Grassroots nightclub where Oasis and Ed Sheeran played early gigs to close

Moles, the Bath nightclub where Ed Sheeran and Oasis played early gigs, is to close after 45 years of trading.

A post on the venue's Facebook page said it had been an "incredibly difficult" decision that would impact the staff, local community, and artists who had played its venue.

“We are heartbroken to announce that Moles, in its current form, is closing, effective immediately," the post read. "We’ve weathered many things over the years, including a fire and a pandemic in the last 10 years alone, but this cost of living crisis has crippled the grassroots music sector.”

Moles said its closure was part of a wider problem in the music and night-time industries, and claimed 120 venue had closed in the past year, amounting to over 15% of the sector.

Almost half of the 366 grassroots venues that Ed Sheeran (pictured) played in before making it big have also shut down, according to Moles.

Phil Andrews and Tom Maddicott first opened Moles on New Years Eve in 1978 and artists including the Smiths, Radiohead, Eurythmics, Bastille, and Mumford & Sons all held gigs at the club over the years.

The venue added: “Unless bands have these stages to play, where will they hone their talents and become these huge artists that fill these arenas and stadiums around the world?

“We hope that whoever takes the building over will keep it as a live music venue as without it, Bath will have lost so much.

“Today, we are heartbroken, but the good memories will last forever, and for that, we will always be grateful.”