The Duchess: Blue plaque recognition for Leeds city centre live music mecca
It’s the city centre live music mecca which boasts almost mythical status.
The Duchess of York opened on Vicar Lane in 1985 and welcomed generations of up and coming bands many of which would go on to achieve global stardom.
Bands and artists to take to the stage in the grass roots venue over the years included Coldplay, Verve, Radiohead, Blue, PJ Harvey, Muse and Placebo.
Oasis also performed twice - the first time in 1993 when no-one turned up.
"There was nobody there at all. There was the bloke on the door taking the money and a girl behind the bar. The band and our road crew,” recalled Noel Gallagher during an interview with the YEP in July 2000. "Oh, and there was a couple in the corner who left after two songs, " he recalls. "And they were already in there so they didn't pay. That was it.”
And the venue’s legendary status was confirmed when Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain slept on a sofa upstairs after the band’s gig in October 1989. The venue closed in March 2000 when Chumbawamba took to the stage.
Fast forward to 2024 and The Duchess is to receive recognition with a blue plaque to be unveiled on Saturday, September 14, at 71 Vicar Lane which is now Hugo Boss. The unveiling is part of this year’s Leeds Heritage Open Days celebration.
The wording marks the contribution of legendary music promoter, John Keenan who helped transform for fortunes of the venue into becoming a thriving stalwart of the city’s music scene during the 1980s and 1990s.
Amanda Burns, one of the campaign leaders said: “Promoter, John Keenan, not only brought notable figures from the wider music industry to the city, he provided a platform for local/unknown talent to be nurtured and careers were built from these opportunities, locally and on the world stage. After a very long campaign, I’m absolutely thrilled (and relieved) at our successful application. I would like to thank everyone who has supported this. Thanks, too, to Leeds Civic Trust for having the vision to acknowledge Leeds’s music and cultural heritage. I hope this is just the beginning of the story for the recognition of grass-roots venues and their positive impact on communities.“
Leeds Civic Trust director, Martin Hamilton, said: “The city has an incredible music legacy, which the Trust is keen to celebrate. In 2011 we were proud to unveil a blue plaque for jazz band leader, Ivy Benson, as well as a Rainbow Plaque for composer Angela Morley. The Duchess celebrates the places and spaces that grassroots bands and musicians so desperately need and which enhance our culture so richly. The campaign to recognise The Duchess with a blue plaque is one we look forward to undertaking. The Duchess nurtured bands that became nationally and internationally famous – including some that were locally based. It is a perfect candidate for a Blue Plaque.”