Legendary nightclub Sankeys may be coming to Wigan

Dance music fans have the chance to bring a legendary nightclub's events to Wigan as part of a fightback against the closure of top venues.
Revellers at a Sankeys eventRevellers at a Sankeys event
Revellers at a Sankeys event

Iconic Manchester club Sankeys has chosen the borough as one of 20 towns and cities across Britain where it will bring its nights of revelry if enough people vote for it.

The scheme was created after Sankeys lost its Manchester venue recently after 22 years of hosting some of the biggest artists and most cutting-edge sounds.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The campaign, called Do You Wanna Sankeys, gives dance fans the chance to recreate something of Wigan’s musical heyday when clubs like Wigan Pier were at the very forefront of the European scene.

Sankeys hopes the campaign to spread its events across the country will also help reverse a trend of clubs declining and shutting their doors for good and has attracted support from the Night Time Industry Association (NTIA).

NTIA chair Alan Miller said: “We are proud to be working with the team for Sankeys across Britain. Just one week after the world found out the shocking news that Sankeys in Manchester was closing after over 20 years, now 20 cities in UK have the chance for a new club.

“Upbeat, fun and engaging, this is what saving nightlife is all about.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Wigan will be competing in the first round of the project against major cities including Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin and Birmingham as well as places such as Stoke, Sunderland, Exeter and Reading.

Sankeys is promising that the more votes a town or city gets the more investment and events will be brought to the area.

The club already has brands in some of the world’s party hotspots including Ibiza, London and Tokyo.

Sankeys first launched in the early 1990s and went on to become one of the world’s most famous nightclubs.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However, it has had a turbulent history, with bosses having to close the doors on a number of occasions.

Based in the Beehive Mill in Ancoats, the end came when the Grade II listed former mill was sold and is to be turned into apartments.

Manchester clubbing institution Sankeys has closed after the building it occupied was sold - to be turned into apartments.

In an email circulated to staff and promoters, Tony Hill, managing director of Radius Security - who managed the club for its Japanese owners, said there no hope of saving the iconic club.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Industry experts believe around 50 per cent of UK nightclubs have shut in the past 10 years, but revellers recently received a boost when top London club Fabric was able to re-open after losing its licence.

Although Wigan’s dance scene has not regained the international reputation it once enjoyed enthusiasts have brought the sounds of house, techno and 
other electronic music styles back to the borough in recent years with events at King Street clubs 
and music venues such as The Attic on King Street West.

Voting is now open. To take part, click here

To sign the NTIA’s petition calling for clubbing venues to be protected, click here