The Bunker has launched its Crowdfunder campaign to raise money for essential repairs that will secure the future of Sunderland’s much-loved and historic music and community hub.
The Bunker in Sunderland holds a special place in the hearts of locals. The sheer magnitude of music heritage left by the artists that have touched earth on Stockton Road to use the space’s recording, rehearsal, and performance spaces is historic.
The Bunker is at the heart of the local music community, with no building providing more for musicians of the city, young and old. From children first picking up an instrument to bands getting back together after years apart, it’s always full of busy. The Bunker’s noisy reception, where the walls are littered with photographs documenting the generational memories made within them, is a who’s who of Sunderland talent.
While the space has been rocking for 40+ years, the building itself was built in 1890 as a bicycle factory and was eventually repurposed into a bakery. As The Bunker, it has hosted luminaries like The Clash, Bjork, The Toy Dolls, Leatherface, and hundreds and thousands of would-be mega-stars from the city.
Building for the future
The Bunker is enjoying its best years yet as a community interest company (CIC), hosting weekly gigs in its dedicated performance space, and daily rehearsal sessions and music lessons. However, this is currently under threat as essential roof repairs are required to ensure the space can be safely used going forward. As it stands, anytime it rains, the main entrance floods and the space takes damage. This cannot be allowed to continue.
The building requires fixes to two separate parts of the roof, with complications caused by the old bakery originally having two elevators running up to the roof. These structural changes would enable The Bunker to optimise the space’s natural light downstairs and repurpose the middle roof area for outdoor activities and events.
A crowdfunding page has been set up that details The Bunker’s mission, and outlines a series of incentives for more generous donors. A recent round of new bricks—including the coveted gold bricks—were unveiled in The Bunker’s reception to honour the supporters so far.
Since the Crowdfunder’s launch The Bunker has hit the national news, celebrating its heritage and calling out for supporters through the BBC. Recently, punk legend Billy Bragg auctioned one of his favourite old guitars to raise money for the construction work, while Sunderland indie star Tom A. Smith hosted an intimate warmup show here ahead of his Waves festival appearance.
Uniting the community
The Bunker’s fundraising effort was unofficially kicked off back in May when self-proclaimed house band ‘Stockton Road Hit Squad’ hosted a benefit gig at The Ivy House, encouraging Sunderland artists to ‘Stars-in-Their-Eyes’ tribute classic stars. This fundraising effort ensured temporary repairs to The Bunker’s exterior could be carried out. Since then, local music institutions such as Northern Academy of Music Education, Music City, WeMakeCulture and Independent have all made notable donations, even carrying out fundraising activities of their own.
With repair work estimated at around £30,000 there is still more to be done. The kindness of over 100 donors so far has propelled The Bunker around a third of the way towards its goal. With over £10,000 raised so far, there is hope for the future of our local music factory.
Support has flooded in from those who still make use of the space, those who remember it fondly from their childhood, and those who see the good work being done in the community and want it to continue. It has rekindled the love and appreciation of grassroots music in the city, with all generations represented at these fundraising events, united in their support of The Bunker.
