Staff pay tribute to nightclub’s history in emotional farewell – Statement in full

Staff at Suburbia in Onslow Road are “devastated” to announce the closure, which is due to low turnouts to gigs and club nights.

In a long statement on the club’s Facebook page, staff paid tribute to the historic venue, originally known as The Onslow and later on Lennon’s, which once hosted the likes of The 1975, Nothing But Thieves and The Wombats.

They also thanked their loyal customers and the many bands and acts that played at the site over the years.

Statement in full

The statement reads: “We are very saddened to announce that Suburbia, in its current form, will be closing, and this Saturday 6th January will be our last night.

“This has been an incredibly difficult decision for the whole team. We came into the venue after the first Covid lockdown in 2020, in a climate when no-one was taking on venues. Since then, we’ve battled through more lockdowns, a flooded basement and rising costs in most aspects.

“Whilst we have had some great shows and packed-out club nights over the last year, sadly we also saw reduced turnouts to gigs and club nights on many occasions. The cost of living crisis continues to affect everybody and we have felt that keenly, particularly during the last 12 months.

“We are not the only grassroots music venue to close in the past year. Over 125 other venues have also closed, and sadly more are likely to come.

“For those that don’t know the history of the site Suburbia is in, it has been a pub since 1844 and a venue for decades. Originally known as The Onslow – a blues haven, the venue transformed into what was known as Lennons in the late 90s.

“The following artists played here when they were touring grassroots venues, long before they stepped onto the stages of arenas and festivals they are now playing.

“The 1975, Nothing But Thieves, Royal Blood, Catfish & The Bottlemen, The Wombats, Foals, Maximo Park, Two Door Cinema Club, The Kooks, The Maccabees, Jack Penate, The Mystery Jets and so on.

“After Lennons closed in 2015 the venue was resurrected in 2017 as Suburbia. Over the last couple of years we have had amazing acts like As December Falls, Softcult, hed (pe), thrown, VEXED, Dub War and hundreds more grace our stage. We also hosted Youtube wordsmith/freestyler extraordinaire Harry Mack on his first U.K. tour to a sold-out Suburbia. If you were there you were there!

“We have become friends with many of our loyal customers and have always felt welcomed by them since we took over in 2020. We thank you all for all your support over the years.

“Huge thanks to everyone who has ever worked here; we achieved a lot, and survived many a storm and had many a laugh.

“Thank you to all the bands and DJs that have played here and all the promoters who have put on club nights covering multiple genres from rock/alternative to drum n bass, techno and happy hardcore amongst others . Thanks to everyone who ever came to a night. We appreciate you all

“Whilst we are all devastated we will remember the lifelong memories and friends that have been made and for that we will always be grateful.

“We know it’s short notice but we would love to see as many of you as possible one more time this Saturday!

“We’ll have DJ Penny Peach playing all the greatest rock/alt/pop/party tunes to see us out!”

• Do you have any fond memories of nights out at Suburbia? Get in touch using the form below.