Plymouth now almost a complete musical abyss.

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/plymouth-live-music-venue-hub-2575215

The multicultural demise continues and the rise of corporate crap continues, still at least the muff will have a gigantic metal "entertainment" box in the centre to provide varied entertainment for the masses.

Please do a C&P so we don't have to click that bait shit. I take it from the title that the Hub is closing! Sad as fook and like you say creating a musical wasteland. Plymouth has a fine history of live music which has been deteriorating since the sixties. WTF is the council doing to address this? Bunging more money and land at the likes of Brent I'd guess? Music can and will bring in loads of visitors and money. I've always wondered why the Polly stopped doing gigs I've always thought that the arts college should have a decent venue to develop talent and bring in bands on tour.
We've gone from only having small venues and the pavilions with nothing in between to literally just pubs and the Pavs. Towns like Torrington in North Devon show us how it's done. It's just embarrassing and really bad for business and also the culture of Plymouth.

The Hub has announced it will be closing in June this year in an emotional Facebook status.
The live music venue, which is one of the city's biggest and attracts a diverse range of artists, as well as some of the biggest names in the industry, has feared for its future since 2016 when Plymouth City Council announced many of the buildings along Bath Street, Millbay, would face demolition in ambitious plans to redevelop the whole area.

The Hub, along with other buildings on the street, faced the prospect of being handed Compulsory Puchase Orders (CPOs) as the council ploughed ahead with the area's regeneration, though it is understood many have reached private agreements.
Now the venue's management team, who sublet the venue from dBs Music, which leases the building from the council, has announced demolition of the building is due to take place this summer, with The Hub officially closing in June .

In a moving post lamenting the loss of other live music venues in the city, like the White Rabbit, which found itself in a similar situation with the redevelopment of Bretonside bus station - never finding an alternative venue to move into - The Hub owners said they too have not found a suitable alternative for their venue, despite their best efforts.
They added The Hub's closure will have a "devastating" impact on Plymouth's music scene, saying despite the picture nationally, with music venues closing at an alarming rate as a result of falling profits, The Hub itself has always been, since it first opened, a "profitable business".In a moving post lamenting the loss of other live music venues in the city, like the White Rabbit, which found itself in a similar situation with the redevelopment of Bretonside bus station - never finding an alternative venue to move into - The Hub owners said they too have not found a suitable alternative for their venue, despite their best efforts.
They added The Hub's closure will have a "devastating" impact on Plymouth's music scene, saying despite the picture nationally, with music venues closing at an alarming rate as a result of falling profits, The Hub itself has always been, since it first opened, a "profitable business".

The post says: "Not only will The Hub’s closure have such a devastating impact on the city’s music scene, it’s culture and appeal to future students, it would also deeply impact the lives of the people who work for us.
"We employ more than 15 members of staff directly, plus several highly traiIn a moving post lamenting the loss of other live music venues in the city, like the White Rabbit, which found itself in a similar situation with the redevelopment of Bretonside bus station - never finding an alternative venue to move into - The Hub owners said they too have not found a suitable alternative for their venue, despite their best efforts.
They added The Hub's closure will have a "devastating" impact on Plymouth's music scene, saying despite the picture nationally, with music venues closing at an alarming rate as a result of falling profits, The Hub itself has always been, since it first opened, a "profitable business".

The post says: "Not only will The Hub’s closure have such a devastating impact on the city’s music scene, it’s culture and appeal to future students, it would also deeply impact the lives of the people who work for us.
"We employ more than 15 members of staff directly, plus several highly ned sound engineers.

Earwegoagain wrote:

Please do a C&P so we don't have to click that bait shit. I take it from the title that the Hub is closing! Sad as fook and like you say creating a musical wasteland. Plymouth has a fine history of live music which has been deteriorating since the sixties. WTF is the council doing to address this? Bunging more money and land at the likes of Brent I'd guess? Music can and will bring in loads of visitors and money. I've always wondered why the Polly stopped doing gigs I've always thought that the arts college should have a decent venue to develop talent and bring in bands on tour.
We've gone from only having small venues and the pavilions with nothing in between to literally just pubs and the Pavs. Towns like Torrington in North Devon show us how it's done. It's just embarrassing and really bad for business and also the culture of Plymouth.

Don't the Warves in Tavistock put on a few gigs, it always seems to be someone like Limehouse Lizzy or Fish whenever I look. The Palladium in Bideford does a few worthwhile gigs every now and then but otherwise its dying a death. Plymouth being a University town, students tend to go out week nights, has no excuse.

The Live music scene is under threat nationally even in the large cities, my son is in a band in London and are getting some good gigs but then it is London. Plymouth unfortunately has become a cultural dessert, with as the article says , the White rabbit, the Voodoo Lounge and now the Hub all going in the recent past, it only really leaves the Junction and the Underground left to promote independent up and coming artists, both of which are good venues but tiny.
Guess I'm lucky being a short train ride to Exeter with the Phoenix, Cavern and Lemon Grove being nearby, and also old enough to have experienced the hey day of the Plymouth music scene in the seventies and eighties. The Pistols at Woods and Talking Heads with the Ramones in the Top Rank, ah those were the days.

