The state of sheffield clubbing

[discodown 11]

I think we can all agree that unless you like speed garage and 4 x 4 this weekend has been one of desparately bad news for the sheffield club scene.

 

3 of the most forward thinking, progressive and best venues have gone from us in one weekend. Fez which is many peoples (including mine) favourite club in sheffield. Pravda which was starting to do good things and gain a better reputation and the earl which allowed the most eclectic music policy in sheffield and allowed young and first time promoters an opportunity have all gone.

 

Its easy to blame the owners of niche for it but that wouldn't be fair. They are in business and that means sometimes you have to take unpopular decisions and do whats best for you as opposed to what everyone would like. Add to that that niche has to be one of the most profitable clubs in sheffield and probably the only club to attract a significant amount of out of town clubbers to the city. Like it or not niche is incredibly good at what it does and the minority of clubbers who are into it adore it. You can't fault them for being the best at what they do.

 

So whats left? In my opinion these are the only real club contenders in the city centre.

 

GC1 is sadly not really a club anymore, its a corporate money making machine that no longer has much credibility amongst the clubbers. They do have the financial clout to attract the absolute top level DJ's such as morillo etc but amongst my friends its not high on out list of places to go.

 

Plug is probably the most solid venue right now, its huge, can accomodate various music styles and does have top drawer DJ's and nights on. Mostly theres a decent crowd and theres lots to like about it.

 

DQ is with the addition of the second room now becoming a major player and with nights like UG and now razor stilletto its more and more becoming a first choice for many.

 

Matrix is steadily improving constantly, we were there last night for a time and it was excellent, a really chilled vibe, quality dj's, home of hustle and the matcalfes know what they're doing so they'll be fine.

 

And apart from a few bars who do good stuff like the harley theres virtually nothing else, however if you look outside the town centre there are 2 other venues shhhh! where i was at this morning until 8.30 and it was still going strong which is going to be a major player for underground stuff and afterparties etc and cactus club in burngreave which i've never been to but i understand is very good.

 

So basically theres maybe half a dozen venues that cater for clubbers.

 

The fact is its the councils fault theres no good club venues. It shouldn't matter that niche bought what they did in a city this size. sheffields reputation for dance music and clubbing stretches back for over 30 years its disgusting that theres not enough venues for clubs etc. its a disgrace the way the council chokes the life out of the club scene. Sheffield needs at least 5-6 new venues within the city centre run like the earl and fez so new talent can have a chance to do new things. i know of some people given a chance to do their thing at fez last friday and now through no fault of their own they're out on their ear. what are their chances of getting another venue for next month? slim to none.

 

Easy to blame niche but not correct. They only did what was best for them. Who can blame them for that and who wouldn't have done the same given the opprtunity?

[redrobbo 10]

The fact is its the councils fault theres no good club venues. It shouldn't matter that niche bought what they did in a city this size. sheffields reputation for dance music and clubbing stretches back for over 30 years its disgusting that theres not enough venues for clubs etc. its a disgrace the way the council chokes the life out of the club scene. Sheffield needs at least 5-6 new venues within the city centre run like the earl and fez so new talent can have a chance to do new things. i know of some people given a chance to do their thing at fez last friday and now through no fault of their own they're out on their ear. what are their chances of getting another venue for next month? slim to none.

 

How on earth did you reach this ridiculous conclusion discodown?

 

The council are not club entrepreneurs or promoters. If, as you contend, the city needs more night life - then it's up to the providers of the club scene to meet the demand, not the council.

[Tony 10]

I have to say that I'm with redrobbo - what on earth has it got to do with the council.

 

You have a point about the general club scene though, but what you're noticing (I think) is something that's happening across the country as the lines between bars and clubs blurs. Clubs just don't have the pulling power now that plenty of bars are open well past midnight. Less pulling power means fewer customers which means... well I think you get the picture.

