A FORMER Blackburn nightspot which was celebrated by music lovers is to re-open after four years.

The Cellar Bar, in King Street, is currently undergoing a £65,000 refurbishment and will relaunch with three Saturday night special events in October.

The 300-capacity bar has been acquired by community interest company and record label Boomtown Basement and former DJ at the Cellar, Jonathan Nutter, 37, will be the licensee.

He said: “Around 10 year’s ago the bar was packed every week but it went into a decline.

“We’re determined to make it special again with great music and surroundings.

“We’re having a launch night on Saturday, October 1, and an ‘Indie classics’ night on October 15 and a Halloween party on October 29.

“We’re hoping the bar can host private events and club nights and we hope to grow organically.

“Central to our success will be our music policy which will be indie, rock, soul and reggae.”

A former regular at The Cellar Bar, Katie Mercer, 28, from Shadsworth welcomed the re-opening.

She said: “The Cellar Bar was so much more than just a pub.

“It brought like minded people together and the friends you made there became friends for life.

“It was somewhere that accepted everyone for who they were.

“Blackburn lost something really special when the Cellar Bar closed it’s doors and to me and the hundreds of other regulars, the town was never the same again.

“Lots of musicians cut their teeth playing downstairs at Cellar and the annual Courtyard Festivals were legendary, hopefully they will make a comeback.”

“If the new owners give a new generation even half of what the cellar bar gave to me and my friends, Blackburn will benefit.”