Hugh Watt wrote:

Earwegoagain wrote:

Please do a C&P so we don't have to click that bait shit. I take it from the title that the Hub is closing! Sad as fook and like you say creating a musical wasteland. Plymouth has a fine history of live music which has been deteriorating since the sixties. WTF is the council doing to address this? Bunging more money and land at the likes of Brent I'd guess? Music can and will bring in loads of visitors and money. I've always wondered why the Polly stopped doing gigs I've always thought that the arts college should have a decent venue to develop talent and bring in bands on tour.
We've gone from only having small venues and the pavilions with nothing in between to literally just pubs and the Pavs. Towns like Torrington in North Devon show us how it's done. It's just embarrassing and really bad for business and also the culture of Plymouth.

Don't the Warves in Tavistock put on a few gigs, it always seems to be someone like Limehouse Lizzy or Fish whenever I look. The Palladium in Bideford does a few worthwhile gigs every now and then but otherwise its dying a death. Plymouth being a University town, students tend to go out week nights, has no excuse.

The Wharf in Tavvy is now run by the same old farts that think musically they speak for anybody from aged 16 to 80 but they really cater for their own Saga type soft rock tribute bands. Apparently it's all people want despite the fact that whenever they get a decent live act in it sells out, dreadzone back in the Autumn being a case in point.

Yeah, the Wharf is pretty dire. I had hoped that the Venue would do something different, but it's all cheesy discos and ABBA tributes on their events page. The guys at Stannary are booking so good local bands, but their space is tiny, until the summer, when they could do gigs in the yard. Genuinely tempted to see how much hiring the Venue is and booking some bands. As long as things broke even, I'd be happy.

As for the Hub, that's a sickener. I wonder whether PCC have the power to make whoever is developing the 'boulevard' build a new music venue under a Section 106 agreement? The basement of Derrys would have been a good spot, or maybe as part of the Box development, to try and make a cultural quarter. Both of those opportunities have sailed now. :/

On local news smorning - A company is interested in buying the old ABC/Reel cinema with the intention to use it as a bar and live music venue! Bleddy good news seeing as the Hub is closing  and an ideal venue for live music, imho.

As has been said Plymouth was once one of THE places to play for a lot of top bands.  But the usual story for Plymouth - apathy and total lack of vision has allowed the music and gig scene to completely disappear.  Janners get the shit town they deserve sometimes.

MikeWN wrote:

Yeah, the Wharf is pretty dire. I had hoped that the Venue would do something different, but it's all cheesy discos and ABBA tributes on their events page. The guys at Stannary are booking so good local bands, but their space is tiny, until the summer, when they could do gigs in the yard. Genuinely tempted to see how much hiring the Venue is and booking some bands. As long as things broke even, I'd be happy.

As for the Hub, that's a sickener. I wonder whether PCC have the power to make whoever is developing the 'boulevard' build a new music venue under a Section 106 agreement? The basement of Derrys would have been a good spot, or maybe as part of the Box development, to try and make a cultural quarter. Both of those opportunities have sailed now. :/

PCC are the ones who compulsory purchased the HUB in order to knock it down to assist in the building of a swanky bland corporate boulevard, Tudors empty words cut no ice with me. Maybe the Labour council ought to build a new music venue rather than helping private developers make money?

It's culture but not as we know it. Theatre Royal has got some massive piece of Bronze so that Theatre goers can admire her snatch as they parade into the foyer, big screens to watch the footy in the parade, cinemas coming out of our ears and the musical attraction of many average sized market towns. We really are shite.

Freathy wrote:

As has been said Plymouth was once one of THE places to play for a lot of top bands. 

When was that? Before Glen Miller disappeared?

Tbf the Halcyon days of Plymouths music scene were before my time but in the sixties people watched more live music and bands had to tour everywhere. By the late seventies/eighties the decline had started but we still had some great bands play here. Top Rank, Palace, the old cinema in union st through its many guises, Metro, Old Chapel all gone now. Polytechnic was good at times saw Stiff Little Fingers there. The council need to seriously plan for the future.

Around circa 76 -79 there were gigs on every night of the week, I often went to 5 gigs in a week, around this time the muff was one of the best places outside London to catch the punk/new wave explosion.
Used to see a lot of bands at Castaways in Union street next to the Palace, cant remember what it changed to, saw the Stranglers, Damned, Clash, Ultravox, Rezillos and many others there at the time think the average ticket price was around a couple of quid.

PatDunne wrote:

MikeWN wrote:

Yeah, the Wharf is pretty dire. I had hoped that the Venue would do something different, but it's all cheesy discos and ABBA tributes on their events page. The guys at Stannary are booking so good local bands, but their space is tiny, until the summer, when they could do gigs in the yard. Genuinely tempted to see how much hiring the Venue is and booking some bands. As long as things broke even, I'd be happy.

As for the Hub, that's a sickener. I wonder whether PCC have the power to make whoever is developing the 'boulevard' build a new music venue under a Section 106 agreement? The basement of Derrys would have been a good spot, or maybe as part of the Box development, to try and make a cultural quarter. Both of those opportunities have sailed now. :/

PCC are the ones who compulsory purchased the HUB in order to knock it down to assist in the building of a swanky bland corporate boulevard, Tudors empty words cut no ice with me. Maybe the Labour council ought to build a new music venue rather than helping private developers make money?

Well yeah, who else but the council issue CPOs?

It'll be sold on as development land to private companies. The chances of the council building anything hover somewhere around nil, so I would have thought that the very least that they could do would be to compel the companies who will ultimately profit most from the deal to build a venue with their own money.

The odds on that happening are also nil, however.

Good news about the Reel Cinema. Fingers firmly crossed for that one, although a raked, theatre-style venue doesn't conjure up images of rowdy moshpits.