A lost city-centre venue gave generations of gig goers, students and clubbers some of the best nights out of their lives.
Some will talk about the Iron Door, the Cavern, Allinson's and Eric's - all clubs which in some way or another have featured in Merseyside's musical history. But the Magnet, founded in 1958, also holds an illustrious and iconic place in the city's heart.
Originally, a street level bar named the Rumblin’ Tum, an eating house famed from the outside for its geometric wood panelling at the window, the basement of the site was named the Sink Club. One of the city’s first black music venues, many will remember entry was by way of a numbered sink plug on a short length of chain which proved membership.
Read More:
- Memories of Liverpool Halloween night that was 'busiest' clubbers had 'ever seen it'
- 15 photos capture the day Anfield bid farewell to the Spion Kop
The Sink was very much a club of its day and when you took the steps to the basement, there was a whole new world of loud music, bodies bunched together in a tiny space and great camaraderie. When the venue was called Sink Club, Freddie Mercury first played with Brian May in an early incarnation of the band Queen.
From 60’s soul to 70’s disco, to nuances of reggae and ska in the 80’s and electro in the 90’s, The Magnet for generations was a melting pot for different music genres and a meeting place for people from all walks of life. A number of acts also played the stage in the bars bustling basement over the years, including Ibis, Gregory Isaacs, Ron Ayers, Deaf School and Pete Wylie.
Under its warm red glow with a dance floor, stage and cosy booths, it felt like you had stepped into the VIP waiting room in Hades. In its time, the bar and club also boasted a long list of accolades including 'Best Bar in Liverpool' with The Guardian and sat proudly at No 29 in GQ Magazine's Best Bars in the World list.
Did you ever go to The Magnet? Let us know in the comments section below.
In 2011, The Magnet reopened after a multi-million pound refit which saw the club revamped into a Las Vegas styled gambling hall from the 1970s, before closing once again in July 2013. In May 2014, new owners of the legendary Hardman Street music hub celebrated 54 years of late night parties as they prepared to throw open the doors after a recent facelift.
At the time, manager Josh Boyd said: "Many of the bars in Liverpool have been on a journey since the 1960s and none more so than The Magnet. It's had many faces, each of which have helped it to become the place that many of us can associate with today – a distinctly different and intimate space that boasts a varied history, but always with music at its core.
"It was the first true ‘black music’ venue in Liverpool, at a time when social rifts were ever present in society. Parties down in the basement were a popular place for friends to meet in an environment that didn’t distinguish by colour or by creed, but instead brought people together through a shared love of emerging music of the time.
Join our Liverpool memories and history Facebook group here.
"It is exactly this that we want to reintroduce to the Liverpool social scene, and we feel that now is as good a time as any. With bars like The Kazimier, Zanzibar and Studio 2 to name a few, already creating a buzz for the city’s music scene, we want to join that growing community and support and impart the rich and diverse musical history on which the city is so built."
But by early 2018, it was announced that The Magnet would no longer host gigs, as the site was "changing ownership and usage," according to Merseyside club promoters EVOL. At the time, John King of AE Audio, who look after the club's audio and lighting, told the ECHO: "A great deal of people have poured their hearts and souls into the place.
For more nostalgia stories, sign up to our Liverpool Echo newsletter here.
"We took a run-down venue and turned it into one of the best live music venues in the city. I remember when JP Cooper came and did an acoustic set there in 2015, just before he went massive, you could hear a pin drop in the room.
"And I just remember thinking that it was such a special venue. I don’t know what the future holds for magnet, but hopefully at some point, future generations will know what it’s like to leave through that famous red door at 6am, ears ringing."
By April 2018, the ECHO reported how renovations had begun at the former site of Liverpool's much-loved music venue, The Magnet, as the Hot Water Comedy Club prepared to open. Promising to live up to the high-standards of it's sister venue on Seel Street, the club had started an extensive renovation at the old musical hot-spot.
In August that year, Hot Water Comedy Club officially opened and the team went to great lengths to maintain as much of the history of the iconic bar. Many of the original features were either lovingly restored or relocated to integrate into the state of the art live comedy and music venue.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
Read Next:
- Lost Liverpool venue and celebrity haunt that sold '£800 prosecco'
- Merseyside's lost bakeries famous for strawberry tarts and 'best workers in the world'
- Rare footage captures glimpse of life in Liverpool decades ago
- Lost fashion giant 'famous' for low prices where 'everyone used to go'
- Lost Liverpool restaurant loved by celebrities that 'boasted so many dishes'
