Up and down the country at the moment it seems nearly every major city has a venue that is being threatened with closure. Whether this is through council or private plans to re-develop the area, or, through lack of funding, or, issues with licensing, this problem is very real and is affecting more and more venues.

Over one third of the UK’s small gig venues have closed in the past decade, according to Music Venue Trust. The number of these venues has fallen from around 700 to 450 in the past decade. The issue is also present in the capital, since 2007 more than half of London’s 430 music venues have closed.

 

Among the venues who have closed their doors in recent years are the Sheffield Boardwalk, where previously the Sex Pistols, the Clash and Arctic Monkeys all played and the Cockpit theatre in Leeds, where Amy Winehouse once performed.

You may have seen that Thekla in Bristol, The Flapper in Birmingham and The Cellar in Oxford have been threatened with closure due to redevelopment plans in the area. The impact this is having on the local music scene will be massive, with many of these venues being a starting point for some now huge names. Foals frontman, Yannis Philippakis, and Dave Bayley, lead singer of Glass Animals, both publically spoke out about the proposed closure of The Cellar in Oxford last year. Bayley told BBC Newsbeat last year: “My love for clubbing and nightlife basically came from The Cellar. It was one of those places you’d go to even if you don’t know the band or DJ, just cos it’s always an amazing vibe.” Luckily, The Cellar has since been saved from redevelopment.

Without these smaller local venues, new bands will struggle to find a way into the music scene, build up a fan base and to get the invaluable experience of performing to a live audience. Sir Paul McCartney even remarked: “Without the grassroots clubs, pubs and music venues my career could have been very different. If we don’t support music at this level, then the future of music, in general, is in danger.” 

Many of these smaller venues are not for profit organisations, selling cheap tickets to see up and coming bands. However, with business rates and rent rising in cities venues are suffering. Some inner-city venues are even being forced to close due to noise complaints from new nearby residential buildings.

Currently UK law states that whoever is being a nuisance is responsible. Basically, in law, you could deliberately move next to somewhere where noise is being made and demand it’s turned off and the law will support you.

The ‘Agent of Change Principle’ has been introduced by the Music Venue Trust. It is a simple message, “that the person or business responsible for the change is responsible for managing the impact of the change.” Meaning that if an apartment block was built next to an established live music venue would have to pay for soundproofing, however, a live music venue opening in a residential area would have to fund the costs of soundproofing. 

The campaign to get the ‘Agent of Change’ principle enshrined in law has been backed by 75 MPs and peers, including former culture minister Ed Vaizey and the Musicians’ Union.

Samantha Campbell-Whyte, venue manager of the Flapper in Birmingham (pictured above), said: “The closure will affect the Birmingham music scene and community greatly! We need independent grassroots venues, like The Flapper, for our local bands and smaller touring bands. “With the loss of so many venues, throughout the country, it will most definitely impact on smaller bands. We all love going to festivals and gigs at larger venues; but all those bands had to start somewhere.

I think everything should be done to preserve local music scenes. Venue owners and promoters play a massive part but the public needs to get out to their local boozer/music venue more often. Enjoy these independent venues, they’re full of character and soul and the people who work within them work hard at creating something different.”

The organisers at The Flapper are planning a ‘Celebration of The Flapper’ starting mid-May until their last day of trade. Many local and touring bands will be taking to the stage for one last time to give an incredible send off and go out swinging one last time. Details will be available soon on their website. 

The Flapper is a much-loved venue in Birmingham, and the outrage on Twitter when the closure was announced has been massive.

To try and keep these venues alive support your local independent music venues! Whether that be going to a gig of a band you’ve never heard or just popping in for a quick pint. These unique places which are run by passionate and hardworking people work incredibly hard to provide us with these brilliant spaces and we need to support them.