Historic Venue Hosting Stereophonics, Catatonia, and Victoria Beckham Listed for Sale
An iconic venue that has welcomed renowned artists such as Stereophonics, Catatonia, and Victoria Beckham is now on the market.
The Pop Factory, located in Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, was originally a soft drinks factory before its transformation into a music venue and television studio in 2000. The venue was officially inaugurated by Sir Tom Jones, who ceremoniously smashed a bottle of dandelion and burdock against its walls.
Over the years, The Pop Factory served as the set for numerous television programs, including the eponymous music show The Pop Factory, which marked the first presenting role for Steve Jones. In 2012, the venue was acquired by the charity Valleys Kids.
Currently, the owners have placed the site on the market. A coalition of artists, organizations, and local residents is seeking to purchase the venue to establish community ownership.
The building, formerly known as the Corona pop factory, originally opened in the 1890s as Welsh Hills Mineral Waters. It ceased operations in 1987 and was near dereliction before being acquired by the production company Avanti Media.
Avanti Media reopened the site as The Pop Factory multimedia complex in September 2000, which became the production hub for a series of music television shows broadcast on BBC, ITV, and S4C.
These productions included the music show The Pop Factory, presented by Steve Jones and Liz Fuller, as well as a chat show hosted by the late Stuart Cable, drummer of the Stereophonics.
The venue hosted performances by Catatonia, Queens of the Stone Age, Cerys Matthews, Tom Jones, Stereophonics, and Victoria Beckham.
'It brought pazzaz to the valleys'
Radio Wales presenter Bethan Elfyn, who worked at The Pop Factory early in her career on television shows, reflected on the venue's impact.
"It was a wonderful, energetic, fun place for young people to work, not just locally," she said.
"People came from all over south Wales to work there. They learnt about the TV industry. They learned about the music industry, putting on gigs."
"The stars who made their way to Porth brought 'pazazz to the Rhondda Valleys'.
"There'd be American pop punk bands, one of the highlights was Posh Spice came to play. That was a big day in the Pop Factory.
"It is quite challenging, not just getting big artists to come out of London, but then drive down the motorway to Cardiff and then drive into the valleys and even driving into the Pop Factory itself.
"I'll never forget Status Quo's double-decker tour bus arriving with a huge wardrobe of denim ready for Stuart Cable's TV show."
Since its acquisition by Valleys Kids in 2012, The Pop Factory has hosted arts, music, and community events. The charity has stated that it now needs to sell the venue to concentrate on its other activities.
The building is listed for £475,000. The group known as The Pop Factory Ltd, comprising artists, organizations, and local residents, is working to purchase the building and transition it into community ownership.
'Alex Jones, Gethin Jones and Steve Jones all started here'
Josh Evans, a sound engineer involved in the fundraising efforts to acquire the venue, expressed his strong connection to The Pop Factory.
"I started going there when I was a teenager pretty much every Friday or Saturday and watching live local bands and that really inspired me to pick up a guitar, but also to get into live events and working as a sound engineer, which is what I do now," he said.
Evans is hopeful for celebrity endorsements to support the campaign.
"If you look at our Instagram, we're following all the Joneses, because when I was doing some research, Alex Jones, Gethin Jones, Steve Jones, they all started out presenting here," he said.
"I think it would be a total loss [for the venue to close].
"There's a lot still going on there. There's a community sharing shop where people from disadvantaged backgrounds can come and, you know, not just get some of the stuff that they need, but also create friendships and be a part of something.
"If we took on the building, I'd like to think we would carry that through, but also give a place for creativity again, a place for performers and artists to come and showcase and to learn and to inspire but also be inspired."
Jennifer Hare, who manages one of the organizations based in the building, outlined their fundraising goals.
"We're a group of all sorts of types of charitable organisations artists, musicians, businesses, there's even a church based in the building. So, we just want to keep it going and open it up to similar people and groups like us," she said.
The group aims to raise £250,000 by September and secure the remainder through funding bodies.
