Music Venue The Leadmill Grapples Eviction With Social Media Video

Sheffield’s longest-running music venue The Leadmill released a star-studded video, asking fans to sign a petition against its eviction. 

As part of the #WeCantLoseLeadmill campaign, local legends such as singer Lucy Spraggan and rock band Little Man Tate joined forces in a video.

Singing praises of the iconic Sheffield venue, music artists, venue members, and leaders of community groups came together to share what The Leadmill means to them. 

Almost 44,000 individuals signed a petition to preserve The Leadmill’s cultural heritage. If the petition hits 100,000 before the October 25th deadline, it will be considered for a Parliament debate.

After 42 years of delivering top-notch gigs and ineffable music sessions, The Leadmill must say goodbye to its Leadmill Road home. The nightlife hub needs to evict the premises by March 2023, when the 20-year lease expires.

The music venue company that owns the freehold intends to run the venue by itself, with plans to invest £1 million in the music temple’s refurb. The Leadmill’s operator was willing to purchase the building’s freehold for £150,000 in 2015, but he was turned down.

Electric Group bought the property for £600,000 two years later. The company’s head of music, Mike Weller, said it was “absurd and disingenuous” to say the legendary venue will permanently close its doors, calling the process “a quick tidy up.” 

But The Leadmill’s operational team was anything but silent about the eviction. General manager Ian Lawlor told The Star that Electric Group’s objective was to make the venue “a derelict flour mill.” 

“We’ve had a long history of landlords over 43 years staying in the background collecting their rent, and we had no reason to think someone would do this to us.”