El Sieco's is a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, bar, and

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...

Newport, Wales Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2 ...

which opened in 2016 on High Street, Newport, following the closure in 2010 of TJ's. TJ's was a key part of the Newport music scene and led to the 1990s label of Newport as 'the new Seattle'. The present owner, Ashley, is the grandson of John Sicolo, who died in 2010. The new venue has proved popular, having been named in the

South Wales Argus The ''South Wales Argus'' is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Newport, South Wales. ''The Argus'' is distributed in Newport, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, and Torfaen. History The paper was founded as the ''South Wales Arg ...

list of top 5 live music venues in Newport, and announced in 2019 it will be moving to larger premises at 13 Market Street, near to Tiny Rebel. The new venue is scheduled to open on 20 September 2019 and will offer an increased capacity of 350, two floors, with weekend evenings offering two rooms of music.

Background

TJ's was a famous nightclub located on Clarence Place, which opened in 1985 and became an integral part of the so-called toilet circuit. The club, praised by

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

, advertised itself as "The Legendary TJ's". In 2010, John Sicolo passed away, reportedly having funded the club's upkeep in its poor quality building using much of his life savings. The original premises were held by administrators following his death, and later sold to the Hassan brothers of Cardiff. On 2 February 2013, the original building was damaged by a fire, suspected to be arson. It remains empty in 2019. In 2012 John Sicolo's grandson, Ashley Sicolo, opened a resurrected venue, first named the 200 Club, on

Stow Hill Stow Hill is a community civil parish and coterminous electoral district (ward) of the City of Newport, South Wales. It is bounded by the River Usk to the east, George Street and Cardiff Road to the south, the Great Western Main Line to the ...

, the decor for which included TJ's memorabilia and copies of TJ's gig posters. In May 2013

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

ers took part in a gig at the venue when

PiL Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and dr ...

guitarist Keith Levene and Therapy? singer Andy Cairns played there. The club closed on 26 May 2013 due to complaints over noise. In March 2016 Ashley again opened venue, now named El Sieco's on High Street in Newport city centre.El Sieco's opens
/ref> It moved next door in 2018 and continues to do well, among the other revived music venues on High Street, including

Le Pub Le Pub (also known as Le Public Space) is a bar, restaurant and nightclub located in Newport, South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Genera ...

References

External links

Official TJ's website as at 18 February 2010

El Siecos - Facebook
{{Culture of Newport Newport, Wales Nightclubs in Wales Culture in Newport, Wales Landmarks in Newport, Wales Music venues in Newport, Wales

Background

See also

References

External links