Grassroots: Bad news from Sticky Mike

Some call it the toilet circuit, some call it grassroots, whatever the term the venues it applies to are those small, grungy places that provide one of the lower rungs on the music biz ladder. They are at the heart of their music community, providing a stage for local bands to gain valuable gigging experience and giving new acts the chance to build a following. Tucked away on Middle Street in Brighton, a short walk from a Jazz club that I've yet to find open, Sticky Mike's Frog Bar is very much one of those venues.

Unfortunately modern life is hard for grassroots venues such as Sticky Mike's. A combination of problems, such as redevelopment (both of the venues themselves or their surrounding area), local councils who don't (or won't) recognize the cultural significance of such places, or the plain old issue of money have meant that, over the past few years, the number of small venues across the UK has decreased.

To help counter the problems grassroots venues face, hopefully protecting and securing their the future, the Music Venue Trust was formed. The sterling effort of this charitable organisation has assisted many small venues across the country. The combined endeavours of the MVT, their partner organisations and their supporters, have this year successfully seen the introduction of agent of change protection into UK planning advice.

Sadly this protection has come to late for Sticky Mike's Frog Bar, and if you've not had the delight of venturing into the venue and down the stairs to the basement, your chances are finite. Today the venue announced that, due to "too many issues", it is to shut at the end of the year. After seven fun-packed years the doors will finally close as 2019 rolls in, with the venue saying goodbye with a series of parties and events before then.

Frustratingly the announcement of Sticky Mike's closure comes within days of the Talking Heads in Southampton shuttering, and let's not forgot that Portsmouth has lost both The Cellars (now redeveloped for housing) and the RMA Tavern in recent years. When a venue closes it's sad, infuriating, annoying and upsetting, it leaves a hole in both the local community and its economy. Add the knock-on effect for the music business in general and you're left scratching your head at why things have got into the state they have. Do we blame The Man? Do we blame the government? Or do we blame ourselves for not going to gigs more? 

Whatever the reason, and there is no one cause to point the finger of blame at, when a venue is gone and the posters in the window replaced by Estate Agent boards we at least have the memories of the good times spent there. Not great I know but, unless we see more changes to support our important yet tiny venues, that might be all we're left with.

Fingers crossed I'll get a chance to take in one last gig (or two) at Sticky Mike's before it closes, if not then I'll take this chance to wish hearty thank you to all involved in the venue for all the blood, sweat and tears invested in keeping it up and running for as long as possible. 

In closing, my abiding memory of Sticky Mike's is from The Great Escape several years ago, heading out of the sun and down into its low-ceilinged basement, to see the excellent Kassassin Street decimate any and all remaining traces of the previous night's hangover. Damn, that was a good gig (shame I took such a blurry photo, the pros and cons of being down the front I guess).

UPDATE: I've refreshed some of the text since first posted (as it was late when I posted and some bad grammar got the best of me). Also, if you've not yet seen it, it's worthwhile reading the Music Venue Trust's Facebook post on the subject (the paragraph pertaining to grants, subsidies and business rates is jaw-dropping to say the least).