Sheffield’s 45-year-old independent music venue, The Leadmill, is crowdfunding to reopen after its controversial closure in June 2025.

The crowdfunder, which will go towards securing a new space for the indie venue, was announced on Wednesday, and so far it has garnered just under £7,000 of its £30,000 target towards the venue’s relocation.

Pulp, Oasis and the Stone Roses were just some of the bands which made the venue famous following its launch in 1980. It regularly hosted smaller, independent artists too.

But since June 2025, people in Sheffield have had one big question: where, if not The Leadmill, will Sheffield’s once-thriving independent music scene go?

The venue’s relocation has been met with mixed reviews.

Martin Fox used to travel in from Barnsley for nights out at The Leadmill: “It’s not the same, is it? I think my first gig there was when I was 17. I’m 44 now, and I’ve been to Leadmill for a long time. It’s got to be the original.”

Younger former-attendees were less concerned about the location.

“As long as its still got sticky floors, I don’t think there’ll be much difference,” said Liam Craft, 21, who counts himself lucky to have experienced Leadmill a handful of times before its closure.

Last year, Music Venue Trust’s annual report revealed that thirty grassroots venues across the country – including The Leadmill – had closed in 2025.

At the Brit Awards on Saturday night, Ellie Rowsell, lead singer of Wolf Alice, used her acceptance speech for Best Group to call for more support for grassroots venues: “It’s worth mentioning that despite the billions of pounds the live sector contributes to our economy, last year 30 independent venues closed down.

“Six thousand jobs were lost, and over half of small venues reported making no profit at all. It shouldn’t be a battle to survive as a band or any artist.”

Sheffielders echoed Rowsell’s concerns about the future of grassroots music in the wake of The Leadmill’s closure.

Liam Twyford, 43, loves indie music and thinks venues like The Leadmill are vital for independent artists to survive: “The economy is struggling and the price of buildings has gone up unbelievably. Like, where do smaller bands rehearse and perform now?”

The Cyrus, a 22-year-old artist just starting out in Sheffield, dreamed of performing at The Leadmill one day. The loss of the venue left him “quite upset”, but he welcomes the prospect of its relocation.

“It’d be like a dream to perform there, you know. Especially for me, coming from Sheffield, basically born and raised here. Knowing all the great artists that got the chance in the past to perform there in the past, you know, it’s an achievement,” he said. “And I think plenty of students that would happily, happily donate.”

More information on The Leadmill Relocation Fund can be found here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/qr/4nBZ00Nn?utm_campaign=sharemodal&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=shortlink