Arctic Monkeys raffle Alex Turner's guitar to save The Leadmill, Sheffield and UK grassroots venues
18 August 2020, 22:00
The Sheffield band have joined forces with the Music Venue Trust by setting up a Crowdfunder campaign to help save small venues.
Arctic Monkeys have launched a Crowdfunder campaign to raise money for The Leadmill in Sheffield, where the band played several times in their early days.
The Mardy Bum rockers have joined forces with the Music Venue Trust to raise money for the small venue in their hometown as well as other grass roots venues across the UK.
Frontman Alex Turner will be giving away his early guitar, a black Fender Stratocaster, for the cause - asking fans to enter a £5 raffle for the chance to win the item.
Fans can enter as many times as they wish and the competition is open to everyone worldwide over the age of 18.
The raffle is open from now until 6pm BST on Tuesday 25th August.
Fans can also donate money to the cause. At the time of writing this article, the campaign has raised £10,258 of its £100,000 target so far.
Everyone who enters the raffle will receive an invite to an exclusive online screening of the bands performance at Reading Festival in 2006 on Wednesday 26th August at 8pm BST.
The Leadmill - which is the main focus of the campaign - has played host to many acts over the years, including Pulp, Coldplay, Oasis, The White Stripes, Muse and The Stone Roses.
The Crowdfunder description reads: "In conjunction with The Music Venue Trust, Arctic Monkeys are raising money for The Leadmill in Sheffield and other independent grassroots music venues across the UK. During the early stages of their career, the band performed at numerous small music venues around the country and regularly played at The Leadmill.
"The impact of Covid-19 has been devastating for all music venues and particularly those independent venues who have provided a stage for countless artists at the very start of their careers. The Leadmill is a Sheffield venue that has played host to an incredible amount of talent over the past four decades including Pulp, Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Muse, Oasis, Stone Roses, The White Stripes, Jorja Smith, Michael Kiwanuka as well as Arctic Monkeys.
"Since closing their doors back in March, The Leadmill has had to work to reschedule or cancel over 120 events. With no clear opening date on the horizon, the future of this legendary Sheffield venue and the dedicated staff who run it, is now uncertain."
QUIZ: Which era of Alex Turner are you?
Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know (Radio X Session)
