Forged From Passion - A Goodbye To Hope Works

Few dance music spaces do first impressions like Hope Works. 

For me, it was my first year at Uni in Sheffield. It was a No Bounds night with Mall Grab headlining and Sherelle tearing up the second room. Being fresh-faced in the scene and venturing out to this industrial estate, into an unassuming sheet metal warehouse, and feeling that bass from the sound system, were my first real steps into a music space I now know and love. 

Raving and industrial warehouses on the outskirts of cities have shared a symphonic and substance-fused bond since the birth of British rave culture. But Hope Works - whilst being a slightly more permanent fixture than those of the 90s - gave me an introduction that I’ve struggled to recapture. 

It harked back to a rave culture I had only ever heard recited from those there. A freeing space that showcased the music they wanted to. It kept things simple. It wasn’t about getting as many people in or supplying the best visuals. 

It was all about the person behind the decks. The system it was coming out of. Those taking a breather on the iconic sofas. The people on the floor soaking it all in. 

 

Image: Hope Works on Facebook

For Silva Bumpa, Hope Works raver turned resident, such first impressions were shared. A disciple of the bassline culture that permeates the tales of electronic music in Sheffield, his first Hope Works experiences were at the renowned Tekkers nights when he was just 18 years old. 

“The first night I went to was a Tekkers event. I think Big Ang was playing. And it was like proper old-school bassline night.

“I remember thinking it was the perfect place for that sound.

“It was so dark and bassy and it was like walking into this f**king whole different world.

“It was very open, very friendly, and very cool as well. There was art on the walls, the sound system was amazing, the bar was straightforward, and it was all about the music. 

“ There's beauty in that simplicity.”

 

“It was very open, very friendly, and very cool as well. There was art on the walls, the sound system was amazing, the bar was straightforward, and it was all about the music. 

 

Yet, as of Saturday 22nd February 2025, first impressions of Hope Works will become a thing of the past, as the venue closes its doors for the final time.

The announcement, made late in 2024, saw club founder Liam O’Shea recount in an official statement the “very difficult decision” to close the venue’s chapter to “achieve a greater sense of balance in his life.”

He said: “It has to be said that running a venue in today’s ever-shifting and volatile nightlife landscape has been challenging.

“We haven’t been immune to the difficulties facing so many grassroots venues. We survived COVID and have delivered hundreds of parties since 2012.

“However for me to continue to expand my work into new areas and have time for my family, which is so important to me, something needed to change. That change was sadly to let Hope Works as a venue on Sussex Road Sheffield, be put to rest.” 

For any ravers of the recent past who have called Sheffield home, this is a sad time. Hope Works has been a pillar of everything electronic music can and should be and has put a spotlight on the Sheffield scene. 

 

“In many different scenes, it has put Sheffield on the map as a place to go and hear forward-thinking music."

 

However, whilst it would be easy to sit and wallow in undoubtedly dire circumstances. We think Hope Works deserves more than that. It deserves to be remembered for what it has done.

For long-time sound-system collaborator James, co-founder of local legends RAZE Sound System, such beliefs are shared. 

“There's no getting away from the fact it's a mighty shame and the end of an era. For quite a few generations of partygoers, it was a go-to destination in Sheffield and will be remembered in that way for years to come. 

“But, it has been extremely important to Sheffield for pushing the boundaries of what was thought to be possible for underground nightlife, at both the time of its inception and throughout its life. 

“In many different scenes, it has put Sheffield on the map as a place to go and hear forward-thinking music. 

“I know many people who wouldn't be putting events on, running venues, or making music if it weren't for experiences in the building. There will be lifelong friends who met each other there and created everlasting memories there.”

These are the things that underground and independent venues like Hope Works have to be remembered by. The memories it has created, the obsessions it has awakened, the communities it has forged. 

 

Image: Hope Works on Facebook

At the centre of this is Liam O’Shea. 

O'Shea grew up in Nottingham before moving to Sheffield in 1991. Before Hope Works, he'd been in bands, and under the name Lo Shea released all kinds of electronic music over 20+ years in all kinds of worlds, from Drum & Bass to Techno. He lived and breathed music. 

Such love and appreciation for all corners of electronic music was not only reflected in the events put on at Hope Works but also in how Liam used the venue to platform and springboard every new wave of aspiring artists. 

Whether it’s championing local crews like Tekkers, Off Me Nut, and Wub Club; having global acts like Nina Kraviz, Midland, and Bicep play, some in their early days; or most revolutionarily the Hope Works residency scheme, which has seen acts like Sherelle, I.Jordan, and Silva Bumpa blossom through its ranks - Liam etched a forward-thinking ethos into the very walls of the venue. 

After playing a few nights at Hope Works, Silva Bumpa wanted to make the next step, as any aspiring DJ would, into putting on his own nights. Yet, with nerves around just how to put on such a night, and apprehension about finances, he was at a stalemate. That is until a conversation with Liam. 

“The way Liam does the residency schemes is he basically just says to you, what do you want to do? 

“We’ve got the space. We've got a speaker system. We've got the license. What do you want to do? 

“I told him about how I love Bassline. How there's this new and exciting scene and how I want to combine them and put on a night where we've got some from the new scene and got some of the people who have played all these old records too.

“I didn't have three or four grand lying around to pay for a lineup, but he ended up presenting me this night where he paid for all the artists and did pretty much whatever I wanted, so there was no risk for me.

“I did three nights in the year and there they were all sellouts, and I still look back on them as three of the best nights I’ve ever had. 

“We had Main Phase, Soul Mass Transit System, and I did an all-night-long there. 

