The West End Working Men’s Club in Braunstone, Leicester has invested heavily in its facilities in the past few years with the result that the club is renowned as a modern, forward- looking venue which serves as a vital social hub for its local community.
Secretary Lee Burchell has been at the helm of the club since 2018 when he took over the role from his late father Kevin who had worked tirelessly for many years to ensure the continuing success of the club.
“It’s a privilege to build on the legacy put in place by my dad and since he passed away and I took over as Secretary, I’ve refurbed every room in the club,” says Lee.
“The whole process has been a significant investment but it has really given the place an uplift with people enjoying the environment which has been created.
“We’ve brought what was a traditional working men’s club into the modern times.
“My dad was incredibly dedicated and did a brilliant job running the club but I think it’s fair to say that he was happy to make do with the club as it was and had an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach.
“But times do change and I believe that nowadays you’ve got to move on and look to bring younger people in as well as looking after your existing members.
“That’s basically what we’ve tried to do and we’ve really turned a corner in “The whole process has been a significant investment but it has really given the place an uplift with people enjoying the environment which has been created.
As part of the rolling refurbishments which have transformed the club, the Bar/Lounge is the most recent area to benefit from the investment with all the furniture and fittings ripped out and replaced with brand-new furniture.
“We got in touch with Graeme Miller at ACE Furniture and he came in with his team and did the whole job in two and a half days at the end of July,” says Lee.
“The results are stunning and the members are really pleased with the new look as it really has the ‘wow’ factor.
“Guests come into the club for the first time with preconceptions abou twhat it’s going to be like and then are really surprised and absolutely love it,” says Lee.
“For example, our Concert Room – which has a capacity of 250 – is really popular for our own events as well as private parties and we can transform it completely for events like wedding receptions with round tables and special decorations.
“We can do any colour scheme required and have lots of really nice options for receptions like a doughnut stand, a sweet stand and a wishing well so we can make it really special for the couple getting marrried.
“It’s really well kitted out technology- wise with a new lighting rig including laser and disco lights so it’s amazing when we have live entertainment, a disco or a private party.
“We’ve also ensured that we have a really up-to-date drinks offering so that we’ve got something for everyone – those members who have more traditional tastes and want a pint of bitter or Guinness – as well as premium lagers like Madri on tap and all the spirits, mixers and shot serves that appeal more to a younger crowd.
“We also do food on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays so that is another string to our bow.
“It’s just about bringing everybody in and giving them a great night out.”
Part of the evolution at the club alongside the modernising process has been the ramping up of activities and events to boost trade and give people of all ages a reason to come to the club more often.
“It's pretty much non-stop,” says Lee. “Bands, singers, tribute acts plus private parties take place every weekend and there’s karaoke from
1.30pm to 6pm every Monday alongside some bingo.
“We’re also the home of the Braunstone Soul Club who hold regular events on Friday evenings as well as ‘Northern Soul All-Dayers’ which start at 1pm and go on until midnight.
“Other interesting events we’ve held recently include a ‘Night of Mediumship’ with top medium Grant Harris.
“Private functions are an important income stream for the club and we offer the room hire for free and then make our money from the increased bar takings.
“It really works well for us and we’re already taking bookings for 2024 and 2025.”
Meanwhile, the club has also also engaged as much as possible with the community and enabled groups to utilise the club’s facilities to put on classes and activities.
“We have roller skating on, a wide variety of different styles of dance classes, karate – there's just always something going on here,” says Lee.
“And with the skating and karate, it has the advantage of helping to get kids interested in a sport or activity rather than just hanging out in the street.
“It gives them a really positive focus and their parents know that they’re safe at the club.
“It’s a very family-orientated club and children come in with their parents and now that Christmas is coming up, we have some more festive events going on for families, including a pantomime and a party where the kids can meet Santa.”
The club also stages regular boxing and wrestling events with a ring set up in the middle of the Concert Room.
“With the wrestling the promoters approached me and they take care of setting up the ring and selling tickets for the event and we do well out of it as we take the money over the bar,” says Lee.
“The wrestling in incredibly popular and you have a lot of families coming in and really enjoying it, cheering the good wrestlers on, booing the ‘villains’, joining in the chants and all the rest of it.
“We also stage events for Braunstone Boxing Club with regular nights of top amateur action featuring some of the best young up-and- coming fighters in the region.”
Alongside watching the wrestling and boxing, members can take part in slightly more sedate sports with snooker, darts, pool and skittles played regularly at the club.
“We have really good sporting facilities, including a snooker table and two pool tables and our teams compete in the local leagues,” says Lee.
Other traditional club activities available include bingo, but with a modern spin.
“Bingo is really popular in clubs so we still have bingo but we’ve tried to bring it up to date,” says Lee.
“Instead of having a bingo caller, the numbers are done by computer and then a bit later on we have ‘Bingo Beats’ where you hear 15-20 seconds of a song and then have to mark the song titles off your card.
“It’s great fun and creates a really good atmosphere as everyone can still have a chat while the game is going on.”
Live entertainment is a key driver of trade at the club with events taking place every week.
“We find that tribute acts are really successful for us and we have had facilities, including a snooker table and some brilliant acts performing here, including tributes to UB40, Oasis and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons,” says Lee.
“On New Year’s Eve we have a supberb singer, Levena Johnson, who will be doing a tribute to Whitney Houston and Motown.
“Further ahead, in February of next year, we have An Audience With Tommy Cannon at the club.
“It’s going to be fantastic with Tommy singing some songs and talking about his double act with the late Bobby Ball and there will be opportunities for the members to have a chat with Tommy.
“Like the majority of our live entertainments it’s going to be a sellout so we’re really looking forward to that.
“It’s really pleasing that the club is so busy at the moment and providing such a great, fun environment for our local community.”
