The Shed bar Turns out some of the best acoustics for a rock band are under the railway arches of Leeds. The Shed Bar, a mainstay of the city's rock and indie scene, shares its secret as it prepares to celebrate its 10th birthday. The bar tucked away in Heaton's Court between Leeds Station and Call Lane first opened its doors in December 2008 and was the brainchild of Richard Hawley and Matthew Jones who have been best friends from their schooldays. They told City Buzz they were captivated by the unique personality and surroundings that the bar has with its wood surroundings under an exposed-brick railway arch. Over the years it has made for an electric atmosphere with the array of modern rock and indie songs blended with classic rock ‘n’ roll. Mr Jones said: “It is possible to hear trains rumbling overhead, but there has to be a break in the rocking playlist to have any chance of witnessing that." The variety of drinks always helps for a raucous rock night out and cocktails and real ales feature as expected but it is the single malt Scotch whiskies which stand out– including the ultra rare Macallan 1958 25 year old Anniversary Malt which retails at around £9,000 a bottle. It wasn't an easy start back in 2008 but like many Leeds independents which are now thriving they knew their game and stuck to it and have done it with a close knit team including manager Mikey Crimmons, who has been there eight years and Mr Jones' brother and fellow shareholder, Ben Jones, who has brought solid ideas and product knowledge to the table Mr Jones recalls: "I remember the first 6 months being very quiet but we stuck to our guns with complete faith in the music and atmosphere we were creating whilst others around us were telling us to ‘change the music’ or ‘become a pre-bar to a nightclub’ alongside many other pearls of wisdom. We are the same bar today with the same quality of offering as what we opened with ten years ago. That’s the success.” Mr Hawley added: "It was probably a year or so before we saw the real impact the bar was having, but since then it has developed an incredible following and has continued to improve year upon year. Considering the time we opened, with the uncertainty in the industry, we could not be prouder what we have achieved with this little rock bar in the past decade”. The Shed has dedicated an entire weekend (Friday November 30 and Saturday Dec 1) to celebrate the anniversary with drink offers and a special guest DJ to boot. Like their slogan says “Let the good times roll”
