REDLAND
Active member
its a bit grotty these days, but agreat venue. I have been to some wick'erd 'stick it on' there. Shame as another live music venue shuts down..
A popular music venue famed for its live gigs is to close.
The Grade II-listed Hanbury Ballroom in St George's Road, Brighton, will reopen in October as a private members' club after a five-week £100,000 refurbishment by new owners Amanda Blanch and Chris Edwards, of boutique hotel Blanch House.
Gig-goers and music promoters are devastated that the domed building, which hosts everything from jazz bands to country folk groups, will no longer be hosting weekly live gigs.
All post-August gigs have been cancelled although Ms Blanch said some artists may be invited to perform at monthly live events or could apply for membership.
Promoter Dave Morrison, 45, who runs Gilded Palace Of Sin and Be A Ham with business partner Shaun Whitehouse, said the venue was irreplaceable.
He said: "We have staged 80 per cent of our shows in there in the last five years - it is literally our second home.
"It is such an important place to us and we are devastated. We will be losing a community venue.
"I have no doubt they plan to make the place really pretty but that in itself would put me off going.
"The no-frills style is part of its magic."
Described as the jewel in Kemp Town's crown by current owners Zelgrain, the venue's most famous event is Stick It On, where clubbers have the chance to take control of the decks and play their choice of tunes for 15 minutes.
But bosses were forced to close the club because they say it was not making enough money.
Rob Hall, 35, the venue's manager, said all guaranteed bookings would be honoured and efforts would be made to reschedule others in Zelgrain pubs.
He said: "As a venue it is incredibly hard to break even, let alone stop it losing money. It is a very sad thing but in a way it is a positive thing because someone is going to spend the money on it which it desperately needs."
Ms Blanch and her husband Mr Edwards, former bar manager of London's Groucho Club, hope to complete the sale by mid-August.
The iconic building will be renamed the Hanbury Club and will be aimed at Brighton and Hove's creative community with the first of 1,500 to 2,000 members picked by a founding committee of ten celebrities and well-known locals.
Yearly membership is expected to cost about £250 but local artists, authors and musicians will pay £100.
Ms Blanch, 40, said: "The last thing I wanted to do was close another music venue.
"If I could buy it and keep it running like that I would but you have to be practical and realistic. It had been on the market for quite some time when we bought it."
Cabaret shows, film screenings, book club meetings and poker nights could be held at the club.
The upstairs bar, the Hanbury Arms, will be transformed into a quiet cigar bar with newspapers, books and old-fashioned leather armchairs.
A popular music venue famed for its live gigs is to close.
The Grade II-listed Hanbury Ballroom in St George's Road, Brighton, will reopen in October as a private members' club after a five-week £100,000 refurbishment by new owners Amanda Blanch and Chris Edwards, of boutique hotel Blanch House.
Gig-goers and music promoters are devastated that the domed building, which hosts everything from jazz bands to country folk groups, will no longer be hosting weekly live gigs.
All post-August gigs have been cancelled although Ms Blanch said some artists may be invited to perform at monthly live events or could apply for membership.
Promoter Dave Morrison, 45, who runs Gilded Palace Of Sin and Be A Ham with business partner Shaun Whitehouse, said the venue was irreplaceable.
He said: "We have staged 80 per cent of our shows in there in the last five years - it is literally our second home.
"It is such an important place to us and we are devastated. We will be losing a community venue.
"I have no doubt they plan to make the place really pretty but that in itself would put me off going.
"The no-frills style is part of its magic."
Described as the jewel in Kemp Town's crown by current owners Zelgrain, the venue's most famous event is Stick It On, where clubbers have the chance to take control of the decks and play their choice of tunes for 15 minutes.
But bosses were forced to close the club because they say it was not making enough money.
Rob Hall, 35, the venue's manager, said all guaranteed bookings would be honoured and efforts would be made to reschedule others in Zelgrain pubs.
He said: "As a venue it is incredibly hard to break even, let alone stop it losing money. It is a very sad thing but in a way it is a positive thing because someone is going to spend the money on it which it desperately needs."
Ms Blanch and her husband Mr Edwards, former bar manager of London's Groucho Club, hope to complete the sale by mid-August.
The iconic building will be renamed the Hanbury Club and will be aimed at Brighton and Hove's creative community with the first of 1,500 to 2,000 members picked by a founding committee of ten celebrities and well-known locals.
Yearly membership is expected to cost about £250 but local artists, authors and musicians will pay £100.
Ms Blanch, 40, said: "The last thing I wanted to do was close another music venue.
"If I could buy it and keep it running like that I would but you have to be practical and realistic. It had been on the market for quite some time when we bought it."
Cabaret shows, film screenings, book club meetings and poker nights could be held at the club.
The upstairs bar, the Hanbury Arms, will be transformed into a quiet cigar bar with newspapers, books and old-fashioned leather armchairs.
