The Harley in Sheffield has earned its place in history as one of the pubs where a pre-fame Arctic Monkeys cut their teeth. But the 200-capacity venue and pub, which also hosted early gigs by the xx and Royal Blood, closed without warning earlier this month. In a statement that has since been deleted, the owners said “mounting financial pressures” had made it impossible to continue with the business.

For promoters like Hayley Woods, founder of drum’n’bass fundraising night Rave and Raise, the Harley offered a vital first chance to put on an event. “Everyone’s feeling a bit lost,” she told the Guardian. “It was a pivotal part of the Sheffield music scene and a big place for the whole community to come together and meet. It’s just an irreplaceable venue.”

In Derby people don’t seem to want to pay for music Former Victoria proprietor David Poole-Burley

Two weeks after the Harley shut, the Maze in Nottingham, central to the rise of Clifton singer-songwriter Jake Bugg, announced it will close its doors in June. Proprietors Gaz and Steph Peacham, who have run the venue for 15 years, cited similar reasons for their decision.

Gaz Peacham pointed to licensing laws and changing drinking habits, adding: “There’s been a lot of love for the place and great sadness, which is how we feel too, but it’s the right decision. It’s not good for our health anymore.”



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nottingham musician Jake Bugg, who played early gigs at the Maze. Photograph: Richard Saker/The Observer

In Derby, the Victoria Inn, a city centre pub where Kasabian, Snow Patrol and Catfish and the Bottlemen played early shows, went up for tenancy this month after closing for the foreseeable future.

“The Vic created a community in the area with locals and music lovers,” says Dan McGrath, bassist of local band Reqs. McGrath says its plight reflects a country where people are becoming less sociable and communities have fewer places to congregate.

We’re just going to be full of Prets and Greggs Cardiff campaigner David Minty

But while former owner David Poole-Burley blamed “extortionate rates”, he also says there was a lack of support from the local community. “People don’t seem to want to pay for music. There’s no openings and a lot of bands are young ones that never really got any support. I think music is poorly supported in Derby.”

They are the latest casualties of the UK’s rapidly changing live music scene. In January 2018, industry body UK Music estimated that 35% of venues across the country had closed in the preceding decade. The UK’s first live music census, published the following month, found that a third of Britain’s small venues outside London were fighting to survive in the face of high business rates and noise restrictions.

Sam Feeley, a live promoter at the Leadmill in Sheffield, worries that such closures will hit local acts hardest, depriving them of the opportunity to play in public and progress their careers via supporting bigger acts. “These venues are the lifeblood of our whole industry,” he said. “The costs just keep mounting up. Whether it’s rent, business rates or band fees, everything seems to be going up.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fans queuing outside the Harley, Sheffield.

With the future of many venues on a knife edge, steps are being taken to safeguard them where possible. A cross-party government report published last month said urgent action is needed in the live music industry, calling on top figures to ensure more money finds its way down to grassroots level.

In August 2018, parliament passed an amendment to the national planning policy framework instigating the “agent of change” principle, whereby new residential and commercial developments must mitigate any potential noise risk from existing premises before receiving planning permission, rather than the onus falling on the noise-making institution.

Fight for the Social, the West End’s last bastion of the counter-culture Read more

In March, Soho venue the Social was saved by a crowdfunding campaign, which raised £95,000 to help owners fight an offer from a wine bar chain. But other spots are less secure. Gwdihw in Cardiff is unoccupied, and landlords want to knock it down despite people taking to the streets to protest against the closure. In March, protestors occupying the Guildford Crescent venue were served with an eviction notice.

Independent music spots help give cities their identity but are disappearing at a worrying rate, says Cardiff-based campaigner Daniel Minty, who runs a gig guide in the Welsh capital. “We’re just going to be full of Prets and Greggs,” he said. “Bands do start at the very bottom, and people forget that.”