Owner says there's hope that Darwen's Sunbird Records may reopen

Sunbird Records, which was opened in 2016 by the late Jonathan Lindley, has ceased trading and is consulting with liquidators.

Business owner and Jonathan’s dad Steven Lindley hopes the venue can reopen under new management in the coming months, although no official takeover has been confirmed as of yet.

In a statement Music Venue Trust (MVT), a UK charity which represents hundreds of grassroots music venues, said: “It is with deep sadness that we have to announce that Sunbird Records in Darwen has had to cease trading and is consulting with liquidators.

Jonathan Lindley (Image: NQ)

“As many of you will know, Sunbird was built on the vision of Jonathan Lindley.

“Jonathan was a passionate advocate for music in his local community.

“The local community he left behind has been doing everything it can to try and keep Jonathan’s legacy alive, and Music Venue Trust has been supporting their efforts to try and make Sunbird Records sustainable and viable.

“But we have a duty of care to Jonathan’s family, and to the individual people who have been trying desperately to make the venue work.”

The MVT said the current "difficult economic conditions” have made it too difficult to keep the venue open.

A spokesperson said: “The cost of keeping this venue alive simply cannot be met.

“Sunbird Records is a grassroots music venue that is absolutely essential to its local community... but it simply cannot make ends meet. “

The MVT says it is still working to find a solution for the venue but adds it is “incredibly hard” to bring a venue back when it closes.

It said: “Maybe we can find a way to buy this building and support the local community to create a new operating organisation that can bring music back to Darwen.

“It's incredibly hard to bring a venue back when it closes, it’s one of the reasons we fight as hard as we can to stop it happening.

“We will do everything we can to try to make it happen.”

• READ MORE: Sadness as Darwen's Sunbird Records announces closure

In the statement, the MVT said it is “incredibly frustrated and angry” that venues such as Sunbird have to close.

It said: “Our communities need these spaces.

“It is painfully ridiculous that Sunbird Records is closing, unable to afford to pay the bill to keep the lights on.

"If our music industry cannot find a way to keep the lights on at Sunbird Records then it isn’t fit for purpose.

“We want to pay tribute to Jonathan’s father Steven, and to his family, who have fought tooth and nail to try and keep Sunbird afloat.”

Last April, the MVT launched their Own Our Venues campaign which aims to help grassroots music venues secure their long-term futures.

Sunbird Records was one of the nine selected to be part of the scheme.

The MVT said: “We selected Sunbird Records to be part of the Own Our Venues campaign because we believe in Jonathan’s vision, and we know that these types of venues are going to be permanently under threat of closure until we resolve the issue of who owns them.

“We believe every town and city deserves someone like Jonathan who has the passion required to make a grassroots music venue a reality. We are incredibly sad that we have not been able to save Sunbird Records.”

Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, Steven Lindley said the venue “couldn’t hold on long enough” to reap the benefits or funding from the scheme.

He said: “There were a lot of promises of finance and funding, it was hoped that the pilot scheme could be completed by 2022.

“Unfortunately for venues, like Sunbird, this just hasn’t happened quickly enough.

“The business was in a precarious situation and also had to cope with the cost of living crisis and energy crisis.

“All of these things piled up and it became obvious to myself and my accountants that we were going to have to close."

Steven says there is hope for the venue yet as he is consulting with parties who might be interested in reopening the venue.

He said: “There are interested parties and are in talks about Sunbird opening under new management.

“They are determined to keep the ethos of Jonathan’s Sunbird Records alive and don’t want to change it too much.

“We all have our fingers crossed and there is a glimmer of hope that we could reopen.

“[If we do reopen] in a couple of months the Own Our Venues project may come to fruition for Sunbird. We just couldn’t hang on long enough.

“As the outgoing owners, we are grateful for the council and MVT for their support over the years.

“For now we hope that Sunbird will rise from the ashes like a phoenix.”