Leeds Issues Old Man Under the Bridge
Paul Whitehead looks back over 15 years of The Cockpit
Leeds Issues: Old Man Under the Bridge
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The Cockpit, hunkered down under the railway arches, is a greybeard in music terms, having held it’s first gig 15 years ago this month. Living through the closure of the Town and Country Club in 2000 and fighting off stiff competition from The Irish Centre and University Unions, it has emerged as Leeds’ premier mid-level music venue. Only the recent opening of the O2 Academy has seen anything like a real rival for a regular schedule of quality live music.
Previously called The Cock of the North pub, it was reopened as an alternative music venue in 1994 by Colin Oliver, who remains the main promoter and owner of The Cockpit. It soon developed a reputation for excellent live performances from up-and-coming bands. Reams of old gig tickets and posters framed on the walls of The Cockpit bar are a testament to how many artists it has helped through their fledgling days, only to see them become massively successful. Flaming Lips, The Killers, The White Stripes, and The Libertines are just some of the names that tread the boards at The Cockpit before heading off towards world domination. Even Amy Winehouse appeared there on her first UK tour. And it’s not just a stage for live music either. The Cockpit has seen a number of popular club nights come and go over the years, not least the legendary Brighton Beach, which was born there in 1994 and ran until 2002, when it was moved to a larger venue.
The success of live music at the Cockpit gave the promoters, Futuresound Music, a base from which they have grown into the leading organisers of live music in the Leeds area, organising concerts at the Brudenell, the University Union and Leeds Town Hall. In the absence of a stadium venue in Leeds, it’s Futuresound who are behind the pioneering of Millennium Square as an arena for larger bands.
A glimpse at the names on The Cockpit’s upcoming live calendar shows that it has no intention of easing up its hold on music passing through Leeds.
Posted on Wednesday 2nd September 2009
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