The Limelight

(Disclaimer: Joking aside, I fully understand the risks/dangers involved in these adventures and do so in the full knowledge of what could happen. I don't encourage or condone and I accept no responsibility for anyone else following in my footsteps. I never break into a place, I never take any items and I never cause any damage, as such no criminal offences have been committed in the making of this blog. I will not disclose a location, or means of entry. I leave the building as I find it and only enter to take photographs for my own pleasure and to document the building.)

Today I'm looking at The Limelight, a rock bar that closed in 2010 but still has a loyal following to this day, with people mourning its loss all over the internet. It seems that once upon a time this was the place to be, and even though it's been rotting for almost a decade, the building still retains its character. It's impossible to look at the buildings exterior without thinking "Damn, I bet this place was great." As soon as I saw it, I knew I needed to check it out.

 The Limelight began life as a church in 1869, with a connected church hall, and luckily for me, an old photo of it from this era does exist.

The church had long since closed its doors by the time it became the Limelight, although it enjoyed a period as a snooker club, until that too sank and the building became boarded up.
It was then found by a chap who was already organising rock events in the town, but was looking for a larger venue. All of the pubs he had looked at were simply too small, but once he spotted the derelict church-turned-snooker club, he realised that this was to be the location of the future of the towns live music scene, and looked into obtaining it. Renovations took around eight months, with regulars from the towns rock nights volunteering to help out, purely out of a desire to see their town get a permanent rock music venue. While the main church was turned into a bar and concert hall, the building next to it became a rock cafe. The Limelight opened its doors in 1994 and was a massive hit. It attracted bands from all over the country, and gigantic audiences, so much so that they had extensions added on just to accomodate the crowds.

As soon as I entered the Limelight, into the remains of the beer garden, I spotted a security guy and had to hide. Fortunately I hadn't been seen. This was going to be a slow one, of waiting, hiding, and wishing that my feet had volume controls. Nevertheless, I persevered. I had an advantage, you see- The security guy didn't have any reason to tread lightly, so I'd always know where he was. All I had to do was take my pictures, and leave undetected. Of course, I had the disadvantage of dyspraxia, which makes me about as subtle as the holocaust.

The main entrance leading out onto the street is boarded up, but as always I'll start the interior shots from here. Footage that I've seen of the interior suggests that this entrance was walled off into some sort of foyer area, with event posters on the wall being the first thing people saw as they came in. Stairs to the left and right then led into the actual building.
Although I could be wrong on that, and I might have seen footage of a completely different bar and been mistaken.

Looking at the old footage, this floor was very pub-like, with pool tables, games machines, and whatnot. The bar, I think, was on the right, where this big square fenced off hole now sits.

The falling of the Limelight started in 2007 when the owner decided to sell it, and go on to live in a narrowboat. In spite of his success, running the venue for so many years was proving to be too stressful for him. He mentioned that he wanted to hand the venue over to someone who would continue to drive it towards success. I don't know much about the next owner, but it seems that things didn't go according to plan.

Down there is the concert hall, where old band posters still decorate the walls. I decided not to go there straight away, because that's where security guy was.

In spite of closing, the derelict nightclub continued to attract the local media, first with an arson attack in 2015, causing it to be the blackened wreck you see here, and secondly in 2017 when urban explorers found a body hanging in here. Luckily the urban explorer in question didn't do a Logan Paul and broadcast footage of the hanging man for views and ad revenue, but instead did the sensible thing and called the police.

It must be pretty horrifying to find a dead human body in a derelict place, and I actually dread it happening to me. 

The body was identified as a twenty-six year old Polish man. He had come to the UK when he was sixteen but he had been homeless. In the lead up to his suicide, he had been battling with alcohol and drug addictions but also claimed that he wanted desperately to return to Poland.
Interestingly, he'd been arrested in 2016 for scrawling "We are not the enemy, We want respekt" in huge letters across the floor of the town square, possibly in regards to how people treat the homeless, foreigners or both. It's not really clear and we can't really ask him.

