This is the electronic sibling of Cops and Robbers, a monthly guide listing DIY music events in Leeds. This website lists all the events that you’ll find in the paper copy, but with more up to date information (line-up changes, venue changes or cancellations), and also gigs from the coming months.

The gigs listed on this site are all organised in a DIY fashion, that is to say that the money made from the gigs is used to cover the costs of the bands and the promoters costs. These events don’t exist to make a profit for anyone involved. As far as Cops and Robbers is concerned, organising or playing a gig for the pleasure of it is the only reason to do it.

We support gigs which may not be commercially viable in a ‘music industry’ setting, and assist promoters who may not have the money to print 5000 glossy flyers for every event, thus bringing together a supportive and like-minded, enthusiastic group of people who organise events for reasons other than profit. Usually any promoter who does make a profit will recycle that money into paying for their next gig. Although many small local bands play regularly, promoters who list in Cops and Robbers were the first to bring people like Deerhoof, Lightning Bolt and Kid 606 to Leeds.

Cops and Robbers has existed as a website for many years now, but has been running on paper for a lot longer. It has always been funded by donations and benefit gigs, and has always been run by volunteers. C&R’s web presence is relatively cheap to maintain; the paper C&R is more expensive. It was re-started in 2008 after a short hiatus; a slightly different team felt the physical listings fanzine was worth continuing after the initial team phased it out. The paper edition provides an interesting and immediate way for people to find out about gigs they would not normally come across, and since it is distributed to record shops, practice rooms, pubs and shops around the city, it’s a lot more hands-on and immediate than a website, something we think is important.

Last year we changed the format and began to showcase local artists, with a different illustrator for each issue. The aim was to bring the art and music communities together and give Cops and Robbers another angle during its’ new lease of life. We’ve heard nothing but good feedback about the brilliant illustrators who have helped us reach a new audience via shops like OK Comics, who are now keener than ever to stock it.

Although cheap photocopying is sometimes available, the paper C&R has been printed at Footprint, a workers co-op, for its entire lifespan, and we are keen to continue to support Footprint by putting as much business their way as we can.

We were lucky enough to have a really good response to the tenth anniversary gig in January which has kept us going financially for the first half of 2009. We are now reaching a stage where we need to urgently appeal for donations to fund future printing and website costs.