Yellow Arch Studios: the Neepsend factory where Sheffield writes, records and plays

Some buildings seem made for music, even if they started life making something else entirely. Yellow Arch Studios, at 30-36 Burton Road in Neepsend, began as an Edwardian nuts and bolts factory serving the bridge and shipping industries at the height of Sheffield's steel boom.

By 1996 the building was in ruins. Founders Andrew Cook and Colin Elliot rescued it, initially as a place to play and make music, and the recording studio opened in 1997. Nearly three decades on, Andy Cook remains at the heart of the place. As events and marketing manager Nina Kanauros once put it to Our Favourite Places, "it's Andy's baby."

The studio's guest list is remarkable. Goldfrapp, Kylie Minogue, Jarvis Cocker, Duane Eddy, James, Tony Christie and Richard Hawley have all recorded there, and Arctic Monkeys, Sister Sledge and Skrillex are among the building's past visitors.

In February 2015 the building opened as a fully licensed venue, and it has since welcomed acts including Blossoms, Macka B, Don Letts, David Rodigan, The Dead South and Channel One Soundsystem. The venue holds 200 people across several rooms, and there is a courtyard and a Moroccan-style cafe bar with a piano. One of the bars was once Richard Hawley's rehearsal room.

That combination is what makes Yellow Arch special. It is described as one of the only buildings in Europe where people can write, rehearse, record, perform and film under the same roof. "It felt right to have all three under one roof," Nina Kanauros explained.

The programme is as varied as the building: northern soul, blues, jungle, jazz and folk nights sit alongside regular open mic sessions. Yellow Arch was an official Tramlines venue until the festival moved to Hillsborough Park in 2018, and in 2018 it was voted Sheffield's Best Late Night Venue at the Social Sheffield Awards. It is also the official ABRSM exam centre for practical and jazz theory exams in South Yorkshire.

Locals credit venues like this with helping to regenerate Kelham Island and Neepsend, now among the liveliest neighbourhoods in the city.

Yellow Arch is a short walk from Shalesmoor tram stop. Gig listings, recording services and venue hire details are on the Yellow Arch website.