The Cockpit opened in 1994, and was previously called the Cock of the North pub. The alternative,
live music venue was set up by Colin Oliver(still the main band promoter at The Cockpit now) while
Richard Todd (who joined him a few months later) took charge of our alternative club events and
began the now legendary club, Brighton Beach.
The first band to play the Cockpit was Manchester based, metal band, ‘Kill 2 This’ who headlined
on 4th September 1994. Since then a fair few others have graced at least one of our two stages, including…
Rancid, Reef, Placebo, Kula Shaker, Mansun, Embrace, Death in Vegas, Feeder, Backyard Babies,
Elastica, Queens Of The Stone Age, Less than Jake, New Model Army, The Music, White Stripes,
The Hives, Korn, At The Drive-In, Cornershop, Shed 7, Paradise Lost, Ash, Mercury Rev, Boy George,
Cast, Coldplay...and many, many more.
In 2001 we even played host to The Offspring for a Radio 1 secret show. This is most notable
for the fact that not four months previous they sold out Wembley Arena on the back of their
smash hit, ‘Pretty Fly For A White Guy’. So big were the band in fact that their mixing desk
had to be put in the venue’s middle room due to the shear enormity of it.
Brighton Beach launched in 1994 and was the first Friday night club that ran at The Cockpit.
Due to its immense popularity and original format the club grew too big for the Cockpit and
was moved to its current location at The Stylus in Leeds University in 2001. Brighton Beach
now has monthly nights running in Sheffield, Leicester, Newcastle and London.
Visit the Brighton Beach Website
Initially the first Saturday club night at the Cockpit was called Propaganda, a full on hard
house night. Not seen to fit in with the Cockpit's musical policy it was swiftly replaced
with The Garage, now the venue’s flagship clubnight. To this day The Garage caters for all
alternative tastes, offering three rooms of rock, metal and indie and has claimed the title
as the best alternative night in the North of England.
In the past, Leeds music venues have come and gone, most notably The Duchess Of York and the
Town And Country Club (both of which closed in 2001) whereas the Cockpit has always held its
place as one of the best places to see live music, not only in Leeds but in the whole of the
UK ( The Cockpit won Radio 1 venue of the year in 2001), and has carried on improving to
become Leeds’ premier live music venue.
The promoters of the venue, Futuresound Music, have also brought a number of larger events to
the city. Utilising both Universities, we have put on shows by The Good, The Bad and the
Queen, The Strokes, Queens Of The Stone Age, and many others. We have also used The Blank
Canvas to put on acts such as Franz Ferdinand, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Scissor Sisters.
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