New Batley live music venue aims to capture town's showbiz sparkle

Origin bar on Bradford Road is launching on Saturday, October 30, with a special performance from the R&B legend and Northern Soul star, Alexander O’Neal - the last act to play the iconic venue The Frontier before its closure in 2016.

Billed as the ‘Batley Frontier Reunion’, O’Neal will be performing some of his biggest hits from the 80s and 90s, including ‘Criticize’, ‘If You Were Here Tonight’ and ‘Fake’.

Alexander said: “I can’t wait to be back on stage in Batley again. Last time I was here performing at The Frontier, the crowd was phenomenal and I’m sure it’s going to be even better this time around.”

The shows will take place on the ground floor at Origin before its popular club events begin upstairs at midnight. In an effort to make the venue accessible to a wider range of audiences, the venue is extending the dancefloor, building a new stage for live performances and offering an eclectic programme of live music, comedy shows and bingo nights.

Origin is the brainchild of owner Nick Westwell who was previously the manager of The Frontier. He's aiming to hark back to the golden era of the iconic venue with this new programme of live music, bringing international names to Batley for the first time since The Frontier closed in 2016.

He said: "Things change, people's requirements change, people's needs change, so we’re changing the venue from a party bar into a live venue before midnight.

“This means we're making some dramatic changes, like building a stage and extending the dance floor to make it more adaptable to different audiences. We’ll be doing 70’s shows, 80’s shows, hosting international artists, comedy acts, the very best tribute acts available as well as rock, mod and open mic nights. We’ll also be running an event called Boogie Bingo, an alternative to Bongos Bingo.

“This is all going to happen early doors before midnight ahead of the nightclub opening upstairs, so they will be operating as two completely separate venues.”

The venue will also be bringing the celebrated comic Billy Pearce, Britain’s Got Talent star DJ Murray Mint and the renowned tribute bands Abba Revival, Complete Madness and Oasish to Batley over the coming months.

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