Across the country, the sound of local live music is fading as a result of rising overheads, limits on licenses, and venue closures. The Music Venue Trust’s latest Annual Report paints a stark picture: the number of grassroots music venues (GMVs) has fallen again, with tours shrinking from 22 stops in 1994 to just 11 in 2024. Once-vibrant towns like Leicester, Bath, and Stoke-on-Trent have dropped off the touring map entirely. Ticket revenues are down 13.5% year-on-year, and rents for the venues that remain have soared by 51% since the pandemic.

Yet, amid the closures, a quiet revival is happening – not in new commercial spaces, but in some of the UK’s oldest community institutions: social clubs. Working men’s, trades, and social clubs once formed the largest collective entertainment network in Britain and many were purpose-built for performance with dance floors, stages, and good acoustics. At their peak in the 1970s, this decentralised and mostly unionised network of cultural spaces in pit villages, towns, suburbs, and industrial centres brought cultural life into the places where people lived and worked. In the post-war era, well-known bands such as The Specials, The Jam, Def Leppard, and countless comedians and cabaret performers cut their teeth in these member-owned spaces.

Today, where we estimate there are still in the region of 1800 social clubs, there is a growing number of clubs rediscovering their role as cultural powerhouses. In places like Crookes Social Club in Sheffield, Hebden Bridge Trades Club in West Yorkshire, King Street in North Shields, Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, and The Mildmay Club & Institute in London, these spaces are hosting live gigs, DJ nights, and other cultural events, offering affordable, accessible alternatives to the commercial venues that have priced out emerging – and even more established – talent.

Their advantage lies in ownership. Unlike most GMVs – 88% of which rent their buildings – social clubs are owned by their members. That community control gives them the ability to reinvest in their facilities and experiment with programming without the looming threat of eviction. This same principle is now behind Music Venue Trust’s “Own Our Venues” campaign, through which its community benefit society, Music Venue Properties, has already bought and secured five venues across England and Wales, including The Snug (Atherton), The Ferret (Preston), and Le Pub (Newport). By giving operators a long lease and long-term security, these spaces can invest in the future rather than “constantly peering over a financial cliff-edge.”

As well as recognising the importance of protecting and acquiring grassroots music venues, at the Centre for Democratic Business we believe part of the answer to cultural gentrification is remaking the connection between live music and social clubs. These social clubs originated as alternatives to commercial pubs and music halls, and we can’t afford to lose this legacy, at a time where commercialisation of property has marginalised so much arts and culture from our national and local life.

Our plans

As part of the Centre’s 21st Century Social Clubs programme, we’ve published a survey about the sector’s support needs, hosted a national conference, facilitated a delegation to meet ministers and MPs, and are working with club leaders to revitalise these spaces for a new generation.

• In terms of promoting live music, we plan to address this through:

• A national training programme to build the capacity of social club managers and members to host live music events

• A pooled fund to offer capital grants to support social clubs to upgrade equipment and physical infrastructure

• A grassroots music festival hosted across multiple cities to build the visibility of social clubs as grassroots music venues to both promoters and audiences.

Want to work with us?

We’re looking for partners and funders to work with us to develop this programme of work. If you’re interested, get in contact via jonny@democraticbusiness.org.