Manchester nightlife institution goes dark as events suddenly cancelled

A number of events due to be held at a legendary Manchester club have been cancelled, sparking fears for the venue’s future.

Club nights scheduled for Mint Lounge in the Northern Quarter have been cancelled and rescheduled to other venues over the last few days, with some clubbers worried the venue may have closed. Events cancelled include the recently launched 'Aux Chord' night where punters could pay as little or as much as they wanted to attend.

Over the weekend, organisers of the club night which sees DJs play music from a variety of different musical genres posted an update online to say they had to cancel their event on Saturday, 18 January. Posted on the club night’s Instagram page, organisers alleged that it was due to the ‘permanent closure’ of Mint Lounge and said they were ‘heartbroken to hear about the end of one of Manchester’s most iconic venues’.

Mint Lounge was launched in 2005 on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter and has hosted some of the biggest club nights and live music events. Until September last year, it was home to one of Manchester’s longest-running club nights, Funkedemia, which has now moved over to The Deaf Institute.

As well as Funkademia - a night celebrating funk, soul, hip-hip, R&B and classic party tunes - which was hosted at Mint for 14 years, the legendary basement spot has played host to some of Manchester’s best producers, acts and club nights. Events including Top Of The Pops MCR, SoulJam, and Itchy Feet have all been held there.

It also served as the backdrop to performances and sets from the likes of Toddla T, Florence & The Machine, Foals, Norman Jay, Four Tet, and Clint Boon, amongst many others. In the last few years, the club also launched its own ‘Not Normal’ club