Famous Sheffield club has been gutted in act of ‘wanton destruction', says owner

Independent

3 hours ago

The owners of the building which housed Sheffield's famous Leadmill music venue say they have found a scene of 'wanton destruction' as they took possession after a bitter eviction battle.
Electric Group said it moved in to the premises on Wednesday evening, weeks after it was successful in its long legal battle against the operators of The Leadmill.
In a statement, the firm said: 'The Leadmill, one of Sheffield's most iconic music venues, has been returned to its owners in a wrecked state – stripped of fixtures, vandalised, and left wide open to the elements.
'Electric Group, which took possession of the building late on Wednesday evening, were met with a scene of destruction, even the front doors had been taken.'
It said: 'The stage where world-famous bands once performed has been ripped out, the sprung dancefloor torn up, bars and lighting removed, and the venue stripped back to bare brickwork.'
It said the reusable materials have been 'all dumped rather than being recycled, reused, or donated to community projects'.
The firm also criticised attempts which have been made to remove a well-known Mike Disley frieze sculpture from the frontage of the building – which has been halted by Sheffield City Council.
Electric Group co-founder Dominic Madden said: 'It's devastating to see the building like this. It's so important to people.'
He said: 'Stepping into this building and seeing the wanton destruction that has taken place is the sum of all my fears.
'What has happened these last few weeks behind closed doors is devastating, how anybody can do so much damage is beyond belief.
'We knew they'd take their belongings, but we also thought they valued this place. Their treatment of it proves otherwise.'
Mr Madden said he was now 'even more determined to do whatever it takes' to re-open the building as the Electric Sheffield music venue in February 2026.
The existing Leadmill venue closed at the end of June, with a final gig by indie favourite Miles Kane, after losing a long-running eviction battle with Electric Group.
After it lost an appeal in May, The Leadmill described the decision as a 'heartbreaking moment not just for our team but for the entire Sheffield community' which 'feels like a betrayal of the cultural fabric of our city'.
The appeal ruling came three months after a judge ruled in favour of Electric Group, which owns the building and runs Electric Brixton in London plus venues in Bristol and Newcastle.
The Leadmill opened its doors 45 years ago and played host to countless bands including Pulp, Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Muse, Oasis, Stone Roses, The White Stripes, Jorja Smith and Michael Kiwanuka.
A plaque on the building marked Pulp's first gig, which was at the venue in August 1980.
Ian Lawlor, general manager of the Leadmill Ltd, told the Sheffield Star they had been open with Electric Group about their plans to remove their belongings, adding that 'any claims by them on the contrary is just fiction to make us look like the bad guys'.