Steve Kirby's kitchen-table revolution in Middlesbrough
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- Steve Kirby, 58, from Stockton-on-Tees, started Industrial Coast in 2018 from his kitchen as a reprieve from his corporate job at a global engineering company, later securing Arts Council funding and hosting artists including Scott King, Drew McDowall of Coil, and Evicshen.
- Industrial Coast uses deliberately unfashionable marketing: 50p tickets, £999 digital releases, 24-hour noise sets, and gigs staged in empty retail units, with lax door policies aimed at getting open-minded people through the door.
- Kirby quit his corporate career for graveyard shifts stacking stock at Marks & Spencer to make room for the label, saying his wife works and is 'very supportive' of the project.
- A recent study cited in the piece found Middlesbrough has the highest traces of cocaine in daily wastewater of any European city, with 26 in 1,000 residents recorded as crack or opiates users in 2019 — yet the town has built its own artistic ecosystem.
- Young collaborators including Wren Adobe (23) and Seb Hewison (19) have shaved their heads in solidarity with Kirby, calling themselves the 'Avant-Sharps' in reference to the Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice community.
- The scene sits alongside institutions like The Auxiliary (which runs Sonic Arts Week) and MIMA, the latter hosting the Turner Prize later this year, with support from BBC Radio 6 Music's Mary Anne Hobbs.
Why it matters: Industrial Coast demonstrates how deindustrialised Teesside is becoming a cultural laboratory on a shoestring — Arts Council funding, 50p tickets, and £999 joke releases have helped a self-described 'dark, deprived' town produce a radical arts scene, validated institutionally by MIMA hosting the Turner Prize this year.
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