14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'We played one of the last gigs at The Leadmill - it closing is a real worry'
EXCLUSIVE: One of the last bands to ever perform at Sheffield's iconic The Leadmill have revealed their fears for the music scene saying the closure meant losing 'the place to go' for a number of generations
One of the last ever bands to grace the stage at Sheffield's iconic The Leadmill have revealed their concern as the venue shuts its doors for one last time.
The region's longest running live music venue and nightclub lost its battle to remain open earlier this year after 45 years in business. It has been the stomping ground for some of the biggest names in the industry, hosting the likes of Pulp, Coldplay, The Stone Roses, Oasis and The Arctic Monkeys over the years. The venue's owners said they were "truly devastated" they were closing in a heartbreaking statement earlier this year.
But now, with time being called on the establishment, exciting indie rock band The Rosadocs have called its closure a "real worry" for the industry's grassroots. Made up of Keelan Graney, Joe Egan, Adam Sleight, Callum Raynor and Myles Henderson, the band - like many others - used The Leadmill as a stepping stone to success, calling it "the place to go" for generations.
Frontman Keelan explained: "I think the feeling in the city is that it's going to be really sorely missed. It's still a place that we wanted to return and I think with the history of it, it's more about the grassroots - it's for people going to gigs.
"If you've got somewhere to go where it's almost just a given that that's where you go and see bands, then losing that is massive."
Drummer Callum added: "It's closure kind of puts a real worry for musicians and music fans in general." "Grassroots is being hit from all sides at the moment," Keelan continued. "Festivals are disappearing day after day.
"There's an infrastructure that's provided these opportunities for artists and if we lose that then we're going to lose the music, we're going to lose the festivals, we're going to lose everything."
However, the boys were thrilled to have been able to put on a spectacle for the fans at the venue one last time earlier this month. "It was amazing," Keelan confessed. "I think it was one of the best shows we've ever done.
"I think it was a culmination of the mood with the fact the venue's shutting and also because it's almost like that one last hurrah. We really enjoyed it. It was bouncing from the start of the set to the end. We couldn't even hear ourselves during some of the songs because it was so loud being sang back to us."
"There's still a feeling in the room," keyboard star Myles said of returning to the venue. "I don't know what it is, but it feels different playing there."
Despite the show being a true end of an era performance, the future is very bright for the band. The rising force from Sheffield recently released their latest five-track collection named The City's No Good for Reflection.
Among the tunes is a powerful and poignant anthem of hope and emotional resilience titled In the Storm. Speaking of the release, Keelan said the collection of songs on the EP vary brilliantly. "We tried to give each track its own personality, to say something different about this theme," the singer said.
"And I think it's a good culmination of ballads and a sort of anthemic indie sound and then also Bittersweet, which is the first track on it, was is a little bit more rocky."
Callum added the five tracks are the perfect sample of what a fan would get from their full gigs, with Myles explaining it's a "similar kind of journey" to how they would set out to entertain a live crowd.
And speaking of their live shows - the group has a busy schedule of festivals this summer including Rock n Roll Circus and Hardwick Festival - Keelan said it's their live presence that helps set them apart in the scene.
"We like things to flow," he said. "We like to get everybody jumping and bouncing. But in between, I think it's nice to have that interaction, and people feel like they're more involved in the show if you bring them into it."
