Sheffield locals on The Leadmill eviction: “It’s the cultural heart of our city – don’t rip it out”
nme.comNME about the local reaction to the proposed eviction of the current operators of The Leadmill.Last week, the iconic Sheffield venue and club told music fans of the “devastating news that in one year’s time, our Landlord is trying to evict us, forcing us to close” – leading to an outpouring of upset and support from the music world.The current bosses of The Leadmill then responded to the owners, denying their intentions to close the venue.
Leaders of Electric Group, the company who bought the freehold for the site in March 2017, argued that they’d be removing the current management but keeping the building as a music venue after renovations.Electric Group CEO Dominic Madden – whose company also own London’s Electric Brixton, the SWX nightclub in Bristol, and NX Newcastle – told his Twitter followers that “the management may change but the song stays the same”.
Along with Madden, Electric Group is a joint venture with Jake Lewis of the Lewis Family, who run retailer River Island along with hotels, property development and asset management businesses.The current management then hit back, arguing that they were being “exterminated by the landlord”.
It also emerged that Electric Group had registered for the trademark ‘Electric Sheffield’ back in February.Arctic Monkeys, Richard Hawley, Jarvis Cocker and Bring Me The Horizon’s Oli Sykes are among the Sheffield artists to have spoken out in support of the venue.
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