An iconic rock venue, named TJ’s, which played the biggest role inNewport’s music scene for many years, will go under the hammer on 15 September.
TJ’s closed last year following the death of its owner, John Sicolo. The venue first opened in 1971 as a restaurant, which was half its size it is today, before Mr Sicolo purchased the property next door and combined them together to make it into a music venue. The venue since developed a reputation as a place for musicians to become famous and to gain respect, after it was praised by a legendary BBC DJ John Peel.
The venue’s well establishment can be evidenced by looking at a list of 50,000 musicians, who had previously taken part in playing music at the venue, including; Bluetones, Manic Street Preachers, Green Day, Hole, Oasis, Mogwai, NOFX, Mercury Rev, Misfits and Primal Scream to name a few. This is also the place where reputedly Kurt Cobain, one of the most iconic musicians in history proposed to his future wife, Courtney Love in 1991.
The property’s freehold is being put under auction at a guide price of £175,000 by Paul Fosh Auctions, who are now widely regarded as the leading and largest property auction house in Wales. Paul Fosh, the company’s Managing Director said, “The property had been bought by an investment company with a view to turning it into a restaurant, but their plans have changed and it is now being sold. Six different parties are now interested in the property. Some looking to use it as a bar, while others looking to put the property to residential use. No one has expressed an interest as keeping it as TJ’s”.
Mr Sicolo’s daughter, Leanne Jones, 43 of Cwmbran, said “The family looked into reopening the venue, but the family could not afford the refurbishment work required. She added, “It is sad to see the property in other hands but I would like to see another club in there, there’s no rock club in Newport. TJ’s had it all there.”
Paul Siolo, 19, who had worked at the venue as a bar manager, further added “The sale was devastating, but to be honest as long as it is open doing something I’m happy. I don’t like the fact that it’s there and doing nothing”.
The property auction will take place at the Prak Inn Hotel, Llanedeym, Cardiff, on Thursday 15 September at 5pm. At this point, no one knows how the auction will turn out, however selling and re-using of this commercial property could potentially make significant positive contributions to the leisure industry in Newport. Furthermore, this could have a positive impact on the area’s economy and will also remove another empty commercial property, which are currently on the increase around the UK.
Previous Post
9/11: A Decade in Commercial Property
