'We want everyone to leave with a smile on their face': Live music alive and well at popular venue
It's a venue steeped in history and one which is always rocking and rolling.
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KK's Steel Mill doesn't appear to look like much from the outside, set as a former centre for car and bike production and only the name of the venue on the front doors giving away the location of the building on Frederick Street in Wolverhampton.
Come through the doors, however, and the Tardis-like effect of the venue becomes clear as it opens up into a large area with several bars and areas for food and merchandise, then opens even further to reveal an arena with large stage and impressive sound system.
The Grade II listed building was once home to Star Motor Company, which produced tens of thousands of bicycles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, then moved onto car production, beginning production of Star-Benz Cars and changing its name to Star Engineering Company in 1902.
It has remained exactly how it was in 1903 when the final building was built and, after operating for several years as Starworks, became KK's Steel Mill in 2018 after being named after the lead guitarist of Judas Priest, K.K. Downing, who acts as ambassador.
The ‘Ushaped’ perimeter of the factory consists of a two storey brick built structure featuring a striking pitched roof and a vast open centre area, with a single storey series of glazed pitched roofs supported on a raw steel framework.
It's become a venue synonymous with live music, bringing in arena level bands such as Skid Row and Thunder, as well as big name acts such as James, the Stranglers, K.K. Downing's own band KK's Priest and the Architects and hosting a night with then-World Heavyweight Champion boxer Tyson Fury.
