Brudenell Social Club

The Brudenell Social Club is a live music venue and social club in Hyde Park, Leeds, England. While being a social enterprise, it retains the "community atmosphere of its origins as a working men's club". The club is split into three areas—a 400 capacity concert room, a bar area and games room section (which occasionally holds gigs) and a second 400 capacity concert area, known as the Community Room, which opened in 2017.

The club was originally formed in 1913 by local businessmen, who built a wooden clubhouse at 33 Queen's Road which opened on 2 December of the same year. After falling into disrepair, this wooden structure was replaced by the present brick building at the cost of £160,00 in 1978, with the club officially reopening on 7 December. The Clark family took on the club's license in 1992 and began to put on gigs after a shift in the makeup of Hyde Park's population caused by more students moving into the area. Initial shows were focused around the local DIY music scene.

From 2004 to 2005, noise complaints forced the club to briefly abandon gigs. After a period of fundraising, soundproof firedoors were purchased and installed, while a new public address system was added to the concert room as a result of a National Lottery grant. A few years later, in 2007, the Brudenell moved from being a members club to being a "publicly open, licensed place that runs as a social enterprise and reinvests its money".

The club has played host to "secret gigs" by the likes of Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand, hosted The Cribs as they played three-consecutive nights, billed as "Cribsmas", in December 2007 and celebrated its 100th anniversary in December 2013, with shows by The Wedding Present, The Fall and ¡Forward, Russia! among others.

A "primary cog in the Leeds music scene", the Brudenell Social Club was joint winner of the best live music venue in 2014's Rock the House competition, and was shortlisted for '' The Fly'' magazine's 2014 UK Venue of the Year' award and the ''NMEs Britain's Best Small Venue award in 2011, 2012 and 2015.

History

Although exact details regarding its foundation are unknown, it is believed that the Brudenell Social Club was started by a group of businessmen who wanted to create an unaffiliated club, free from ties to political parties or any other kind of movement. These businessmen formed the Brudenell as a "social and recreational club" in November 1913, and initially intended to build a clubhouse several hundreds yards from the eventual location, on land which would later be used to construct the Hyde Park Picture House. However, after this plan failed to come to fruition, a clubhouse was built at 33 Queen's Road, on the site of the present club's car park. Subsequently, this clubhouse opened on 2 December 1913.

The original wooden structure had fallen into disrepair by 1978 and was replaced by the present "modern-style" brick building at a cost of £160,000. The Brudenell Social Club reopened on 30 November 1978, with an official opening taking place on 7 December featuring performances from comedian Bobby Knutt and trio The Jady Jays. On reopening, the club permitted female members for the first time in its history, although only men were allowed in the billiards and games room. The Brudenell's new "cabaret-style" concert room featured live entertainment on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and, according to '' The Stage's'' Northern correspondent Jim Daley, the club became "one of the most popular in the Leeds area" during the year after its reopening, with entertainments manager Jack Swithenbank "engaging known acts who provide value for money".

Malcolm and Patricia Clark became the Brudenell's licensees in 1992 after the committee who previously ran the club built up debts with the Inland Revenue, and, following a shift in the makeup of the local population which saw large numbers of students moving into the area, "rescued he clubfrom financial ruin" by putting on bands. Gigs were initially staged by the likes of Mike Jolly, founder of the Holbeck-based Cloth Cat music charity, and members of the scene surrounding local DIY fanzine ''Cops & Robbers''. The Termite Club also ran at the venue, hosting noise rock events. During the 1995 Hyde Park riots, the club staged a lock-in as local taxis were unable to operate. The Brudenell later hosted initial meetings by the group that set up Unity Day, a community festival created to "celebrate the people, culture and community of LS6" in the wake of the unrest. The Clarks' son, Nathan, took over the running of the club in 2004 after his father fell ill.

In 2004–2005 the Brudenell was placed on a "final warning" following noise complaints and had to stop putting on shows. The club ran quizzes and "''Bullseye'' nights", sold badges and, in July 2005, hosted the 'Keep the Brudenell A-Live Aid' all-day gig in order to raise enough money to purchase expensive acoustic fire doors. The success of this fundraising activity prompted an application for a National Lottery grant to purchase a new public address system for the concert room. In response to a change in the United Kingdom's licensing laws and the smoking ban implemented in England in 2007, which made it illegal to smoke in enclosed work places, the Brudenell moved from being a member's club to an entirely public venture—"a not for profit company that still has the same aims as the club always had ..a publicly open, licensed place that runs as a social enterprise and reinvests its money"—with Nathan believing that the venue had to "evolve or die".

Unlike many social clubs in the United Kingdom, the Brudenell has never been part of the Working Men's Club and Institute Union, which Clark believes has enabled the venue to be more flexible than may otherwise have been the case. All profits are reinvested—staff are paid a "living wage", and the club has been able to make improvements, such as installing new toilets and showers, and upgrading the dressing rooms, which Clark feels make the club of a higher quality than other venues "putting on similar gigs". The building itself has been "paid for", which means that the club does not have to worry about rent increases.

The club is split into three areas—an amphitheatre-shaped 400 capacity concert area to the left of the entrance doors, with a bar area and games room (which occasionally holds gigs) and second, 400 capacity square-shaped concert area, the Community Room, to the right. The bar "retains the atmosphere of working men's club", offering "comfortable" chairs, Sky television, a pool table and dartboard. The venue serves cask ales alongside speciality beers from around the world, and works with local companies, such as Kirkstall Brewery, to sell beer at competitive prices. In March 2017 the Brudenell announced plans to build a single storey extension; including extra space for gigs and community groups to meet; and a new toilet block with disabled access. This extension, named the Community Room, opened on 6 September 2017, hosting a performance from Waxahatchee. An official opening took place the following day when Mogwai played a show to support the release of their ninth studio album, '' Every Country's Sun''.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020 the Brudenell endured a prolonged period of closure. During this time, the club released a series of t-shirts, featuring the name "Brudenell Social Distancing Club"—a pun on the social distancing public health measures in place in the UK at the time—in an attempt to "support the local community in a time like this, and spread a positive message". All proceeds from sales of the t-shirts went to the artists who designed them. In June 2020, the club received £23,600 emergency funding from Arts Council England to help alleviate financial pressures caused by the pandemic. Later in the year, a further £220,429 was provided by the UK government's Culture Recovery Fund to help the Brudenell "host a free weekly event as well as livestreams".

The club's current logo, which appears on T-shirts promoting the venue, features Charlie, a King Charles Spaniel owned by the Clarks, who is often present behind the bar.

Booking policy

The Brudenell regularly showcases an "eclectic mix of up-and-coming bands, hip or soon-to-be-influential names and the acts that first inspired them, from punk to hip-hop", with around 75% of shows being put on by Nathan Clark himself. The venue has been described as a "primary cog in the Leeds music scene".

Speaking about the club's booking policy to the BBC
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