The closure of the Leeds club leaves a rich legacy and a huge void

With its relatively small capacity (around 300), close-knit community atmosphere and quality production, the club regularly attracted artists accustomed to selling out much larger venues. A host of electronic music’s most revered DJs have passed through his booth, including Andrew Weatherall, Craig Richards, Helena Hauff, SHERELLE, Surgeon and DJ Stingray 313 – attracted by its reputation for quality.

“It was a joy to play the stand. Small details, but things that made you realize that the place was run by professionals,” he says Ethan McNamaraa local promoter and DJ who also works as Leeds City Manager for Resident Advisor. “Great booth monitors, properly lit, turntables and proper insulated stands to put your records in. Things that used to be industry standards but have disappeared elsewhere in recent years, Wire still prioritized. They cared about the artists who were coming to perform.”

At the same time, it has become a proving ground for young, local and aspiring artists, many of whom began their journeys in the music industry as students at Leeds or Leeds Metropolitan. “Many DJs started their careers playing and promoting at Wire and went on to become professional touring DJs,” explains Hamish. “The Hessle Audio the crew (Pearson Sound, Pangea and Ben UFO) all met in Leeds and were regulars at the club. Midland there’s another, who used to work behind the bar at the club before deciding to leave and pursue a career in music.”

Next week I’ll be playing my last show at Wire, a club I first went to 17 years ago. Djed for the first time 15 years ago, worked there, swept floors, cleaned up vomit, poured drinks and played a few times since then. https://t.co/oYy1Ze2oxk

❤️

— Midland (@midlandsound) May 22, 2024

Now living in London and booking the basic Croatian festival calendar size while moonlighting as a DJ, Hamish spent years at the heart of Leeds’ underground scene. He leads the influential With butter on top party, which has been a staple in the city for years, while also working as a booker for Wire between 2012 and 2016. Toby, meanwhile, is the creative director of the intimate East London hotspot. The pickle factory. Both earned their entrances and honed their craft in the foothills of the Pennines before eventually heading south in search of brighter lights and bigger opportunities – a not uncommon story for Leeds.

“I feel like a lot of people use Leeds as a starting point, and then a lot of people will go to London, like Hamish and Josh Bayat, who used to book us,” says Josh Powell, who worked as Wire’s managing director. eight years. “Since I first went to Wire, and then I started working there, it’s changed a lot — I think just because of the student population and the turnover.”

Students – the UK’s most recognizable and trusted party demographic – made the venue what it was and ultimately the source of income. But in the last few years it has dried up well. “Habits change every year, the student population is definitely a bit different, which I think is due to Covid,” continues Josh. “I don’t go out enough during the week. We need to operate during term time, at least four nights a week. We used to have a steady flow of student promoters, five nights a week – Tuesday to Saturday we were open – but people don’t go out during term time.”

In the face of the cost of living crisis, trends indicate that younger partygoers are going out less often, but going out bigger when they choose to do so. “Costs are always going up, clubbers don’t have the disposable income in their pockets that they had 10 to 15 years ago,” explains Ethan. “And all signs point to the next generation of post-Covid clubbers not going out once or twice a week and paying £10-12 in a small/medium club (as previous generations did) but going out every six or eight weeks to a big mega event like a Warehouse Project or Printworks which costs £40-£60 a ticket.”