The Plug Nightclub (or "Plug" as it is often called) is a 1200 capacity live music venue and nightclub located in Matilda Street, Sheffield, UK. It is situated on the edge of the city centre close to The Moor.
The venue opened in October 2005 after the owners of the existing .Zero nightclub, Scott Bailey and Adele Armitage, purchased the adjoining building, a disused discount superstore, and converted it into an arena to accommodate live music. The premises were amalgamated to create a three-roomed venue themed on the wiring of an electrical plug. The rooms were branded Live, Earth and Neutral. Live and Earth are contained within the converted building and Neutral is the former .Zero building, well known to club goers for hosting such events as Razor Stiletto, Urban Gorilla and Planet Zogg.
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The official opening of Plug featured a performance by The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and the first dance orientated club night hosted a rare UK appearance from Detroit techno DJ and producer Jeff Mills. Other notable shows in the early days included Editors, Four Tet, Explosions in the Sky and two successive sell-out Saturday night appearances by emerging Sheffield act Arctic Monkeys. The second of these concerts preceded the band's debut single, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", reaching number one in the charts. Plug's instantly became known for a venue that promoted diverse musical events. The versatility of the venue meant that bands could often play to a later curfew. It also provided a number of popular club nights. House music promotion Hustle, underground music night Tonic and drum n bass promoters Metropolis all featured, some proving more successful than others. Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers also hosted Reverend Soundsystem. Thursday proved to be the most consistently popular night with the student friendly Jump Around event regularly attracting capacity crowds with a formula of themed nights, popular music and discount drinks.
Plug celebrated its second birthday in October 2007, with performances from Simian Mobile Disco and Felix Da Housecat. By consolidating the most successful club events such as Shuffle, Uprising, Reflective, Grounded and Jump Around and introducing newcomer night Covert, the diversity of live music bookings has continued to develop. Established stars such as US punk icon Patti Smith, Grammy award-winning folk singer Lucinda Williams, bluesman Seasick Steve and contemporary indie acts such as The Hoosiers, Foals and 2007 Mercury prize winners Klaxons are among the highlights of the past year. There continues to be an emphasis on local bands making regular appearances. Jarvis Cocker, whose band Pulp originated in Sheffield, played two sell-out dates early in 2007 and Sheffield-based act Little Man Tate, have sold the venue out three times. Their latest gig in August 2007 was in aid of the Sheffield Flood appeal which involved everyone at the venue working for free to raise money for city dwellers affected in the serious July floods. Roisin Murphy, formerly of Sheffield electronica act Moloko, is set to perform live in December. In 2010 Shuffle celebrated its sixth birthday with Crookers, A-Trak, Fenech-Soler. Sasha and James Zabiela are Plug favourites. The diversity of these concerts has been helped by Plug collaborating with other promoters based in the city such as The Gig Cartel and Jewels Promotions.
Since 2008 The Plug has also been home to the monthly underground Trance night OTR (Off the Rails) which has hosted such DJ's as Sean Tyas, Aly and Fila, Dan Stone, Matt Hardwick, John Askew, John "00" Flemming, The Thrillseekers, Ronski Speed, Andy Moor, Solarstone, John O'Bir, John Askew and many other big names. Set in the small side side room the night continues to grow in popularity.