Owners of Burnley music venue The Electric Circus make announcement after its closure

Those were the words of the owner of popular Burnley music venue The Electric Circus after its closure was announced at New Year.

In a bid to clear up confusion surrounding the closure of the Bank Parade venue owners Ray Harrison and his son Ryan have confirmed the previous leaseholders decided not to renew the lease, which was the reason for the closure. But Ray stressed that the venue was not yet ‘dead in the water’ and there were a number of options in place for its future.

He said: “We are retaining the music licence to the Electric Circus and we are hopeful this is not the end of the road for the venue.”

The venue is one of three on Bank Parade owned by the Harrisons. The former industrial warehouses were transformed into music venues, in an area described as Burnley’s own mini Northern Quarter, due to the quirky and unique style of the venues.

Keeping the industrial feel of the venues, Ray filled them with memorabilllia he has collected over the years while on his world travels. The Electric Circus built up a loyal following by hosting a variety of themed music nights and hosted acts from across the UK and also local DJ’s events. The venue also played host to the re birth of the punk fest and mammoth memorial scooter rally.

The Circ bar is now run by Leigh Wallace and his wife Stephenie. The lease for the Circus Cafe Lounge was taken over by Chorley based Escape Bars Ltd and set to be re-launched as micropub INN The Doghouse.