Sheffield’s iconic bassline club Niche to reopen

After prolonged speculation Niche, birth place of bassline is set to reopen in February.

The club was closed in 2005, following a police raid and was opened again a year later, before being closed permanently in 2010.

The new venue, located in the city’s iconic Wicker Arch, is bringing the popular nightclub back into existence under the ownership of Steve Baxendale, who originally ran the old club on Sidney Street.

Baxendale said: “We are re-launching one of Sheffield’s most famous nightclubs and we will be bringing back our well known DJs to create the great sounds that made Niche so popular.”

Bassline, the music genre, originated in Sheffield in 2002 and was the cause of controversy in Sheffield due to a police raid named “Operation Repatriation”, where over 300 police officers entered Niche which resulted in its closure of the club.

Since it was the most popular bassline nightclub in Sheffield prior to its closure, “Niche” is sometimes used as an alternative name for the musical genre.

Jamie Duggan, one of the original residents at Niche, tweeted the confirmation in November. Roadside billboards have also appeared all around Sheffield with the Niche logo and the words “Sheffield, are you ready?”

A post on Niche’s official Facebook page said: “We’re putting a huge amount of effort in to bringing Niche home to Sheffield, and we really do appreciate your support. The beast called Niche is awakening, so watch this space.”

Entry requirements to the club have been changed for their reopening however, ladies must be over 21, and gents have to be over 25, in attempts to lower crime rates.

The opening event for the club is set for the 4th February 2017 and the tickets for it sold out in just over 5 minutes, a record for any Niche event ever held.

[Featured image: The Star, Alice Evans]