Popular performers back campaign to save venue

The Lab, formerly known as The Labour Club, is on a street corner near Northampton town centre

Famous names from the world of entertainment have given their support to save a well-known venue.

The Lab, in Northampton, has launched a campaign to raise £20,000 to secure its future.

It says it is "in a very precarious financial situation".

Singer Billy Lockett and comedian James Acaster have expressed their support for the venue.

The Lab, at the end of a row of terraced houses on the corner of Earl Street and Charles Street, used to be the Labour Club.

It now has three different spaces for performances, including music and comedy.

On a crowdfunding page, the venue says it costs more than £8,000 per month to run the place, including staff wages, rent, utility bills and other costs.

It adds that the current economic situation has reduced "footfall and bar spend - our main source of income" by at least 10% this year.

The Lab has three spaces for performance and workshops

The Lab has had funding from Arts Council England, Northamptonshire Community Foundation and West Northants Council, but grants from those organisations are linked to specific projects rather than being available for running costs.

It says it is in a "very precarious financial position" and promises that any money raised will go towards clearing arrears and putting the venue in a sustainable position.

The comedian James Acaster says The Lab was "incredibly important"

The Kettering-born comedian, James Acaster, said: "I started going there in the late 90s and then, into the 2000s, started doing performances there.

"It's incredibly important that The Lab continues."

Growing Nai says the venue supported her when she was struggling to make it as a poet

The poet Growing Nai said: "It was a place for me that I could go to when I was really struggling and they really supported me the first time I performed poetry at the jam night."

The singer, Billy Lockett, says The Lab gives artists their first break

The author and filmmaker Alan Moore described it as "a fantastic place", while Northampton-born singer Billy Lockett told the BBC: "When I first decided to go solo as Billy Lockett, my first-ever show was at the Labour Club.

"Those people give us a chance, and without that feeling, even though it was a terrible gig, I got this huge rush of 'I want to do this'.

"So many venues don't let you play unless you're going to sell tickets - The Lab has never worried about that, they've just wanted to give people their first break."