Bristol's Motion nightclub closes after almost two decades

BBC News

3 days ago

A nightclub that has hosted some of the world's biggest DJs will shut its doors on the weekend after almost two decades.Motion, in Bristol, regularly listed as one of the UK's best clubs, will leave the Grade-II listed industrial warehouse which it has hosted parties in since 2006. The owners have secured another site nearby but say the current venue holds "a lot of special memories".Managing director Dan Deeks called the closure bittersweet, adding: "We're trying to keep our heads up high and enjoy the last weekend and keep a celebratory mood... but obviously massive sad that we're going to lose the club."
"We've had massive support, a real outpouring of supportive messages, memories. It's been really heart-warming."It holds a lot of special memories, some really special times," added Mr Deeks.
Mr Deeks, who has worked at the club for more than 15 years, explained the landlord wanted to sell the site and that the nightclub owners had put bids forward."They don't want us to buy it. Our lease expires and that's the end of it," he said.He does not know what the landlords want to do with the building but said the club was "incredibly grateful" to have been able to use it for the past two decades.Mr Deeks said despite the sadness of the closure "things are looking good". "We've got a new site to move to and we're really pleased because it's not a leasehold, it's a freehold site."
DJ and producer Eats Everything called the club "a piece of UK nightlife history". "It's one of the most important venues in the country," he said, adding: "Friendships, marriages, children, all manner of relationships will have been formed on the dancefloor in this place."
The artist added: "It's broken tracks, it's broken artists that have had their first gigs here and now have gone on to become massive stars."You've had every single DJ under the sun come play here. And now it's closing and it's sad, man. It's a sad day."It holds a big place in my heart."
Carly Heath, Bristol's night-time economy advisor, moved to Bristol in 2004 and remembers spending thousands of hours flyering outside Motion, as well as putting on nights there."I'm trying not to think about [the closure] too much. I feel really, really sad," she said.She added that venues like Motion were "critically important to our economy", generating tens of millions of pounds, as well as contributing to culture, togetherness and wellbeing.Ms Heath said: "These guys are going to go on and do amazing things. Cities are about flux and change. This is the end of one chapter but I firmly believe it's the beginning of another."
Motion will bow out with a 24-hour party over the weekend."We are absolutely going for it. There's points where it won't stop," said Mr Deeks. "Everyone will be able to come down, have a good time and see it off in style."