Latest news with #DominicMadden
Western Telegraph
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Western Telegraph
Famous Sheffield club has been gutted in act of ‘wanton destruction', says owner
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. Sheffield rockers Def Leppard played a 'One Night Only' gig at The Leadmill in 2023 as the club's legal battle against eviction continued (Danny Lawson/PA) 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'.
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Famous Sheffield club has been gutted in act of ‘wanton destruction', says owner
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. Sheffield rockers Def Leppard played a 'One Night Only' gig at The Leadmill in 2023 as the club's legal battle against eviction continued (Danny Lawson/PA) 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'.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
'Cultural vandalism' claim after Sheffield's Leadmill gutted
The owner of Sheffield's former Leadmill venue has accused the outgoing tenant of "aggressively" removing fixtures and fittings and leaving the building an empty Madden, whose Electric Group owns the building, said he was "shocked" at the state of the building after Phil Mills of Leadmill Ltd left the property on also accused Mr Mills of "cultural vandalism" after a stone frieze above the main entrance was Ltd said it had removed the artwork in order to "lovingly rehome it" at a later date and that it had left the building in the state the lease required. Mr Madden told BBC Radio Sheffield the building, which closed in June, had been left with bare walls and floors and with all the external doors removed."I think Mr Mills has a particularly aggressive interpretation of the lease," he said."He was entitled, contractually, to take certain things out of the building, but whether he has the moral authority to do so is something completely different."Sheffield City Council said its dangerous structures team had responded to concerns the external doors had been removed and the building was unsafe. It added it was satisfied the Electric Group had since made the building Ltd, however, shared a before and after photo from the venue, saying it had left the building in the same state as when it had moved in as a tenant. Mr Madden said the artwork removal was "a very sad state of affairs" and said he would restore it if it was returned."This is a piece of public art that was created in the early 1980s by an artist. It was commissioned and paid for by the original charity at the Leadmill, funded by Sheffield Council, so it is a public piece of art."Again Mr Mills has a pretty aggressive, extreme interpretation of what he feels are his fixtures and fittings."My legal advice from a senior barrister is absolutely clear, the Electric Group owns the building and the frieze forms part of the fabric of the building."It is basically cultural vandalism. It's appalling and Mr Mills really should do the right thing and give it back." Leadmill Ltd said the lease "very clearly" listed what belonged to them.A spokesman said: "The building was empty and derelict before we took it over in 1980 and made it into a much loved venue so [Mr] Madden's comments about whether we paid for our own belongings makes no sense."The frieze is a lovely piece of art and was something that was commissioned by The Leadmill early in our existence, it wouldn't have existed had we not moved into the building in the 1980s."Our intention was to carefully remove each section so that it can be lovingly rehomed with us at a later date."We were sadly prevented from removing the bottom half but obviously want to reunite both sides with us which we will be getting advice on."Sheffield City Council previously said planning permission was not obtained to remove the frieze.A spokesperson for the authority said its planning team was currently in the process of assessing what enforcement powers were available in relation to the breach. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
BBC News
02-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Sheffield's Leadmill club announces farewell event after 45 years
Sheffield's longest running live music venue and nightclub has announced the date of its final event before it Leadmill, which opened in 1980, will host a farewell party on 28 June, after the operators of the city centre venue lost their recent appeal against Court of Appeal ruling brought an end to years of dispute between The Leadmill Ltd and Electric Group, which bought the building in a post on social media, club managers said the night would be a celebration of four decades of "unforgettable nights and historic gigs" at "our iconic home". CEO of Electric Group, Dominic Madden, previously said purchasing the freehold for The Leadmill in 2017 had saved it from being redeveloped into flats."We didn't want that to happen, so we stepped in to buy it and save it – something the leaseholder was not prepared to do," he said at the Electric Group, which runs existing venues in London, Bristol and Newcastle, now intends to run the venue as a "slightly more polished version".However, the venue's current management called the change of ownership a "hostile takeover" and an "extermination" of the club's hard-won reputation. Following last month's ruling, the venue said the decision felt "like a betrayal of the cultural fabric of our city" and would mean the loss of over 70 said while it would "miss our home", the closure would not mean the end and assured ticket holders for future events that gigs would be relocated to other venues in Sheffield."The Leadmill has always been more than a building and that is something that you just can't buy," Sunday's social media post read."It's the people, the spirit and the stories that have made it what it is. Wherever we go, we'll be taking that with us."Based near Sheffield's main railway station, the venue has hosted some of the biggest names in music such as Pulp, Coldplay, The Stone Roses and Oasis. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
20-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
The Leadmill: Sheffield venue seeks permission to appeal eviction
The tenants of The Leadmill music venue in Sheffield have applied for permission to appeal the decision to evict month a judge ruled that the venue's owners, Electric Group, should be allowed to take over the much-loved 900-capacity building and run it Leadmill Ltd said it was wrong for a landlord to profit from "the tenant's hard work" and the appeal was an "important test case" for all business tenants.A Court of Appeal spokesperson said: "We are processing the application and awaiting documents before it can be referred to a judge to consider the application." Guidance from the Court of Appeal says permission to appeal "will only be given if your appeal has a real prospect of succeeding or there is some other compelling reason for the appeal to be heard".According to the guidance, the grounds of appeal within the application must state why the lower court decision is wrong or Leadmill said: "This is an important test case affecting every business tenant in the country."We say that it is wrong to be forced out of business by a no-fault eviction, while the landlord profits from the tenant's hard work in building up a valuable business over many years."An Electric Group spokesperson declined to comment. 'Strip fixtures' As it stands, the Leadmill must leave the venue by June, although it is understood that date could be pushed back if permission to appeal is venue's website features bookings until Group director Dominic Madden told the eviction hearing that under his ownership the venue "will be a slightly more polished, probably modernised, version of the same thing"."It will still be hosting concerts and nightclub events [but] it's different insofar as it's plugged into a national network of music venues."The Electric Group runs existing venues in London, Bristol and Madden said the venue could be operational under his ownership by September after a fit-out, although the Leadmill's sole director Phil Mills had said he would strip the venue of its fixtures and fittings in the case of January Sheffield City Council approved an application from MVL Properties, owned by Electric Group, to remove Leadmill signage painted on the side of the building and replace it with the word Leadmill Ltd owns the trademark for the venue's name and logo, meaning the venue will likely be renamed under the Electric BBC understands a final decision on a new name for the site, on Leadmill Road, is yet to be made. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
