FANS of live music were celebrating this week as work started on Chelmsford's newest venue.
With the closure of Hooga in Victoria Road last month, many gig-goers were pessimistic about the live music scene in the city.
But the opening of Asylum, in Viaduct Road near the bus station, means there will be a dedicated music venue in Chelmsford before the summer.
Musicians Eddie and Denis Wood of Galleywood took it upon themselves to find a home for the county's emerging talent, because they were fed up with the lack of live music venues in the city.
"We were having trouble finding somewhere for our own group, Stormchild, to play and just thought, 'let's do it ourselves'," said Eddie.
Stormchild started in the 1980s as a punk and acid rock band but over the years have moved closer and closer to pure punk, becoming part of a growing scene in London.
While the band gigged regularly in the capital, Eddie says he became increasingly frustrated that there was nowhere suitable to play closer to home.
"I thought, 'if I can't find somewhere to play in Chelmsford, I'll create a venue'.
"I don't want it to be just another way to promote the band, so we won't be playing the opening night or anything. I just think there should be somewhere for bands to play in Chelmsford.
"This area is a nightmare for booking bands. I was talking to a booking agent the other day and he was saying he hasn't been able to get bands into Chelmsford, Brentwood or Colchester for years."
Although Asylum will not be a huge venue, it will offer a chance to see bands on a regular basis and Eddie says he wants it to feel like something different to what is already on offer in the city.
"My idea venue would just cater for my tastes, but you've got to be realistic and appreciate that everyone has different tastes in music.
"But I still want it to have an edgy feel," he added.
After weeks of planning and negotiation, work started on creating the new bar on Thursday, and Eddie hopes everything will be ready for a launch in a couple of months' time, hopefully with an all-day gig.
Eddie, 51, and his wife Denise, 50, want the two-storey venue to provide a place for all sorts of bands to play, both local and touring, while it will be a bar and café by day.
The couple also have some interesting plans for the look of Asylum, with a Victorian gothic feel the aesthetic they want for the 180-capacity venue.
Eddie reckons Viaduct Road is fast becoming the "Bohemian" part of Chelmsford with Asylum joining a row of businesses that include a tattoo and piercing parlour, music store iDrums, record shop Intense Records and specialist pub The Ale House.
Eddie, a builder by trade, said Asylum would be the realisation of a long-held dream.
"It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, something I've got a passion for and can really enjoy," he said.
