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Music venue charity issues ‘shocked’ statement ahead of impending Manchester closure
It would be a gutting loss for grassroots.
Thomas Melia -
1st May 2025 
A nationwide music charity has issued a statement after discovering the news of another impending Manchester venue loss, as student-favourite Retro Bar looks to be closing.
Reputable UK non-profit, Music Venue Trust, has come out to express their shock at the plans to shut the long-standing and well-established nightlife and music venue.
Adjacent to the University of Manchester campus, Retro Bar has catered to students and locals alike for more than 35 years. The nightclub, bar and live performance space is set to be displaced in a new venture between Bruntwood SciTech and the university.
In a statement posted on social media, Music Venue Trust wrote: “It’s just not good enough to dismiss the extraordinary value these organisations bring to their communities, the cultural ecosystem and the night time economy.”
The Music Venue Trust (MVT) was formed just over a decade ago to protect and improve independent and grassroots music venues across the UK, so they were quick to step in upon learning that Manchester’s beloved Retro Bar faces closing.
The organisation works closely with larger venues and grassroots music venues to help support the infrastructure of the music industry and live music as a whole.
They even partnered with Katy Perry, who is heading out on tour and visiting AO Arena later this year, with £1 from every ticket sold going to this charity to be distributed to independent music venues.
MVT went on to explain that “Retro has not factored into the Sister masterplan in any meaningful way and faces the very real prospect of permanent closure this July”.
The impending closure of Retro makes way for a £1.7 billion joint development, which is being labelled as the ‘Sister Masterplan‘, between the uni and the Greater Manchester property development group.
Retro hosts in excess of 200 live gigs per year and welcomes upwards of 20,000 customers annually, having served as a staple venue in Mancunian nightlife culture.
In response to the plans, the MVT is currently leading a crowdfunding attempt to save the space and has even received the backing of a very familiar face.
On the fundraising site, anyone thinking of donating will find a video from the one and only Frank Turner – a passionate grassroots advocate – who is fully behind the campaign.
It was only this past April that he gave a passionate speech on the power of these venues and in this minute-long clip, he reveals, “It’s the place where I played my first solo show in Manchester back in 2005”, and its fair to say that without it he may never had made it to headlining a sold out Academy 1.
He goes on to say as much, adding: “I owe my career to places like Retro Bar […] without independent grassroots music venues we can’t get anywhere”.
If you want to donate or support this campaign further, you can view Music Venue Trust and Retro Bar’s joint crowdfunding campaign HERE.
Read more:
- Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones reveals that Noel Gallagher is back in the studio
- An old indie favourite is heading back to Manchester for a ‘Best Of Tour’ at a brilliant venue
- Scouting For Girls announce stacked UK tour with Manchester date
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Featured Images — Unsplash / Flickr /Crowdfunder
