Fans' sadness at Derbyshire music venue announces closure

The Venue in Derby made the announcement this week that it was shutting after 17 years.

Brett James, who books bands, commented on Twitter: “From 2015 I wanted to bring as much live music to Derby with quality over quantity at mind, The Venue being the home of this. Countless shows, the ups, the downs the everything inbetween was a pleasure.

“I managed to bring some of the biggest names in the industry to this little city of ours. The place is closing, leaving a huge gap in the city’s musical culture and if you ever came to a show of ours, thank you.”

A post on The Venue’s page on Facebook said: “Thank you for all the support over the years, it's been a blast!”

Fans have expressed their sadness at the demise of Derby’s longest running independent grassroots music venue which is located on Abbey Street in the city centre.

Ian Millward commented: “Gutted! Had some amazing nights, seeing artists and bands who really should have been in a larger venue!” Miles Simpkins wrote: “Very sad news. Played one of our favourite gigs here supporting The Chameleons. End of an era…”

Cathryn Egan posted: “Been to some great parties at The Venue. Thanks for the memories.”

The Venue has been asked by the Derbyshire Times to comment further.