Filthy Lucre puts on events that move from concert to gig to club night. Tied together by artistic concepts, such as cultic rituals and urban sprawl, our events are not determined by genre constraints but by a cohesive artistic vision. Founded in Cambridge by Anthony Friend and Joe Bates in 2011, Filthy Lucre is now London-based.

"Whose mouths must be stopped, 
Who subvert whole houses, 
Teaching things which they ought not, 
For Filthy Lucre's sake." – Titus 1:11

'a fascinating and daring experiment, performing some challenging 20th century music in an entirely new and different context. All the performers were impressive... and produce[d] performances of concentrated intensity. ' Planet Hugill

The Team

William Cole (musical director) has conducted a broad range of symphonic, operatic and contemporary repertoire, and is Music Director for Opera Lyrica. His music has been performed by the Britten Sinfonia, the choirs of Clare College, Cambridge and Gloucester Cathedral, Peter Sheppard Skaervad and The Hermes Experiment. He is a pianist, singer and educator, and writes for Interlude HK and TEMPO.

Anthony Friend (music producer and founder) is a clarinettist with diverse musical interests, active as a solo, chamber and orchestral musician in a wide range of repertoire. His orchestral clarinet solos have been praised as “delicious” (The Times) and “particularly fine” (Seen and Heard International). He also composes, and administrates Camerata Musica, which brings the best classical musicians to Cambridge.

Joe Bates (artistic director and founder) is a composer from London writing eclectic alternative music for a vivid mix of electronic and acoustic instruments.  Joe also writes and talks on the recent history contemporary music’s audience and on the possibilities for its future.