“They were such a learning experience for me about how to put on an event, how to book artists, make posters, plan dates, and work around student times, and it just really helped me to understand how to build my career as well. To form that identity and let me do something like in my home city was so important to me.

“I've got a lot of respect for him for that. I know how much he prioritises just making sure people have a sick night, it’s genuinely what he cares most about.”

 

“I know how much he prioritises just making sure people have a sick night, it’s genuinely what he cares most about.”

 

In an electronic music world where certain venues make artists sign exclusivity clauses and followers on social media can be a breaking point in securing work, such belief and dedication in nurturing talent is laudable and unique.

For Hope Works and Liam, such commitment to development has not just been channelled to those behind the decks, but those on the technical side of things too. A notion that, from a sound perspective, was birthed from the decision to not have a permanent system in place. Allowing for numerous guest rigs to ply their trade, and for sound system culture to have a home there.

Few have received such support like Sheffield locals RAZE, and James is a firm believer that the decision not only owes him much of his career but is a reason Hope Works is what it is today. 

“The decision for the venue to not have a fixed install has allowed for some truly memorable sound setups in there during the time it's been open. 

“There's been some monumental sound meets & clashes in the dub world, hosting systems such as Channel One, Mungo's Hi Fi, Iration Steppas and Sinai Sound System to name a few.

“Manchester-based Neuron have deployed some insane state-of-the-art setups in there. They owned the only touring Void Incubus system, and Hope Works was one of the first places to get it in for a weekend. Which for a 500-capacity venue was ridiculously OTT! 

“Years later they were some of the first people in the UK to own a Danley Sound Labs kit, and they put in one of the first Danley Sound Labs rigs I'd ever heard in there. A ridiculous amount of it too. 2 x flown J3s and 12 x TH118XLs for those interested. That was mesmerising.”

 

Image: Raze Sound System on Facebook

Such dedication to good sound is not only a haven for those who geek over horns, scoops, and clarity though. For those in control of what’s coming out of them, it provides unfiltered excitement not only in learning about sound, but in hearing tracks they play regularly in a brand new light.

Silva Bumpa said: “I remember getting to the venue early on one of my resident nights, RAZE Sound System were there and those guys and Liam were all just gassing over and testing out the sound system.

“We had Soul Mass Transit System booked that night and everyone who knows him knows how sick his sub-basses are, and when he drops a Speed Garage tune how hard they hit. He dropped the first one during the sound check and was so gassed over the system.

“It was such a mental experience, we literally paid him just to play for that hour.  He ended up doing the first hour, I did a second hour, and then we ended up doing a back-to-back till five in the morning, all night. He loved it. He chose to stay till 5am. 

“I think it's just that's what the venue does to people. When you realise how sick it is and how legit it is, you don't want to go home.”

Yet, as Silva Bupa also mentioned, it provided James and RAZE with an education and countless experiences that would be hard to find elsewhere.

“From our perspective, I would definitely say Hope Works is one of the reasons we are able to do what we're doing today. 

“We started working there in 2013 powering Room 2, and as we grew eventually got asked to do the Main Room around 2015. We were one of a few providers at the time. The scene in Sheffield as a whole, with these blank canvas, industrial estate-based venues with no sound installs has allowed local sound system culture in the city to thrive. 

“But with how long it's been open, and the consistency of the events while it's been open, Hope Works has been pivotal in helping us reach where we've gotten to. 

“It's allowed us to build and grow our business. Some of the more technically demanding events with complicated tech riders were a lesson in how to handle those situations when other people years down the line would book us in. 

“In many ways, it has been a training ground for us to learn our craft.”

 

“From our perspective, I would definitely say Hope Works is one of the reasons we are able to do what we're doing today. 

 

Amid seemingly endless venue closures around the UK, it can be hard to single one out due to the memories that thousands of people have attached to any number that are struggling. Yet, for Sheffield and electronic music in particular, the end of Hope Works can’t help but feel like a truly singular loss.

In his statement on the closure, Liam put such beliefs into words that will forever ring true.

“I have devoted 12 years of my life to Hope Works. It has been my passion, an act of determined resilience to create something in Sheffield like no other. A uniquely programmed beacon of hope and relentless freedom in the Steel City.

“Hope Works stands for something, it has elevated Sheffield’s standing on the global electronic music stage to new generations. It has also been recognised and respected internationally by artists around the globe. 

“As well as being championed for its unique, friendly atmosphere, programming style and joyously irreverent expression of the spirit of rave. I’ve been told by so many people how Hope Works was the soundtrack to their university years or it introduced them to REAL rave culture.”

 

Image: Hope Works on Facebook 

We will leave you with the words of Silva Bumpa, and if you, like me, have any memories attached to Hope Works, then make sure to grab yourself a ticket to the send-off, it’s sure to be legendary.

“It's important to mention how huge a loss for the scene it is. Hope Works did a lot, enough for its influence to last a generation.

“By far it has given me more identity as a DJ and an artist than any other venue.

“I think that what Liam has done for electronic dance music in Sheffield will never be forgotten. It's undeniable. 

“You've just got to hope he continues to have an outlet and do what he does best with No Bounds. It might not be as regular as Hopeworks, but I think still having his voice and his ideas in the city is only a good thing.

“Hope Works is proof that these spaces are so important. The extent of the influence of that venue. The people that he's helped grow. The people he's introduced to music. It's the artists and DJs he's supported. The memories that he's created for people like you and me.

“Although Hopeworks is closing, those things will live on forever in those who were there”

 

 

---

 

Find last-minute tickets for Hope Works final weekend events, which feature a slew of some of the biggest and best names to play there, by clicking or tapping - HERE

 

---

 

Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.

 

 

  

 

 

Header image credit: Hope Works on Facebook