The Cluny: the Ouseburn mill that became a launchpad for breaking bands

Ask a Newcastle gig-goer where they saw a future star in a tiny room and there is a good chance the answer will be The Cluny. Tucked into the Ouseburn Valley at 36 Lime Street, the venue, bar and café has built a reputation as one of the most important places in the region for catching bands before they make it big.

The building itself has quite a story. It was completed in 1848 as a flax spinning mill for Plummer & Cooke, designed by the celebrated architect John Dobson. It later reopened as a steam-powered flour mill and then became a Scotch whisky bottling plant called the Cluny, which is where today's venue gets its name. It is now Grade II listed.

In 1982 Bruvvers Theatre Company bought the building and turned it into a space for artists, and it still shares its home with artists, offices and recording studios. A section opened as The Cluny Bar in 1999, and in 2009 the team took on the neighbouring former Round Theatre, which became Cluny 2.

Today the main room has a fire limit of 300, while Cluny 2 holds up to 180 people semi-seated or standing, or 130 fully seated. Both spaces are fully wheelchair accessible.

The roll call of artists who have played here is remarkable. Arctic Monkeys appeared in August 2005, Maxïmo Park previewed Our Earthly Pleasures in January 2007, and Duffy, Solange Knowles and Mumford & Sons all passed through in 2008 and 2009. Field Music, the Sunderland band, played in January 2020.

That record has earned the venue plenty of affection. In May 2009 it was voted Best Live Music Venue by Generator North East, and it remains a cornerstone of what the Ouseburn Trust calls "the heart of Newcastle's live music scene".

The Cluny is still very much at the centre of things. Both The Cluny and Cluny 2 are hosting events in this year's Mercury Prize Fringe, the week of Pay As You Feel gigs and talks running across the city as the Mercury Prize returns to Newcastle.

Whether you are after a new favourite band or a sociable evening in one of the city's most characterful corners, a night at The Cluny is a proper Newcastle experience.

Gig listings and venue information are on The Cluny's website.