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Tom Goodhand celebrates the arrival of the Leeds Academy

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Finally the time is upon us when Leeds gets a large music venue it can really be proud of. Ever since the grand old Town & Country Club was closed down in 2000 and turned into the monstrosity that was Creation, gig goers have had to miss out on great touring bands and head off to places like Manchester, which has left us with a bit of a trek to see our favourite bands.

But now, at long last, the folk at the Academy Music Group have decided to grace our city with one of their swish venues - and they’re resurrecting the old Town & Country Club, bringing it back to its former glory, and then some.

They’ve cut through the whopping great floor that Creation stuck in the middle of the grand main room, opening it up to the former glory of its days as an auditorium. They’ve installed several new bars - so you should never have to queue too long for a drink and they’ve stuck in a state of the art soundsystem and lighting rig. It will truly be a venue to be proud of.

On top of all that, the Town & Country Club’s old club - The Underground - will be resurrected underneath the main venue. The intimate, low-roofed club will play host to after parties and stand alone club nights, and, like the venue above it, will be fitted out with all the mod-cons you’d expect from a new club space - we’re talking projections, LED displays and surround sound.

It all starts with a homecoming for our very own Kaiser Chiefs in what will be a relatively intimate gig in support of their third album. Their 8th October gig at the Academy doubles up as the venue’s launch night, and will propel local young upstarts The Hair into the limelight as the first band ever to play the venue when they open up the show.

After the Kaisers open the venue, there’s no let up in the quality of the acts who will be gracing the stage. We’re talking The Last Shadow Puppets, Elbow, The Streets, Hot Chip, Goldfrapp, MGMT, The Pigeon Detectives and the NME‘s Rock & Roll Riot Tour with Primal Scream.

Another perk of this new, city central venue, is that punters can avoid the rip-off booking fees and postage costs which most venues use to pump up the ticket prices. If you pop down to the venue’s box office - which will be open during the day - you can buy your tickets for face value with no added cost. A great money saving tip, eh?

Here at Leeds Guide we thoroughly recommend that you get down to the Leeds Academy as soon as you can and see a truly grand and historic venue restored, revamped and putting on some truly great acts.
The Leeds Academy opens on 8 October at 55 Cookridge Street, LS3 3AW, 0844 477 2000, see www.leeds-academy.co.uk for listings and booking

Posted on Wednesday 1st October 2008
TG

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