Def Leppard announce intimate homecoming gig at The Leadmill in Sheffield
Def Leppard have announced details of an intimate gig in their Sheffield hometown later this month, in collaboration with the Music Venue Trust.
- READ MORE: If Sheffield’s Leadmill – the venue that helped break Arctic Monkeys – closes, we all lose something
The rock veterans will be hitting the stage at The Leadmill for the most intimate show they have played in the city in over four decades, all in a bid to support grassroots venues
Announced on Instagram today (May 3), the venue confirmed the show will be presented with a percentage of ticket sales going to MVT , and will mark “one of the most historic nights in Shefflield’s grassroots music history”. Tickets go on sale next Friday (May 12) — find tickets and further information here.
The future of the historic venue was first thrown into question in March 2022, when the operators announced to fans the “devastating news” that they were facing eviction.
As well as announcing the gig, the update also shared footage of founding member and bassist Rick Savage, in which he explained the The Leadmill’s legacy and how the city would be impacted if it were to close down.
“It has come to my attention, along with many others, that our great institutional club in Sheffield, The Leadmill, is in danger of extinction,” he said. “We really really need to keep buildings like this and we need to keep venues like this. It’s important to recognise how influential and iconic The Leadmill was, and still is, in the music scene in Sheffield.”
He added: “Music is such an important part of the lives of people in Sheffield — always has been — going back from the days of the ’70s, when Def Leppard was starting out… The Leadmill has got a huge importance within the city and we really really need to keep [it] in Sheffield as one of the great clubs of our great city.”
Although new owners of The Leadmill responded to the operators at the time, denying any intentions to close the venue but change the name and management, the speculation led to an outpour of support from both musicians and music lovers.
Arctic Monkeys, Jarvis Cocker, Richard Hawley and Oli Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon were just a few of the Sheffield artists to speak out in support of the venue.
Local star Hawley played a number of gigs at the venue last month to help raise money and awareness.
Opposing the new owners and arguing that the staff who’ve built up the venue over the years should be allowed to continue running it under the same name, Hawley told NME earlier this year: “It doesn’t take a genius to work it out – it’s our Cavern or Hacienda. It’s as important as those places. It’s not just a Sheffield thing because it’s on the circuit for bands to play and it’s such a great venue. It’s run so well.
“The upsetting thing is that if it was a failing business, I’d understand that someone would take it over. What angers me is that it doesn’t surprise me that greedy fuckers buy the land from underneath them.”
He continued: “It’s a fantastic venue and unique in the UK. There’s nowhere like it, and I think it’s wrong that we’re going to lose it in its current form. There’s no way that some big corporate London company can possibly run it in the way it’s being run now. I think they’ve fucked up because they’ve underestimated the strength of Sheffield people and a lot of people won’t go again.”
Find out more about supporting local grassroots venues on the Music Venue Trust website.
In other Def Leppard news, later this summer the band are set to play a series of live UK dates with Mötley Crüe — which will see them perform in cities including London and Glasgow. Among these stadium appearances is another performance in Sheffield, taking place at Bramall Lane on May 22. Find remaining tickets here.
This comes after drummer Rick Allen recently shared a health update following being attacked outside a hotel in Florida.
Back in February, Ghost frontman Tobias Forge and Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott spoke to NME about working together on their collaboration ‘Spillways’, as well as their morning spent together in an Irish pub and why Måneskin are proof that the rock revival is real.
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Liberty Dunworth
NME
