The Leadmill: End of an era as legendary nightclub and cultural icon closes after four decades

Only The Leadmill, which claims to be the longest-running live music venue and nightclub in Sheffield, home to live music, club nights, theatre, comedy, sport and film screenings.

It also helped launch countless acts towards stardom, perhaps most famously Pulp.

The Britpop legends played one of their first ever gigs at the venue in 1980. Homegrown stars including Richard Hawley and the Arctic Monkeys also credit the club as a key part of their early careers.

It also touched countless lives and helped define the city as creative, down-to-earth and cool.

But after Miles Kane performs on Friday it will pass into legend because it is being forced to close.

After a long and bitter legal battle, the current owner of the business, Phil Mills, and more than 70 staff, have to be out by August 14.

It is the end of an era which began in 1980 when volunteers led by John Redfearn and Chris Andrews spent months cleaning up the former warehouse to stage events.

In the early days The Leadmill had a theatre company, a dance company, cabaret, a cafe and a women-only performance night.

Starting out as a co-operative it later became a charity and then, in 1994 a private company called The Leadmill Ltd.

It evolved and grew and by the 2020s the venue was hosting 400 events a year – bands, comedy, drag and club nights, workshops and talks – and welcoming up to 1,100 revellers a night, some 100,000 people-a-year.

But it wasn’t to last.

In March 2022, the business was issued with an eviction notice by the Electric Group which bought the building in 2016. The London-based firm expected to take over when a 20-year lease expired in March 2023.

But instead of making preparations to leave, The Leadmill cranked up a huge campaign of support calling on celebrity contacts and supporters and claiming to be fighting for the soul of Sheffield.

Jarvis Cocker said The Leadmill was “more than this building and this stage, it's something that's grown over years and it's a feeling. It's like a form of magic.”

Phil Mills also challenged the original eviction order, called for a change in the law on landlords and opposed the Electric Group’s application for a licence.

The deadline to be out came and went and the business carried on, booking and advertising acts and staging events, although it was now technically squatting.

In October, a judge dismissed The Leadmill’s challenge to Electric Group obtaining a licence and in February of this year Electric Group subsidiary, MVL Properties (2017) Limited, was granted a possession order in the High Court.

In May, management finally admitted defeat. Mr Mills has never commented publicly.

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Electric Group’s CEO Dominic Madden has repeatedly tried to reassure people the venue is in safe hands and his vision "is all about continuity of programming.”

He has said the company – which already runs Electric Brixton in London and SWX in Bristol - would invest £1m refurbishing the premises to secure its future as a music venue for the next 30 years.

They also planned to rehire staff but have been unable to say how long it will be closed.

In 2023, Mr Madden said: “Phil Mills, the current operator of the Leadmill, had several opportunities to purchase the freehold of the building, including during a public auction in 2014.

“However, he chose not to pursue this course of action, and as a result, Electric Group acquired the freehold in 2016.

“Our intention from the beginning has been to continue operating the venue as a music, arts, and comedy hub, preserving its legacy.”