Music Venue, The Well, in Leeds Set To Close.

The fantastic independent live music venue in Leeds, The Well, is set to close it's doors on March 10th due to financial restrictions placed upon it by the venue's brewery. Leeds has had a vibrant music scene eminating from its heart over the last few years, and The Well has played it's fair share in helping garner the cities reputation as the most exciting for music in the UK.

You can read the full statement below from manager Kevin Berry, and if you get the chance, visit the venue for one last time before it's too late.

Hi all, with deepest regret, we as a team are going to be pulling out of The Well music venue after March 10th. We’ve loved helping rebuild this once great venue’s reputation back up these past few years, and would like to thank all who mucked in.

Sadly The Well isn’t a viable business due to our brewery superiors & building owners Enterprise Inns’ rates and J Pullen and Sons and the restrictions they implement on us running our music venue. Everyday has been an uphill battle from day one and frankly we’re all tired of this vicious circle and fighting with two other companies to carry on. There has been no leeway with either company over the years and have had to find ways of working around them. Sadly with the sheer level of restrictions (partly due to the building possibly being turned into a restaurant in the future) there is no way to break even never mind make anything which resembles a profit. I, Anthony Mortimer, Chris Flynn and others in the past have worked endless weekly hours with no wage to try and make this venue work, sadly all our efforts have been for nought.

But there have been some absolutely awesome times, not with just the larger international acts, a lot of the time with the smaller local acts who have graced our stage too, as Yorkshire as an area has plenty of damn fine up and coming bands.

I’d like to thank everyone for supporting us in the past and with the wealth of familiar faces I’ve seen in the bar night in night out, you’ve been more than patrons but family to us (mainly as we barely ever see our families, never mind the outside world).

Our team has always been about the music, we understand how the closure of our venue will effect the metal/hardcore/punk scene in Leeds. We ask you to continue supporting independent live music venues in our great city like The Brudenell Social Club, The Cockpit, Royal Park Cellars & Empire. We are in the process of moving all our gigs to different venues right now and I can announce More Than Life has been moved to The Cockpit. The rest will be confirmed by at the very latest the end of next week. If you have a ticket to a gig at The Well, please bare with us and check our website for up to date information on gig movements.

Our last gig will be The Acacia Strain, Brutality Will Prevail, TRC & Martyr Defiled – Saturday 10th March 2012. Tickets are £10 advance for the gig. We will also be hosting one last party (free entry) till the early hours at The Well after the gig with some special guest appearances. If you can’t make it to the party or the gig, please pop in anytime up to our closure and share your favourite memories of this place with us.

And again we would like to thank everyone for working, supporting, playing, promoting and anything else I have probably missed out. We hope you can understand this difficult decision we have had to make.

Viva La Well

Kevin Berry
General Manager