Iconic music venue to live on says boss

Landmark music venue JB's will keep on rocking after new owners today took control of the iconic Black Country nightspot.

After a tense bidding war at an auction at Villa Park yesterday, Wolverhampton boss Raj Kumar won the race to take on JB's with a final bid of £225,000. He vowed to keep the tradition of live music at the spot going into the future.

The businessman said: "I felt that the history of the place was so strong in the Black Country, I wanted to keep that alive," he said.

"I only found out about the sale of the place relatively recently, and I went to look around a few times and really liked it.

"I'm really pleased with this purchase, and hopefully it will bring a lot of people into Dudley and into the Black Country who have always enjoyed nights there."

If all goes to plan, he added, JB's will be open again to live music and club nights by Christmas.

And Mr Kumar has even been consulting with former owner and founder Sam Jukes in the hope of getting him on board to help start the ball rolling.

Mr Jukes, 64, attended the auction with fellow founder Sid Weston, 65, of Caswell Road, Sedgley, to bid farewell to the club which hosted legends like Robert Plant, Manic Street Preachers, U2 and The Stone Roses over its 42-year lifespan.

"It was really sad to see it go like that – I wish we could have carried on with it," said Mr Jukes.

"But I'm happy someone has taken it on who wants to use it as a music venue.

"I won't be able to get on board full-time but I would be happy to get involved and help someone else with what to do."

The club, in Castle Hill, Dudley, went into administration in September 2010 due to Mr Jukes' ailing health and debts of £450,000. It went on the market for £350,000, which dropped to £325,000 after several months in a bid to attract a buyer – but none came forward.

Administrators admitted defeat in July and revealed they would be putting the building up for auction.