How ‘The Leadmill’ went from launching the Arctic Monkeys to the brink of extinction and why it must be saved
This summer Arctic Monkeys are headlining Glastonbury Festival, a globally revered cultural institution that pledges £2million to good causes each year. They are also set to go on a UK tour that will generate millions for the economy. From humble beginnings headlining The Leadmill, the band have reached such a lofty height that they are now a vital economic cog within the music industry. Before them, The Beatles hit an even greater height, and as a result, they still bring in £82million a year to the Liverpool economy alone over half a century on from their last output.
Both acts were fortunate enough to be the benefactors of local venues that helped to nurture emerging artistic talent. However, with a whopping 35% of the UK’s Grassroots Music Venues sadly being forced to close their doors in the last 20 years, you have to wonder where the next Arctic Monkeys or ‘Fab Four’ will come from if the opportunities for progression for working class artists are continually being confiscated to perpetuate short term returns for the powers that be.
The problem is indicative of a lack of investment faith in working class community enterprises. It is as though governing bodies shrug their shoulders and say, ‘Sorry, but budgets don’t allow us to protect good fun for the masses in these sober financial times’ and the money that the industry actually generates is classified as some sort of magical windfall that can’t be trusted.
Thus, investing in culture at a working class grassroots level is seen as a charitable donation that currently can’t be afforded as oppose to an investment in the future of profitable arts and a key engine of social mobility for young kids from poorer backgrounds. In essence, if you want to make it in music then you have to have the capital to be self-funded these days which further exacerbates socio-economic disparities despite the fact that historically this country’s modern culture has been built by working class bands and artists that are no longer afforded a leg up to continue this area of growth and mobility.
So, as a result, venues like The Leadmill also suffer a lack of parachute investment and it becomes harder and harder for them to grow because they are inundated with challenges and little support. This makes it easier for profit-hungry firms to take them over. In all of this, the point is lost that without The Leadmill, there would be no Arctic Monkeys and many other Sheffield artists that generate millions each year while enriching the cultural legacy of local communities to create a sustainable scene, a scene that is well worth saving over some new toy.
As the venue explains: “Our landlords have issued The Leadmill with an eviction notice in order to operate from this location themselves. If they are successful, this would result in The Leadmill ceasing to exist after 43 years. Our landlords have recently moved forward with their plans to evict The Leadmill by applying for their own premises licence.” This would mean that the historic institution is taken over by a capital investment firm who would manage the venue from afar, fail to engage with the local scene, and extract all gains.
This was highlighted by Jon McClure of the influential Sheffield band Reverend and the Makers who highlighted the cultural significance of The Leadmill when he told us: “Well firstly I’d say that the venue has an importance to the city from the Esquire days that even pre-date The Leadmill.” In essence, it has always been there as a beacon to future generations highlighting that it is possible to get involved in the rich history of local arts.
McClure continues: “Secondly , the city council might want to trade on the city’s cultural importance but they don’t get to have it both ways. They have to protect places like The Leadmill because without the physical spaces there’s no way of nurturing the next generation of talent coming through.” Thus, they find themselves hoisted by their own petard by chasing short term gains and, in the process, weakening the sustainable cultural importance of a city. Essentially, they’d rather trade in a Rolls Royce for a brand-new Skoda, because the Rolls requires an MOT.
This is, of course, culturally ignorant and self-serving which goes against what institutions represent. As McClure continues: “The whole thing speaks to the moral bankruptcy of London capital who think they can march into a place like Sheffield and just take over what’s ours without objection. It’s a little bit like football clubs. They can be owned by whoever but morally, spiritually , historically, they belong to the local community and they’d do well to remember it.”
“Finally,” he says, “The Leadmill was set up as a left wing social enterprise. That has to count for something. It’s fundamentally at odds with a London-based corporate takeover isn’t it? That doesn’t mean everything about the Leadmill and its current owners is perfect but it does mean that Sheffielders can be incredibly hostile to what’s perceived as a land grab.”
One emerging local band who know all about the support that the venue offers the community is Jetski. The band’s Charles Fitzgerald, told us: “To sell out The Leadmill as a Sheffield band is a true right of passage. For us it cemented our place as an act to watch in the city and nationally. But it’s not the building that makes it special, it’s the people. They have supported us in so many ways, from assisting with marketing/promotion of our headlines, to putting us on their stage at Tramlines Festival – giving an entirely independent band an opportunity to play to thousands of new people.”
Fitzgerald continues: “They are truly in it for the love of music, they care about the artist and audience experience equally, I thinks that is proven by the countless arena-sized bands that make the detour to play intimate shows there regularly.” This is invaluable to maintaining a healthy arts scene that welcomes everybody. And Jetski argue that thinking you can simply carry this over to new management would be a huge mistake. “It takes 5 minutes of googling to see Electric Group and Dominic Maddens approach to running venues is not the same, not even close,” they conclude.
This notion of independent spaces being the true, under-appreciated lifeblood of the industry was further ratified by the Music Venue Trust who told us: “GMVs are at the heart of their local communities, providing early-stage access for artists and creatives to experiment, grow their skills and develop their talent. They are the Research and Development labs of the £5.8 billion per annum UK Music Industry – a world leader in music and culture. They foster and develop new talent in an open, non-profit driven model which enables creativity to flourish. In many locations, they provide an outlet for people otherwise left behind by other local creative and cultural offerings.”
Culture also offers us a route out of harder financial times, both mentally and in real-world economics. As Factory Records founder Alan Erasmus told us, tough times “release different avenues of creativity because [artists] will be going somewhere they haven’t been before.” And these avenues can drive “fresh change” acting as an engine of social mobility and community-driven innovation. With that ethos, Erasmus was able to transform the floundering post-industrial Manchester into a cultural hub that vastly improved the lives and opportunities of the working class, that is needed now more than ever.
That is needed now more than ever, and without saving sacred spaces like The Leadmill, the future of the £5.8 billion per annum UK Music Industry is at risk. The arts, by nature, are founded on collectivism, and venues like The Leadmill are integral at create connections with other local businesses like breweries, PR groups, music shops, kebab houses and more. This is why they may be financially volatile, but they provide a lot of unaccounted for economic growth elsewhere and they can indeed turn profits if they are supported. Just look at The Cavern Club, it might be awaiting the next Beatles, but because it has been maintained it continues to rake in revenue and offer revelry, opportunity, community and a sense of identity in equal measure. You don’t get that from fast commercialism. We must be clear-eyed in these instances that for-profit corporations act only on gaining profit and not in the public interest.
You can find out more about saving The Leadmill and objecting the landlord’s takeover here: http://leadmill.co.uk/object [This article is updating check back for further pending comments from Miles Kane and more].