He'd spelled "repect" wrong, but that's a minor oversight likely more to do with a language barrier rather than trying to look edgy. In many countries, the C only makes the sound of an S, and the K is used to make the typical K sound. English, being notoriously contradictory for no reason, uses C for both sounds, a habit it probably picked up from the Welsh, who have no K, but use S for S and C for K, without exception. Language is really quite fascinating, and so it's easy to see why some mistakes are made. But I digress.

The man pleaded guilty to the charge of criminal damage but not guilty to the charge of disturbing the peace. He was released on bail, with another court appearance scheduled for the following year in April. He didn't live long enough to see it, taking his own life in February. Stories like this really affect me, having struggled with mental health myself, and experienced the vast, vast absence of help that's out there. The signs were there that this man was struggling. The graffiti was a literal cry for help. Perhaps if he'd been offered help, he'd still be alive, and could have kicked his habits. But here's the hard, sad truth about mental health in the UK- It's easier to get drugs than it is to get help.

Every time someone kills themselves, the public say things like "If only someone was there for them." But there's still several billion people to be there for, and while I do think councelling and therapy is best done by the professionals, sometimes all someone needs is a friend, and that can be enough to stop them reaching that stage.

Moving on with the adventure...

 At either ends of this floor, stairs lead upwards.

 There's still a fridge in the corner, the interior of which I did not care to see.

 With security beneath me, I decided first to tiptoe up the least creakiest-looking of the stairways, this one.

 The upper floor was often refered to as the rafters bar due to it having the ceiling rafters in place. It's actually undergone a few redesigns over the years, having pool tables, its own bar, a dance floor and allegedly also its own little bowling alley at one point. Now, it was pretty bleak.

 Thanks to the very much still active Facebook page for the Limelight, I was able to find older photos of this area.

 It sure is sad to see it so barren.

 I actually really like that as a night club it still retained its church-like windows.

 It was time to make my way downstairs...

These windows in the curved walls faced out over the balcony and beer garden.

There's still a cash machine in the corner, no longer containing any money.

 Here are the ladies toilets, largely stripped out, and barren, but still in better condition than the toilets in some active pubs and clubs.

At long last, it seemed that the security guy had gone. I was finally able to check out the concert hall.

 Posters still cover the walls down here, as sad reminders of happier times. The Limelight in particular seemed to specialise in tribute bands, and a lot of these had posters and logos identical to the bands that they were a tribute too, so much so that at a glance one might not notice the difference. However, to my amusement a lot of the tribute artists had named themselves with amusing wordplay that indicated that they weren't quite the genuine artists. Among my favourites were Nearvana, and Alike Cooper.

While this concert hall isn't really underground, the front doors do lead through the floor above, due to the stairs outside leading up to the front door. However, it suddenly dawned on me that if the church service was held on that floor, then this floor beneath it may have once been a crypt. It seems quite fitting. Some might find the idea of playing rock music in a former place of worship to be an odd contrast of two polar opposites, spanning the buildings history from virtue to vice, but for rock music to be played in a former crypt, now that's pretty cool. And thanks to the Limelights Facebook, I have found a photo of this room packed with people, all enjoying the show.

It's a sad but shocking contrast. This room was once bursting with life, and fun, and amazing music. The atmosphere would have been brilliant. Even today people tell fond stories about this place.

It's really sad to see the place like this. From where I stand to take this picture of the stage, so many other people have stood to take in a prettier view.

The attached rock cafe was being converted into houses, and so I didn't really take much interest in it. That would have been the end of the story, had my way in not been blocked. I'd climbed a wall, and gone in through a door, but at some point the security guy had locked the door. I was trapped in the Limelight. How exciting!

I could see a way out too, but who should be between me and it? Only the security guy sat eating sandwiches in his car. I was getting pretty hungry too but somehow I doubted he'd be up for sharing. I could have just ran past him and escaped, but if he saw me running, he might have called the police, so I went for the more pathetic option, which I probably wouldn't have done had I not already seen the building, and turned myself in.
I explained to security that I was just taking photos, and after he put me on the phone to his angry boss who screamed at me for a few minutes, I was let out.

