starting Big Issue, I have a sentimental attachment to Phil. I watch with interest his development into storytelling. 

That is what I tell government; that they need to move on from the story of poverty into curing poverty. I tell the stories about poverty as a way for them to grasp the essentials of poverty. I am not doing any more than making poverty understandable through storytelling. 

So when Phil Ryan storytells I’m up there with him. As the most reliable person with me at Big Issue’s inception, how can I refuse when he says, “FFS, help me spread my storytelling night and website.”

I get it entirely. 

So, Story Hive Live: 29 January. 4 Flitcroft Street, London WC2H 8DJ. Off Denmark Street. You’ll be charmed by Phil’s storytelling. And I’ll be there to make the suggestion that storytelling is about all we do in life that is natural, normal and essential. 

John Bird is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Big Issue. Read more of his words here.

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