‘I’ll never set foot in this venue again,” Richard Hawley proclaimed from the Leadmill stage last week, as he bowed out with his final shows there. Hawley first played the much-loved Sheffield music venue in 1984, four years after it opened in 1980. This week, it’s closing its doors – at least in its current incarnation. Miles Kane will give the final performance on Friday. “I feel honoured to be closing it,” says Kane. “It’s the end of an era and we have got to do it justice.”
While these closing gigs indicate a venue going out on a triumphant high, there’s no ignoring the fact that the end of the Leadmill has been clouded by a hugely acrimonious, bitter, prolonged fight and accompanying legal battle – one that isn’t as clearcut as some headlines around the crisis facing Britain’s small venues.