So what does the future hold? Well, the Limelight is to be converted into houses, which means it will be stripped of all of its former character and made into something bland and generic. It deserves better to be honest. Its got wonderful architecture, and historic significance as both a place of worship and as a music venue. And the world needs places for expression. It needs music and art. It needs places where people can go where the atmosphere is guaranteed to be good, where they can just chill out, and have fun. It's sad to see it like this. Allegedly attempts were made to buy it in an attempt to revive it as a nightclub and give new life to the Limelight once again, but these attempts failed. The building is doomed.

That's all I got. My next blog will be a derelict care home, followed by something I haven't done in a while- a rooftopping one. And then I have something exciting- My current accomplice Jess (Not the one I did the rooftop shoot with) is going to be making Youtube videos of the places we explore alongside my blog posts. It's sort of a creative team-up. Shes a video editor, and I'm a blogger. We're combining the two. I said when I started this blog that it would be more of a team effort, and it all starts three blogs from now. I'm looking forward to it! I can't edit a video, but Jess can. Nevertheless, subscribe to my Youtube, follow my Instagram, like my Facebook and follow my Twitter. Share this blog post where you want.

Thanks for reading!

The Underground Salon

(Disclaimer: Joking aside, I fully understand the risks/dangers involved in these adventures and do so in the full knowledge of what could happen. I don't encourage or condone and I accept no responsibility for anyone else following in my footsteps. I never break into a place, I never take any items and I never cause any damage, as such no criminal offences have been committed in the making of this blog. I will not disclose a location, or means of entry. I leave the building as I find it and only enter to take photographs for my own pleasure and to document the building.)

Today is just a small blog, about a tiny but quirky location outside of my usual circles.

If you know me, you'll know that I'm a pretty extreme introvert. Some say it's unhealthy, but then some people say that the world is flat, and that the Transformers movies were good. Ironically, the world is full of people who think they're being helpful by trying to encourage us to live according to their perception of normal. Not all of us require a shepherd, and introversion doesn't equate to unhappiness. In fact I'm quite the opposite! My soul is made of sunshine, angel queefs and dreams. Living life as I do, with my hobbies, my friends, my family, good legs, a nice arse, and being generally brilliant, I can honestly say that if wealth was measured in happiness, I'd be a billionaire. I just find human interaction exhausting, and I value time to myself too. Sometimes my introversion simply demands that I sneak off somewhere far away on random impulsive solo excursions, so that I can do what I love with only my inner monologue to keep me company. That's what brought me to this place.

This derelict salon was sat in the middle of a town, in plain sight, with a backdoor broken open, and somehow completely overlooked by the towns population. Similarly overlooked was my casual entry through the door. If anyone suspected me of trespassing, they did nothing to show it. But then this town is quite run down, and a bit on the dull side. It's not as bad as Oakengates, but then neither is syphilis. But maybe the townspeople collectively thought "This town is terrible, but if this gorgeous guy with a camera is finding a way to have fun, good for him."
People ask me what I've got against Oakengates, and the answer is this- Sometimes you just can't help but find a town ugly. But I digress!

Now obviously, as a salon, its probably not going to have amazing historic internal achitecture, but it's small and quirky, and I've never done one before, unless you count the salon in Radbrook College. 

 Annoyingly, but also intriguingly, I couldn't find much about this place. The external shot looks vaguely chapel-like but it isn't said to be a chapel on any old maps. Streetview shows the salon to be open to the public in 2011, but closed by 2015, and falling further and further into disrepair as the years progressed. Further investigation led me to the salons Facebook page, which is long inactive, with the last review being in July 2014. So what happened? Why did it close down? And if it's been empty for that long, but open for urban explorers, why is there no graffiti or shattered glass?

Well, allegedly this location was used for some ridiculously high-level money laundering operation, so high profile that even certain council members were involved. Allegedly the staff here were illegally too, with no papers, and paid cash in hand. Allegedly as soon as the owners found out that they were under investigation, the place closed down within hours. 

