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LEEDS
MISSION
VENUES, DECEMBER 2006, COMMENTS
Saturday night in Leeds could take on an epic quality if you head down to Mission. The newly refurbished nightclub, launched in 2003, opens at 11pm and doesn’t stop until 9am the next morning - a testament to the quality of the music, the energy of local clubbers and the vibrancy of certain sections of the local scene.
Mission is run by All Points North (APN) Ltd, an umbrella company for a variety of businesses ranging from publishing to property. APN’s nightclub division incorporates Bar Fibre and massive gay club brand Federation as well as Mission; is headed up by experienced promoter/operator Shaun Wilson; and over the past decade has enjoyed phenomenal success both in its hometown Leeds and across the North of England. Following a substantial refit Mission looks set to further that pedigree, its three club brick arches plus adjoining style bar Arch54 evolving into something new: still a club designed by clubbers for clubbers, but now with extra flexibility and added punch.
The plan to develop Mission was on the cards from the beginning, remembers APN’s marketing manager Paul Stevens. “We always thought it was nice club, but it was always going to be evolved,” he says. “Since it opened we’ve been contemplating what we wanted to do with it.”
The transformation could begin when APN bought a roadside pub adjacent to the club, and gained the freedom to expand out of Mission’s existing footprint. Their first move was to unbrick the arch at one end of the club, reassigning the final archway as a chill space with two new lounges at ground level and on a mezzanine above. Downstairs, plush white leather furniture on a dark slate floor offers somewhere comfortable and chic to relax. On the upper tier, under the curving arch of the ceiling and beneath a large mural of Leeds, sit dark brown leather Chesterfields and glass-topped tables. Low level lighting and flickering candles generates an intimate, relaxed vibe. The floor is tiled with dark slate.
Through the newly instated archway the club is now open to the elements, allowing clubbers to spill out onto a decked, partially covered open-air terrace situated between Mission and the pub. With its own bar, this is a fully functional space in its own right and is used either as an extended chill out area (particularly valuable for ensuring customer comfort, given that clubbing sessions at Mission can easily stretch across 10 hours) or independently, for afternoon parties - such monthly Ibizan-style Sunday session In Bed With Space. The terrace will also make the venue smoking ban compliant - whatever the specific stipulations of the legislation may turn out to be. “It needed to be future proofed,” explains Paul. “We’ve invested a lot of money, and we need to make sure it will work for five, even ten years.”
Inside the final arch, energy efficient infra red heaters keep customers warm in the cooler months, with traditional heaters taking the chill out of the air on the terrace outside.
Other areas of the club have undergone similar reinvention. Former style bar Arch 54 has been redeveloped as Club Annexe: a new split level dance arena with wide leather seating, accessible through a widened arch (less bottle necking) by following coloured recessed lighting into the floor. It can be run separately or as part of the main club.
An exclusive, Veuve Cliquot-sponsored lounge has also materialised, manned by a door host, with a grand piano, champagne tables, a big fireplace, and lots of dark panelled wood setting the scene. Paul is reluctant to call the space a VIP lounge, though that is its obvious vibe. “We didn’t want to exclude customers from the space by making it invite-only - that creates a two tier experience,” he explains. “So long as people are respectful, and there’s space, people can use the room. There’s no music in there: it’s purely somewhere to sit with a guest and chat.”
In the main rooms - Arena 1 and 2 - the focus is on dancing, with technology, décor and (bottle) bar set up to suit. A new sound system in Arena 1 designed and installed by long-time APN production partners (and long-standing BEDA Award technical contractors) 52nd Street uses KV2 Audio technology: in particular, their ES1 club system, which 52nd Street MD Shaun Collins describes as “one of the most efficient and best sounding systems on the market today - if not the best.”
“With the venue sited in railway arches the acoustic properties of the room are not ideal,” he continues. “The ES and EX systems from KV2 offer a high degree of controllability, making combating the natural reverberation of the arches a more achievable goal.”
The end result was “absolutely fabulous,” smiles Shaun. The system’s subs are housed in a custom-designed acoustic bunker which as well as controlling the low frequency, by focusing them in the right direction, doubles as the DJ booth riser giving performers an elevated position and a perfect vantage point from which to read the room. But rather than aesthetic, the rationale for creating the booth was deeply practical. The ability to control the projection of sound was part of a plan tied in with the sound proofing designs. With noise pollution an ever increasing problem in city centre venues, every precaution was taken thought the design and building stages to give the venue the best defence against complaints current trends of inner-city living.
Above the DJ booth is an array of 42” Panasonic plasmas, again specified and designed by 52nd Street, tilted through 90 degrees and positioned directly behind the DJ. When switched off these black screens appear to be part of the wall, but at night they are fed by bespoke graphics (produced by visual solutions experts 44-16) which turn the DJ stand into a kaleidoscope of visual effects, adding extra drama and depth to the room.
This sense of atmosphere is enhanced by the lighting. Three circular Litestructures trusses host a range of different lighting fixtures from Martin Professional and Clay Paky, selected at the request of APN to recreate the depth and diversity of movement created by 52nd Street on their larger touring rigs.
As an additional feature a new 1.5 watt multi-colour Aurora laser was provided and fitted by Rill lasers.
Between the main arena and the chill lounge is Arena 2, where the DJ booth has been relocated from the middle to the back of the room and the sound, light and video systems have again been upgraded.
The rooms add up to a range of experiences: not a new strategy, but in a club that trades through 10 hour sessions, an essential one.
“People are better travelled than they once were,” says Paul, suggesting that the desire of Mission’s clubbers to stay out all night is in part a response to the new licensing laws, but also a reflection of more European sensibilities.
“Our customers go to Ibiza, the States, the Med, where they enjoy staying out later at night. We’ve not quite got the weather that some of these destinations can offer but we can reflect the experience people get abroad. Here clubbers can have the big dance experience in a 600 capacity arena with no seating, with the big lasers, light and sound system, where they can dance on podiums, be seen and enjoy the music. Then when they’re ready to rest we’ve got the club lounge, which with plush leather seating and candle light is as comfortable a place to talk as their home; and the terrace, which on hot and balmy nights will feel amazing. Instead of the chill area being an afterthought, it’s a main focus of the club. Which means that instead of clubbers moving on, we can keep them for longer periods of time.”
With an average of 10,000 people through its doors each week and the club often still busy at six or seven in the morning, that strategy is working. As it is at their other venues. On a Friday night, Fibre is often busy throughout the day (for lunch, and then after work food and drinks) through until 6am.
Paul puts the popularity of APN’s club ventures down to its combination of gay credentials, a mixed crowd and an inclusive vibe.
“Right from the beginning we went for a mixed crowd and it’s gelled together,” he says. “I’ve been to Sydney, Madrid, all over the world, and most places are still pretty much divided amongst those lines but in Leeds the set up - a straight/gay mix in a tolerant atmosphere - is really unique.”
The high profile opening, supported by a Calsberg-sponsored ad campaign (‘Probably The Best Refit in the World....’) attracted city-wide attention and with the venue providing a good level of flexibility (the main arches, the Annexe and the chill lounges/terrace can all be run separately), a broader range of promoters have found it makes a comfortable home there. Nights as diverse as Mancunian techno/breaks/progressive house shindig Tribal Sessions and gay indie party Poptastic bookend a broad range of promotions that are filling the club with a diversity of sounds. “People have the internet now, they’re more musically aware than ever before, and they’ll travel to the places they’re interested in,” says Paul. “Technology is driving experience. People know about these brands so why not bring them here?”
Words: Alex Eyre
Images: Jim Ellam
From: December 2006 Issue
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