Telford's newest music venue kicking off events season with Devil's Ball

Firefly, a music venue for hire in Oakengates, is the second business venture from Scott Adams, the owner of Exotic Zoo in Telford Town Park.

It has taken three years to get here though as Scott originally opened a week before the first lockdown in 2020, and was forced to close soon after.

As music venues are finally open again, Scott wanted to open up with a big event and welcome people back to the Firefly properly.

Scott, whose passion for animals is equal only to his love and enthusiasm for music, was once the front man for rock band Envy of the State – also known as NewBreed.

In Envy of the State, he travelled around the world and toured America with hit albums – and this inspired him to open his own venue in the heart of Telford.

They are kicking off events with The Devil's Ball on Saturday, October 30 – which is fancy dress, just in time for Halloween.

The Devil's Ball was organised by The Envy of the State each year for the past 15 years, and this year Scott has hired Leo’s Loco Circus to entertain guests.

"A lot of people remember me from years and years ago when I was the front man of the New Breed, then we changed our name to Envy of the State when touring in America and places," Scott explained.

"We had loads of songs and were on all the TV channels at the time. So my background is in music and it is still one of my passions.

"As we came out of our last record deal, it was then that I started up the Exotic Zoo stuff and got into the educational side of things.

"Being a front man for a rock band and touring the world was my passion but I was lucky to have another passion in animals and educating, so I went into that.

"The Devil's Ball was something we as a band had been doing for around 15 years. We started it around 17 or 18 years ago but missed a couple due to the pandemic, and decided to start it off again.

"We did it at The Haygate in Wellington for 13 of the years which was really the prime place for rock music, but it closed down."

Scott is hoping Firefly will become a popular music venue, and somewhere people can hire for private events.

He spent 18 months refurbishing the building – which was a former nightclub – and opened it in March 2020, a week before the first lockdown and the coronavirus pandemic hit.

"The opportunity came up for me to take on what is now The Firefly – before it was a nightclub with I think a bit of a bad reputation," he said.

"It became available and the council and the police were keen for it not to be another nightclub.

"The idea came up for me to take it on and for it to become more of a community venue for hire, for private events and parties and things.

"The plans got scuppered a bit. We spent 18 months turning it into a high end club style, had a grand opening with the council and the press and a ribbon cutting. Then a few days later we went into the first lockdown.

"Over the following 18 months we could not open at all, because nightclubs and venues were the last thing to open. So three years went by when we had spent money refurbishing it, but couldn't open. It was a bit of a disaster really."

Scott said he was really excited for the future of the venue, and looking forward to giving The Devil's Ball a new home.

"When I took on the club, the zoo was still in Priorslee, and everything was quite easy – so I thought I had time to do a new project," Scott added. "Then the pandemic hit.

"But I am really excited for the future. Everyone who has visited has said it looks so great and classy inside.

"I'm hoping it will be a popular venue for people to hire. But we have made sure to put in a big stage so it lends itself to events.

"This event is an opportunity for people to see it's there and support it."