 Here's the fire exit, leading upwards.

 Here's the toilet, poo splattered, but still in better condition than the toilets in some pubs and clubs.

And here are the washing machines.

I got particularly suspicious as I progressed through the building. There's still power in this place. Given that it's not been open since around 2015, this is just odd. Likewise is the presence of washing machines, which logically speaking would have been cleared out when the business closed. From appearances so far, this place doesn't seem to be closed down at all, and given its dodgy past, that is very suspicious.

Having said that, the power still worked at Lincoln Grange Nursing home, and then even more bizarrely at Cloud House, so it's not unheard of.

The front portion of the salon was pretty messy, albeit, still furnished.

To the left of the main entrance is the reception desk, which still has a computer behind it, along with typical office clutter.

I'm not in any way envious of someone whose job is to sit in front of a glowing rectangle, but I couldn't help but marvel at the computer, which is pretty ancient by technological standards, with obsolescence coming a lot faster to products than it used to. Wait, that's why there's barely any info on this place online! They're probably still on dial-up internet!
Whoever sat here not only got to fiddle with this 20th Century relic, but also had two monitors to look at, one of which likely displayed footage from the internal security cameras.

While this central area itself is pretty barren, the actual tanning rooms are pretty trashed, although I'm not sure why. Having said that, all of the tanning beds have been removed. I can't imagine it being possible to remove them from their tiny rooms and out through the back door without making a little mess. 

The buildings internal cameras are all turned to face the walls, which indicates that I'm not the first person to sneak in here.

Next to the stairs, signs point down to the Underground Hair Studio. It's curious to have a hair salon in a basement, but this place has gone one step further and made the fact that its underground into the actual gimmick, which is totally awesome.

Check it out! Even the sign has "Underground" written in edgy lettering, with the symbol of the London underground. They've really made the fact that its in the basement the primary selling point.
Well the gimmick has certainly sold this place to me! I've never been to an actual salon but if I was going to, I'd be all over the quirkier places. I was quite baffled that there's no internet presence for this place. You'd think, given the emphasis on the gimmick, more would have been done to promote it. But then the lack of web presence is understandable, if there were high level council workers involved in illegal activities here. It was all probably cleared out.

At the back of the cellar was this small kitchen for the staff.

There's mold on the walls, and a bin bag full of rubbish. But there's still cutlery, bowls and cereal here. Add that to the fact that there's still electricity, and this place is perfect for squatters!

Heading upstairs...

There are more tanning rooms upstairs, but as with the downstairs, all of the tanning beds are gone. The architecture sure is cool though.

Here's a foot spa.

Over here's the scariest thing I've ever found in a derelict building, one of the Fifty Shades of Gray books. No wonder this place ended up empty. This book probably caused an entire evacuation.

Here's a little pouch of crayons, indicative that there were distractions for the clients children. But really, given that this building is wide open to trespassers, and the means to scribble on the walls are here, readily supplied, where is all the graffiti? I don't remember the last time I saw a place this free of vandalism, except for very remote locations. For a salon to be wide open in the middle of a town centre, the lack of vandalism is frankly bizarre.

But that's all I've got.

To conclude, the underground salon, and its upper floors, are completely mystifying. I don't know much about the buildings history, nor do I know what the future holds for it. In its glory days, I probably would have just walked past, but now I find myself weirdly fascinated. It's small and quirky, and it's hidden in plain sight.
It's also bloody mysterious, being closed for at least four years but still having electricity, and a lot of stuff left behind. It's very odd.

Of course it's possible that it's getting fixed up to be reopened, and I just happened to stroll in while everyone was on their lunch break. I guess I'll find out, should I ever return here. Maybe there's a nearby ROC bunker or a forgotten cemetery. Wait and see!

Next blog post I'll be checking out a derelict nightclub, and then I'll be off in a completely different direction to check out a care home. In the meantime, like my Facebook, Follow my Instagram, Subscribe to my Youtube and follow my Twitter.

Thanks for reading!