Northern Quarter Huddersfield

It was Huddersfield town centre’s premier venue for live music.

Now the former Builders Club in Wood Street is all set to entertain again when owners Sam Hodgson and Michael Acton re-open the venue this week under the new name of The Northern Quarter.

Bass player Dave Hewitt, who first played the Builders Club in 1967 with The Ckreed Blues Band, will be on stage for the first night on Saturday with the Dana Ali Band. American-born singer Dana Ali,who is Dave’s wife, will also be joined by guitarist Martin Chung, keyboard player Andy Kidd and drummer Mark Leighton-Bennett – the son of Ckreed’s original drummer Geoff Leighton-Bennett.
“It will be an emotional event,” said Dave, who left Huddersfield for London when he turned professional and played with the band Babe Ruth before a move to the USA, where he met Dana.
Dave and Dana – whose own musical career began in Atlanta singing in a gospel choir – moved to the UK five years ago and now live in Holmfirth.

Being back in the former Builders Club premises has brought the memories flooding back. It’s just nostalgic for me,” he said. “Bands like Wishbone Ash, Caravan and The Rats used to play here and people would queue round the corner into Byram Street to get in.”
Other iconic bands to play at the club’s Saturday night gigs included Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Medicine Head, Lindisfarne, Renaissance and Van Der Graaf Generator.
At its height, the Builders Club was seen as Huddersfield’s answer to The Cavern in Liverpool. The venue closed on New Year’s Day, 1974, when local Rock Band Welcome had the distinction of being the last to play there.
Dave said: “I lived in American for 30 years and returned with a new band with Dana.
“I was walking past one day on the way to the Monday market and saw the place being ripped apart. I went in and spoke to Sam, who said he knew a bit about the history of the place. He said it would be great if Dana could do the opening night.”
Sam said the premises had been split into two and in recent years were occupied by beer shops Hand Drawn Monkey and later Wood Street.
“I was involved with some of the music bookings at that time and ran the open mic and reggae dance nights,” he said. “Michael, Oliver and I all lived in Manchester and have been booking bands in Manchester and Huddersfield. We wanted to start something of our own. There is a gap in the market and we aim to fill it.”
The revamp began in late August and involved taking down the dividing wall to restore the space to its former size; removing a false ceiling and installing a modern sound system.
“We had a little party to test everything out,” said Sam. “We have only used local people and we plan to stock only local beers. It’s been a labour of love,
“The excitement has just overtaken the anxiety and we are looking forward to Saturday.”
Sam said recognising the history of the place had been important. “We have spoken to lots of different people who remember the Builders Club or who have family that remember it,” he said. History is an important part of it.”

Review -
'Absolutely beautiful. Looks great, sounds great, smells great and the bar feels great to lean on. Full to the brim with gorgeous people. What a great place for Huddersfield!'