Once we had The Void, now there’s just a void
LAST week saw yet another sad moment in our city’s recent history with the devastating fire at the old Sentinel offices in Hanley, its most celebrated incarnation being Yates’s, a popular bar for many during a night ‘up ‘anley’.
Of course, the fire was a tragedy on many levels. But it also shone a light on the collapse of Hanley as a nightlife destination. Indeed, it could be said that what happened last week basically symbolises this demise.
This was something picked up in the immediate aftermath by Anthony Bunn, the former editor of Stoke City fanzine Duck, who took to social media to express his sadness at the state of Hanley these days while reminiscing about some of his favourite spots, adding: ‘Imagine folk from Manchester, Brum, Nottingham, etc. coming to Hanley for nightlife…my kids don’t believe me’.
And yet they did. During the 1990s Hanley was a big pull, and in particular The Void, home of the legendary club Golden. Some of the country’s biggest DJS found their way to Glass Street, including Carl Cox, Judge Jules, and Paul Oakenfold. Oakenfold played Golden during 1993 having just worked with U2 who were – at the time – the biggest band in the world, riding the Zoo TV wave, which was the biggest live show on the planet.
Robbie Williams was a regular visitor during his Take That days, while the club also hosted an extraordinary show by Sister Sledge.
Me? Well, the 90s were my 60s, and
it was all about music and getting out there. Fashion wasn’t really my thing because well, dress sense has never really been my forte. I enjoyed calling in Leadbelly’s where I once had a five-minute conversation with an old friend called Neil, only to discover that it wasn’t Neil. Heath’s Wine Bar on a Sunday evening before getting the last bus home was always fun. Late nights saw my friends and me follow the hordes of people pouring down Trinity Street to Valentinos, though I preferred The Place, which hosted some of rock’s biggest names, though before my time.
And I would occasionally visit The Void. I wasn’t much of a dancer – I’m about as graceful as a JCB – but I enjoyed the vibe and atmosphere. But one of my more memorable nights there came in 1993 when I saw the pre-britpop Blur there while they were touring their second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish.
All of this was going on at the heart of our city without an ultra-expensive arena, or a sleek modern public transport system. But could it happen now? While there are plenty of people across The Potteries full of entrepreneurial zeal, the barriers to a revival of Hanley’s once thriving nightlife are very big, and very real.
Changes to licensing laws made life difficult for those trying to keep clubs afloat, while in more recent times, the triple whammy of the Covid-19 pandemic, increased running costs,
and reduced footfall due to the cost of living crisis has sent many to the wall. The Music Venue Trust was established to nurture and support grassroots venues, and this year it published its latest annual report that detailed the loss of 125 venues during 2023. Add to this the continued loss of pubs and bars, something that is far more of a problem in smaller towns and cities, and what you have is a crisis.
While there are places in Hanley making a decent fist of things – The Coachmakers, Bottlecraft, The Sugarmill and The Underground all immediately spring to mind – the town no longer has the critical mass and diversity that once made it such an exciting place to visit, and this is a big loss not just to Stoke-on-trent, but for surrounding areas too.
Today, a walk around Hanley for me is tinged with sadness and frustration.
The old Potteries Water Board Buildings that were home to Heath’s have been empty for years, continue to be plagued by vandals, and are perhaps another fire waiting to happen while The Place and The Void were razed years ago – two major cultural losses.
Where once the likes of Danny Rampling, above, were spinning their wheels of steel, you can now spin the wheels of your car on a cheap parking lot. Some might say we’re just being nostalgic and that we should just move on. Move on? But what to?