[happyhippy 11]

Absolutely tony and redrobbo. If nothing else, as a rock/metal fan, I have ONE venue really, and that's one I despise, you, discodown, have half a dozen ....... sheesh .........

[redrobbo 10]

On other threads, discodown acknowledges that the lack of clubbing venues in the city is the responsibility of the promoters!

 

Here is a discussion between bigbear and discodown.....

 

as in, the Earl is also no longer a suitable venue for underground events.

 

with Fez and Earl gone, not many other venues around that size are around any longer in sheffield.

 

fact: 4x4 bassline (speedgarage) is the only genre that generates reliable revenue weekly for operators, and is not seasonal.

 

fact: money talks...

 

 

sad but true. there aren't enough good venues in sheff anyway and this means that another one is taken over.

 

i know everyone is dissappointed but it'll get better

 

So discodown, what's the council got to do with both the Earl and Fez closing down? According to you, it's all down to these venues being "taken over".

 

Here's another quote by discodown......

pinup pretty much picked up the scene after bed closed and i have had some amazing nights in there. my 3 top nights were seamus haji, mync project and wes. pinup was a rare thing a club that felt like a party week in week out. so to the pinup crew i say thankyou and i hope you secure a new venue and don't just let the night die because it would be a terrible shame if it did.

 

urban gorilla is probably the best night in sheffield and has been for about 2 years. it embodies what good clubbing should be about and its desparately sad they now need to find a new home.

 

scuba was one of the best nights of its type for a long time, they brought some amazing djs to sheffield and inspired fierce loyalty to its clubbers. sheffield is poorer that it is no longer running.

 

overall the fez was a superb club that provided a lot of good times and allowed promoters the opportunity to try something different, i know that the futre funk and UTI boys will be devastated as will most clubbers.

 

So, pinup closed, as did scuba - but not because the council didn't provide enough sites for clubbers, but simply because the promoters stopped promoting them!

 

The same applies to fez closing - which discodown acknowledges in the above quote was entirely due to the promoters - and not the council.

 

The ever changing club scene in Sheffield has got nothing to do with the council, but everything to do with the promoters - as discodown himself acknowledges. Maybe discodown is having a mental block when he forgets what he's had to say on other threads.

[green 10]

Disco --- If you knew the history of Plug, you would know that the council played a major part of ensuring we were not a casualty of the development of the Moor, and that we were a part of it. We are forever eternally grateful for that.

 

There are many problems within the late night entertainment industry at the moment. The industry has changed hugely over the last 7 years. No longer will people pay in droves for big djs (who incidently still wish to charge big payments!) and no longer do we have an influx of 18 year olds who want to hear the kind of alternative music that Plug/Razor/UG play. Most kids are now brought up on MTV/Kerrang etc, and its not very cool to want to listen to the kind of music your parents raved to! Venues need to adapt to the changes. At Plug we purposely saw the industry moving to move live music, and adapted our extension plans last year (from .zero to plug) to cater for this market. If we hadnt we most definately would have had a for sale sign above our heads this year. Fez/Pravda/Earl have consistently tried like ourselves to cater for the more discerning clubber, utilising external promoters whom fondly cater well for their own specific genres, but unfortunately if a promoter has a bad night, he loses a signifantly smaller amount of money than a venue does - which still has its huge overheads of rent/rates/staff etc.

 

The better promoters in Sheffield understand these difficulties, but others have no idea and think that venues are trying to rob them when they tell them the hire charges involved if they want to run a night. If a venue is charging cheap rent, more often than not the facilities then will suffer, till you get to the point where people stop going, promoters are fed up, and then lo and behold it closes down again! There are many venues in this fine city that have gone this way, and no doubt will again.

 

It is easy to point blame at the council or police when these situations happen, but maybe we should all look closer to home.

 

If we had 5 or 6 new venues in the city, and we had, for example, chibuku, tribal sessions, fabric all here, do you truly think that they would all still be around 1 year later?!?

