Save The Well Leeds
What a shame that we have to make this plea to you today.
It seems rather bizarre to me to argue the case for a venue with such a long association with the rich musical tradition here in West Yorkshire, but as confirmed via Facebook in the last couple of days: The Well (formerly Joseph’s Well) is being threatened with closure, as the owner of the building has envisioned its future as a restaurant.
Now The Well’s future has had already been brought into question in recent times; people have long bewailed it’s ‘out of town’ positioning (though it’s closer to the city centre than, say, the Brudenell) and decried its ability to make money as a venue. But taken over, refurbished and run properly, it has seen a transformation worthy of praise, and the team there have made it one of the more well-respected and most popular venues for rock and hardcore music across the North of England. They’ve hosted some legendary gigs: Fucked Up, Gallows, Rolo Tomassi, Pulled Apart By Horses and Earth to name but a few, not to mention giving support slots to hundreds of local bands and being friendly and professional with local promoters (including us).
On a personal note, it would be extremely sad for me to see a venue that I have literally grown up in, which has propped up the Leeds music scene from the grass roots upwards since the 90s, close its doors and become yet another identikit bistro. With an arguable shortage of venues in Leeds already, and having seen The Duchess and The T&C go the same way, surely we can try and spring into action to protect what matters to us.
The saddest thing about this will be the people that puff their cheeks out about it, call it a sad affair, but not actually extend the short amount of time it will take to sign this petition. We live in apathetic times, but if you’re a music fan, or even just someone who doesn’t want to see another Leeds business go into the hands of people who don’t care about our city’s heritage: put your signature on it.
Petition link: http://www.change.org/petitions/josephs-well-stop-josephs-well-turning-the-well-into-a-restaurant
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Well/155386657813622?ref=ts&sk=info#!/pages/The-Well/155386657813622
Thanks, Natalie
