Music venue open for toilet paper sales and turns to online auctions to support its staff

This article is more than 5 months old

This article is more than 5 months old

It is better known as the historic training ground for Sheffield bands including Arctic Monkeys and Pulp, but now the Steel City’s longest-running live music venue has taken on a secondary purpose – flogging rock memorabilia and toilet paper.

The Leadmill will remain open until the UK government makes it mandatory for gig venues and nightclubs to close because of the coronavirus outbreak, but its managers have financial fears for the future.

Among the items being auctioned online to cover wages for its 75 staff and freelancers is a guitar made from the venue’s former floorboards and signed by Arctic Monkeys members including Alex Turner.

Customers can also now buy loo rolls from the box office at the venue, which hosts comedy, club, and film nights as well as gigs after panic buying led to shortages.

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Beth Okogba, 23, the Leadmill’s promotions manager, said the tactic was to help stop people “being ripped off” and to draw attention to the fact that the venue was still open to buy merchandise and future gig tickets from.

“The shop around the corner from us started selling toilet rolls for £1 each, so we bought 2,000 from our suppliers and are selling them at the same cost, four for £1.83,” she said.

“We physically can’t survive unless we are told that we are closed and hopefully that’s when the insurance can step in and help.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A guitar made out of the original floorboards of the club and signed by The Artic Monkeys will be on sale. Photograph: Gary Calton/The Observer

“We’re trying to raise as much money as possible to cover anyone and everyone. If we do have to close, we won’t be able to support any of our local DJs or crews, or anyone that relies on the venue.”

After the prime minister told the public to avoid pubs, clubs, theatres on Monday, operators raised fears that thousands of venues could be forced to close with the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Dozens of memorabilia items collected from past gigs at the Leadmill, including posters signed by Blossoms and a coffin that Royal Blood’s lead singer Mike Kerr crowdsurfed in at the venue, were listed on the online auctioning site ebid on Tuesday.