The Leadmill in Sheffield to host final gig tonight

This comes after months of legal battles in the courts as the owners of the venue attempted to appeal against their eviction by the landlord Electric Group.

Electric Group brought the property back in 2017, and plan to modernize the venue.

The Leadmill lost their final appeal on May 14th of this year, with the courts siding with their landlord.

Notable acts who have played the venue include Arctic Monkeys, Def Leppard, and Pulp who have a blue plaque on the building marking the site as where they played their first concert.

Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker spoke of his intent to retrieve the plaque before the new owners stepped in. In an interview with NME he said: “If the next thing you read about me is that I’ve been arrested trying to crowbar off a plaque outside of The Leadmill, you’ll know why.”

For me, the loss of the Leadmill represents not only the loss of a venue and nightclub, but the loss of the cities history. Sheffield has suffered from the closure of too many venues in 2025, with the closure of the Dorothy Pax, and Hopeworks earlier this year. Sheffield has a long standing history of producing some exceptional musical talent, and as more an more venues face closure the risk of losing this becomes too high.

This comes as not only are grassroots venues up and down the country being forced to close (with two per week shutting their doors, according to the Music Venue Trust), but ordinary people are being priced out of music all together.

I’ve only lived in Sheffield for two years now, but the Leadmill has been central to some of my best nights and memories (as well as a few worse ones.) From freshers week DJ sets with Dick and Dom, to regular appearances at their variety of club nights. With cheap drinks, and a good music, its all in the recipe for a good night.

I have also attended some of the best gigs at the Leadmill. I’ve been fortunate enough to catch brilliant artists like Bob Vylan, Antony Szmierek, and Sleaford Mods.

Even the buildings location makes its loss upsetting. Right next to the train station, the first thing you see when you come back into the city. The big glowing “Leadmill” sign, a photo of which everyone has taken when visiting, is a landmark of its own in the city.

Electric Group are taking over the building, and they promise a newer, and more furnished version of the same thing. While it may be nice to be rid of those sticky floors, I worry that modernising the building will make it loose its character.

The Leadmill has been running since it opened in 1980.