Adelphi founder Paul Jackson dies aged 71
INCREDIBLE CONTRIBUTION: Paul Jackson
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
Paul Jackson, the founder of Hull’s legendary and award-winning independent music venue The Adelphi, has died after a short illness.
He was 71.
In a statement, his family and the venue said: “RIP Paul ‘Jacko’ Jackson 1954 – 2026. It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Paul (‘Jacko’) Jackson of The New Adelphi Club in Hull, peacefully this morning at Dove House Hospice following a short illness.
“Funeral and testimonial events will be announced following a short period of private reflection for Paul’s family and close friends. We look forward to paying tribute to Paul and his life’s achievements with you soon. Information about these events will be posted on our website.
“Shine brightly. x”
Paul lived with type one diabetes for 55 years and was diagnosed with charcot foot in 2015. He had the bottom half of his left leg amputated in January 2023.
Founded in 1984 at a former working men’s club at the now famous address of 89 De Grey Street, The New Adelphi Club earned a national and international reputation as a must-play venue on the alternative music circuit.
CULTURAL ICON: The Adelphi
As well as providing live performance opportunities for generations of local musicians, The Adelphi helped forge the careers of many artists who became household names, including The Housemartins, Radiohead, The La’s, Pulp, Oasis, Manic Street Preachers, Fatboy Slim, The Stone Roses, Echo & The Bunnymen, Happy Mondays, Primal Scream and The Idles, to name a few.
It still does.
So far, 11 bands who have played in the The Adelphi’s intimate surroundings of have gone on to headline the main Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival, one of the biggest and most coveted gigs in the world.
All cut their teeth before one of the most discerning audiences in music.
By the time it celebrated its 40th birthday in 2024 The Adelphi had welcomed over a million visitors and played host to more than 40,000 bands.
Paul and the venue had by then notched up a number of awards. In 2022 The Adelphi was named UK Grassroots Venue of the Year at the Music Week Awards. Paul received the Music Venue Trust Outstanding Achievement award in 2019. The Adelphi was named Yorkshire Small Venue of the Year in 2018.
Central to the venue’s success and continued operation was Paul’s indefatigable commitment and ability to combine the running of the club on a shoestring budget while consistently booking great bands.
ACHIEVEMENT: Paul collecting the MVT Outstanding Achievement Award in 2019, with Steve Lamacq and KT Tunstall
Describing his booking policy in an interview with The Hull Story in 2024, Paul said: “I think one of the things you’ve got to learn is to not let your taste, your personal taste, be too dominant.
“You’ve got to talk to people about the music they like whether you like it or not. And you’ve got to talk to them about how they respect it and criticise it and sort out the s**t from the decent stuff and all that.
“And if they talk about their music with the same reverence you have for your music then you’ve got to give them a go. And if the people who come to it are OK then you do it.”
Acknowledging the support he had to keep the club going, he said: “You know, I was dependent on the charity and generosity that came from within the Adelphi community, and also the generosity of my parents and my sister and brother-in-law – both parties put in five-figure sums to keep the Adelphi afloat over the years.”
The Adelphi became a not-for-profit Community Interest Company in February 2017, with Paul Heaton and Jarvis Cocker as its patrons.
Also in the 2024 interview, Paul said: “There have been so many highlights my one to ten would vary from day to day. Most nights have been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to have been there and been involved in the organisation.
HULL LEGENDS: Paul Jackson and The Housemartins. Picture credit: Anna Bean
“It’s really nice to see bands starting at The Adelphi and to see them making careers and often very decent careers after they’ve played The Adelphi. It’s always nice to think that.
“You know, Radiohead, for example, did really well. It’s nice to see that and it was a real pleasure, both to have worked with them and to have seen them at their best because people say, ‘Oh, you see bands at The Adelphi on their way up and on their way down’, but on the way up is the best time to see a band, when they’re hungry.
“It’s no use going to see them when they’re all millionaires just going through the motions, playing all the hits, that’s boring. A gig in a place like The Adelphi whacks a stadium gig every time, pretty much, and we see lots of magic at The Adelphi.”
Paul also reflected on another proud legacy of the club in the environment he created with it in that interview.
He said: “I wanted The Adelphi to be a place that set standards of inclusivity in the city and I think to a certain extent I was extremely successful in that.
“I wanted it to be cosmopolitan, tolerant and inclusive in a way that probably hadn’t been seen in the city previously. And I wanted it to be a place where a woman could come alone and be treated like a human being.
“Along with lots of other stuff that I‘ve done that’s probably my greatest source of pride, really; that I’ve created a safe space, a place of good conversation, and kids who’ve come through The Adelphi have tended to do very well. There are people around the world who say they grew up in The Adelphi.”
Among the many visitors Paul had at Dove House Hospice during the last days of his life was the Lord Mayor, Councillor Cheryl Payne, who made him an Honorary Burgess of Hull.
It was a belated but fitting recognition from the city for a man who arguably made the biggest contribution to its cultural and creative life in modern times.