A stone’s throw from the heart of Sheffield city-centre, set amongst a backdrop of the city’s industrial heritage, the FØRGE warehouse has been transformed into one of the largest clubs and events spaces in the city.
The Victorian steel forge on Effingham Road lived out its final days producing duplex steel forms in 2018 and has now been renovated into a warehouse and events space that will host an eclectic programme of global and local acts, events and experiences, with a license for partying until 6am from 16th of September.
Director Richard Welch told Exposed: “At its core, it will be a music venue for techno, house and drum and bass events on Fridays and Saturday nights and we really want to aim for quality. That’s a key part of what we’re doing. We have a lot of good relationships with plenty of global acts and we’ve got some incredible names already in the locker.
“Hopefully we’ll have some other bits and pieces alongside that. We’ve been speaking to people in the art world to see how they can use the space; we’re looking at how we can accommodate street food events and there’s also an opportunity for bands and local acts midweek. The idea is to try to make the space as multifunctional as possible.”
Richard tells us that at its core, FØRGE aims to unite the dance music community within Sheffield and act as a catalyst to ignite the city’s late-night culture.
The venue offers a safe and inclusive space for people to come together and witness the most sought-after names in electronic music and the fully licensed and unique site boasts multiple industrial spaces that will cater for different purposes.
The Yard can host outdoor events overlooking the Tinsley Canal, the Workroom – once used as a stable and workshop – will act as a platform for Sheffield’s up and-coming talent in a more intimate surrounding and the FØRGE will be the main event.
Richard has taken on the venue with his father-in-law Garry Sadington, who bought the building back in 2020, just before the start of the pandemic. The space has been a long time in the works and has been a labour of love for the family team.
Richard said: “The building is over 100 years old. It predates cars. It was practically still in use until the moment that we bought it.
“There was still machinery still left here and there was a lot of decay in the building that we had to clear up. Lots of sweeping! I got very familiar with a sweeping brush, and dust, so I don’t know what’s happened to my lungs. I have had an x-ray. The lungs seem okay.
“As far as we’re concerned, this is a piece of Sheffield’s history. There’s a lot of history within the building as you go around the space and if you look at some of the successes in Germany and Holland, where they have strange events in unusual, found spaces, we wanted to encapsulate that history.”
Richard, who originally hails from near Doncaster, spent much of his 20s DJing and promoting events in Sheffield, up until around 2008. His father-in-law and business partner Garry also has a passion for music and performed in bands back in the day. Both still harboured dreams of being involved in music and when Garry sold a successful tech company, they set about finding a building to make those dreams a reality.
The fruits of those efforts have now become our gain, and every effort has been made to give eventgoers the best possible experience, which of course means an incredible sound system. Working closely with Pioneer Audio, the FØRGE sound system is set to turn heads utilising their incredible XY series cabinets and subs.
The steel columns, tracks and architecture of the internal building once used for cranes have been impeccably mapped with a unique LED system that races around the space to intensify the atmosphere.
FØRGE is set to be a very special space when it opens in September and we can’t wait for you all to see it. Go check them out for progress updates and sneak peeks on their socials.
