Nottingham venue The Chameleon to host final gig after two decades

One of Nottingham's music scene stalwarts is shutting

A Nottingham venue that helped give some major rock acts a leg-up into the music industry is preparing to shut for the last time.

Tucked away in an alley just off busy Angel Row, The Chameleon is hidden.

But for two decades, word of mouth has kept the 70-capacity venue, with acoustics that are the stuff of legend in the city, in business.

But the journey comes to an end this month after the building's owner decided to sell up.

It is the last hurrah for Chameleon co-owners Lauren and John Rothera

Co-owner John Rothera, 36, took over in 2015 and renovated the venue in 2017 with his wife Lauren.

He said: "It was pretty much like OK, this business does not make any money. We're kind of screwed.

"I'd met Lauren through this place and she was being made redundant from Player's. We had a stupid idea to invest some of that money back into this place. Spruce it up, paint it up, get new furniture, build a bar.

The upstairs room is small but perfectly formed

"It kind of worked for a bit and then the pandemic happened. We managed to keep going but we've been rolling on with the building deteriorating.

"We've known for a while. The last time I spoke, he told us that they had been sold to a developer."

The Chameleon is as grassroots as it comes, but plenty of famous faces have performed on their journey up the ladder over the years.

'Lifelong friends'

Before they were gracing the Glastonbury stage with Rick Astley, Blossoms performed. Royal Blood fills stadiums these days, but before their big break they gathered a crowd of about 20 people in Nottingham.

Local duo Sleaford Mods met at the Chameleon, says John, while The Amazons played to an audience of nobody - their last Nottingham show was the main room at Rock City.

Sleaford Mods met at The Chameleon

Mr Rothera said: "It's been enjoyable. I met my wife here, made some lifelong friends, seen some amazing bands.

"But it's a hard life, late nights, lots of drunk people.

"Nottingham has this really vibrant scene. But the state of the grassroots music scene at the moment is pretty dire. Tiny 70-capacity venues like this, it's nigh-on impossible to keep the momentum."

Bloody Head and their adoring fans

Mrs Rothera told the BBC: "We're one of the last places where for a band it's actually affordable for them to put on a gig.

"It's impossible for young kids to learn how to play now.

"Big venues should put a pound on their ticket prices to help fund small ones. If that simple thing happened it would save the sector completely."

The suggestion that bigger venues could filter down money to smaller ones is something national charity Music Venues Trust is campaigning for.

A colourful night out with Midnight Rodeo

And it could be lucrative - Live Nation, owner of Ticketmaster, says 2023 was a record year for concert attendance, up 20% on the year before.

Sam Heaton, bar and events manager at another of the city's smaller venues, Rough Trade, said: "Nottingham is one of the strongest cities in the UK to have tiers of venues. Bands can grow through the different sizes.

"For this reason, The Chameleon will be missed."

The final bands to play The Chameleon on 30 March have just been announced.

Blind Eye are headlining, with TV Crime, Scene Killers, 8mm Orchestra and Every Face Becomes A Skull also on the bill.