Roadmender duo celebrate 15 years of running Northampton's iconic live music venue

While the St Lady’s Lane venue originally opened as a youth club, it was during the 1980s and 1990s that it firmly established itself as one of the country’s best known independent music venues – hosting the likes of Oasis, Blur, Radiohead and Manic Street Preachers early in their careers.

The husband-and-wife team took over the management and day to day running in December 2009 – following a turbulent period.

Over the following decade and a half, the pair have helped steady operations, adapt to the changing face of the music industry, survive COVID shutdowns and still bring some of the biggest names in music to Northampton.

“It was only meant to be a temporary thing – but here we are 15 years later,” Jokes Dave.

“I used to provide the Roadmender with licensing and security services and on a couple of occasions, it closed down. I knew the trust that owns the land and they spoke to me.”

Mr Norris admits while having experience of working within the nighttime economy, he was jumping in at the deep end in terms of running a music venue.

“I didn’t have a clue to be honest,” he admits.

“I took over on the Wednesday and that week we had (club night) Skint Disco and about a thousand people turn up.

“Nat could run bars and (promoter) Neale Tidd was running the music side and we kind of just winged it initially.”

Aside from Skint Disco, the first gig under the Norris’ tenure was The Magic Numbers, who also played in their first week.

“That gig will always stick in my mind,” explains Natalie.

“When I first walked in, I thought ‘Oh, god, what’s Dave done’.

“We had the majority of bar staff walk out because of the change but luckily, I was working at TGIs at the time and I managed to just grab as many pairs of hands as I could.

“We didn't know the till system or anything. That first shift was a nightmare.

“I automatically took over the bar side of things and then really had to start learning about marketing because that's when Facebook was really starting to take off more.

“There was a lot of learning as you went along. It was a whirlwind because we were trying to get a grip of everything.”

In their first few years of running the venue, acts including Mumford & Sons, Gallows, Idlewild, Mr Hudson, Soulfly, Kate Nash and Professor Green were among the acts who all played headline gigs.

However, Mr Norris explains in the early 2010s, the music industry was in flux.

The start of 2009 had seen Live Nation and Academy Music Group launch O2 Academy venues in major cities across the UK – rebranding a number of existing venues under one ‘strategic alliance’.

Mr Norris said: “The industry was changing, tours were changing.

“In those first few years, people like Neale Tidd were a massive support but we went from having a healthy diary to virtually a zero diary.

“The Roadmender was losing its place in the market and we had to knuckle down and understand what was going on. Bands weren’t doing 25-date UK tours any more.”

This included learning all of the roles which were required of venue owners including liaising with booking agents, promoters and artists and handling the marketing and publicity of shows.

“It was fun though,” explains Dave. “I had some very late nights finishing at around four in the morning and then finding myself still there at 10 in the morning – not any more thankfully.”

In their early years running the venue, Natalie cites The Darkness – who headlined in 2013 as one of her early highlights.

For Dave – it was bringing John Lydon’s Public Image Limited to the venue in 2016.

The pair also pick the headline gigs by Bauhaus members Peter Murphy and David J at the venue in 2018 as a significant moment for the town.

He adds: “Happy Mondays was another fun one because they’re just nuts, exactly as you’d expect. We’d be getting emails at around 4am in the morning around the time we were trying to book them.

“At the time, they didn’t have an agent and were trying to go out on their own so I was getting emails from Bez and Shaun Ryder.”

Natalie adds: “Although it’s 15 years, it feels such a short amount of time as well.

“When I think back at all of the acts who have played it’s one of the more recent ones which stand out.

“DragonForce blew my mind. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“I didn’t believe for one minute that they’d get all their production inside the venue.

“It could have been a Wembley show the amount of kit they had on the stage.”

Recounting another memory, she adds: “I never get starstruck with anybody, but Soul II Soul was my band growing up and I was starstruck with meeting Jazzie B. I had a photo with him and looked like a teenager.

“If I could have told my 13-year-old self that I would be having a photo with the man himself - I wouldn't have believed it.”

It was around six years into running the Roadmender Mr Norris realised it wasn’t a ‘temporary’ thing any more.

“I was concentrating more on the Roadmender than my other business and it just took over,” he explains. I realised I was fully committed.”

The COVID pandemic in 2020 had a catastrophic impact on the arts sector, with the Roadmender one of hundreds of venues forced to close its doors.

Mr Norris explains there was about six months of reserves to pay ongoing bills and keep the business afloat.

The venue had hosted its annual rockabilly festival Bedlam Breakout in March 2020, but was forced to close the following Monday.

“It was terrifying,” explains Natalie. “I remember thinking what on earth are we going to do now.”

Mr Norris adds: “I looked at the budget, what we had left and worked out where we could get to.

“We were preparing to make changes, for things to potentially come to an end.

“Fortunately, the grants and funding kept us alive.”

When restrictions were eventually lifted, Dublin post-punk five-piece Fontaines D.C. were the first band to return to the Roadmender stage in July 2021 – with Bombay Bicycle Club headlining the following day.

Both nights sold out and it was the first time 800 people had been in the venue for around 16 months.

“I wasn’t prepared for what those gigs were going to be like,” explains Mr Norris. “It was great, it was emotionally overwhelming.

“My anxiety was on the ceiling because of the measures we had to put in place to protect people.”

“That will always be one of the gigs I remember,” adds Natalie.

“I had extra staff in, I had people walking around wiping handles and railings.

“Seeing everyone relax, having everyone in the venue. I watched on the balcony and it was just incredible.”

Looking ahead to this year, the pair admit their aim is simple - keep the venue open and keep attracting musicians to its stages.

Mr Norris said: “The plan is to just keep going – whatever the next five years looks like.

“You’re always learning. The industry is full of creative people so you’re always learning.

“We’re only custodians of the venue really and want to continue its legacy.

“It’s a hugely challenging industry and our plan is to survive.”

Natalie adds: “There’s a genuine passion otherwise you wouldn't do it.

“I think we enjoy it more now than 10 years ago – I think that’s down partly to maturity.

“We’ve got some fantastic people behind us who we work with, Oliver, Iain and Jason who work on sound and lights and all our bar staff. It’s more than a business to us.”

“I’m proud to be the custodian of the Roadmender and I have to keep it going,” adds Mr Norris.

For full details of forthcoming gigs at the venue, visit https://www.theroadmender.com