 

I personally would like to see a few more DQ bars and Frog & Parrots where smaller promoters can start off new nights....but we need to convert the public to support them. Which we both know, isnt easy!

 

[green 10]

Redrobbo --- one point for the council thou. Whilst we are still (here at Plug) trying to ascertain the new council policy of flyering, if, as we are being led to believe, we have to pay to flyer a specific place, this will crucify new promoters and only lead the bigger venues in the city having all the marketing powers. Which incidently is exactly what happened to the billboards in this city, with one company Space Advertising, having the whole market and charging abhorrant prices! Nobody other than City Hall can afford to pay JCDecaux (spelling ?!?).

 

This is something that needs to be addressed immediately, and we are struggling to find anyone within the council to assist us to hear our comments.

 

Can you advise???

[goldenfleece 11]

Flyers are very much a concept from the 'good old days' for event and club promotion......they are now just a complete nuisance full stop. I never look at flyers anymore as they are thrust at me in town, I just refuse to take them, or if someone insists, I simply crumple and dispose of without looking at. They are dead tools for event promotion....

 

The way forward with marketing is txt or SMS or other electronic ways......and maybe now we can get all the millions of unread and torn up flyers off the streets as its a nightmare.....

[redrobbo 10]

Redrobbo --- one point for the council thou. Whilst we are still (here at Plug) trying to ascertain the new council policy of flyering, if, as we are being led to believe, we have to pay to flyer a specific place, this will crucify new promoters and only lead the bigger venues in the city having all the marketing powers. Which incidently is exactly what happened to the billboards in this city, with one company Space Advertising, having the whole market and charging abhorrant prices! Nobody other than City Hall can afford to pay JCDecaux (spelling ?!?).

 

This is something that needs to be addressed immediately, and we are struggling to find anyone within the council to assist us to hear our comments.

 

Can you advise???

 

Flyering is one of the biggest contributors to the piles of litter that simply end up on our city streets. Despite discussions with various night clubs, flyering, and associated illegal fly posting (mostly undertaken by students), has continued. Millions of pounds has been spent on transfoming the heart of the city, and yet at times the streets and pavements are at risk of ending up looking like a refuse tip.

 

Despite the discussions with the industry, the problems with flyering and fly posting continued. The more responsible organisations looked to other means of promoting, but called foul play when other, less responsible organisations, took advantage of their co-operation with the council. Faced with public demand to keep our city centre streets cleaner, the council duly adopted new legislation specifically designed to control flyering.

 

As goldenfleece points out, flyering is now more a question of public nuisance, and marketing of events does indeed need to develop along the lines of electronic communication.

[jake 10]

I'd be interested to hear Green's point adressed of why one comapny - Space - has a monopoly on the legal flyposting sites in Sheffield?

[dimitrysoul 10]

Flyering is one of the biggest contributors to the piles of litter that simply end up on our city streets. Despite discussions with various night clubs, flyering, and associated illegal fly posting (mostly undertaken by students), has continued. Millions of pounds has been spent on transfoming the heart of the city, and yet at times the streets and pavements are at risk of ending up looking like a refuse tip.

 

Despite the discussions with the industry, the problems with flyering and fly posting continued. The more responsible organisations looked to other means of promoting, but called foul play when other, less responsible organisations, took advantage of their co-operation with the council. Faced with public demand to keep our city centre streets cleaner, the council duly adopted new legislation specifically designed to control flyering.

 

As goldenfleece points out, flyering is now more a question of public nuisance, and marketing of events does indeed need to develop along the lines of electronic communication.

 

Any chance of actually discussing the billboard point. Billboard advertising will certainly reduce the amount of flyers I get produced (and I guess other promoters too) . But I wont be chucked over a barrel by the Council's chosen partner for postering in the city. Its obscene the amount of cash that they ask to do the job. They (Space) may reply that it is the council that charge them for the space provided , in which case the 'untidy streets' issue drops back on council's desk. Charge less for the advertising space>Promoters get charged less for advertising (legally) in the city > Therefore there is less need for flyers on the city's footpaths...its not rocket science is it?

 

Btw redrobbo, you side stepped Green's comment like a politician.

[discodown 11]

Lots of points to answer. I'll try my best to do so.

 

The council are not club entrepreneurs or promoters. If, as you contend, the city needs more night life - then it's up to the providers of the club scene to meet the demand, not the council.

Agreed they aren't. But what they can do is allow some more purpose built venues or allow existing empty buildings to be converted to smaller and medium sized venues (say up to about 500 capacity max)

 

You have deliberately misquoted me. In previous threads i've suggested that promoters are to blame for not bringing big name dj's in because of the problems they have promoting events effectively. For all your innocence and wide eyed 'don't blame us' attitude the council ultimately have to take some responsibility for the amount of venues in this city if not them then who else?

 

Absolutely tony and redrobbo. If nothing else, as a rock/metal fan, I have ONE venue really, and that's one I despise, you, discodown, have half a dozen ....... sheesh .........

Is that right? In a city this size you feel you only really have one viable choice for a night out featuring the music you want to listen to? And that doesn't make you angry? If there were enough venues then maybe you could do something about that. To be fair there are a few one off nights that cater for you in various venues.

 

On other threads, discodown acknowledges that the lack of clubbing venues in the city is the responsibility of the promoters!

 

Here is a discussion between bigbear and discodown.....

 

as in, the Earl is also no longer a suitable venue for underground events.

 

with Fez and Earl gone, not many other venues around that size are around any longer in sheffield.

 

fact: 4x4 bassline (speedgarage) is the only genre that generates reliable revenue weekly for operators, and is not seasonal.

 

fact: money talks...

 

sad but true. there aren't enough good venues in sheff anyway and this means that another one is taken over.

 

i know everyone is dissappointed but it'll get better

 

So discodown, what's the council got to do with both the Earl and Fez closing down? According to you, it's all down to these venues being "taken over".

 

Here's another quote by discodown......

 

pinup pretty much picked up the scene after bed closed and i have had some amazing nights in there. my 3 top nights were seamus haji, mync project and wes. pinup was a rare thing a club that felt like a party week in week out. so to the pinup crew i say thankyou and i hope you secure a new venue and don't just let the night die because it would be a terrible shame if it did.

 

urban gorilla is probably the best night in sheffield and has been for about 2 years. it embodies what good clubbing should be about and its desparately sad they now need to find a new home.

 

scuba was one of the best nights of its type for a long time, they brought some amazing djs to sheffield and inspired fierce loyalty to its clubbers. sheffield is poorer that it is no longer running.

 

overall the fez was a superb club that provided a lot of good times and allowed promoters the opportunity to try something different, i know that the futre funk and UTI boys will be devastated as will most clubbers.

 

So, pinup closed, as did scuba - but not because the council didn't provide enough sites for clubbers, but simply because the promoters stopped promoting them!

 

The same applies to fez closing - which discodown acknowledges in the above quote was entirely due to the promoters - and not the council.

 

The ever changing club scene in Sheffield has got nothing to do with the council, but everything to do with the promoters - as discodown himself acknowledges. Maybe discodown is having a mental block when he forgets what he's had to say on other threads.

And you've misquoted me again. I'm not saying the council should promote nights i'm simply saying there aren't enough good venues in the city. It shouldn't matter that we've lost 3 venues this weekend, there should be enough venues to pick up the slack but there isn't. DQ can only do so much, i'll be surprised if plug take any nights because i was under the impression they wanted all their nights in house. So where can these nights go? I realise the council don't give a crap but 18-30 year olds pay council tax too.

 

I could go on and on but i'm a bit busy so i'll return to this later. In the meantime feel free to continue!