I turned fifty last week, which is a bit of a milestone, and so wanted to celebrate with a party. I was looking for a local stylish, modern and cosy venue for hosting it, with a bar, dance floor, a chill out area, a stage, and with chairs and tables for seating… to hold up to 140 people … in-fact my wish list was quite a mean feat and I didn’t think that the perfect venue would exist.

That was when I stumbled across ‘Purple Rain’ Lounge and Bar on Queen Anne Street, which is a narrow, tucked away side road off Eastbank Street. It used to be the popular ‘Forge Brasserie’ restaurant.

When you enter ‘Purple Rain’ your eyes are first drawn to the beautiful bar, with it’s modern floral wisteria- like displays graced with neon lighting. Walk ahead and you come across plush velvet armchairs and funky Mexican- tile style tables with soft seating.

Further on, around the corner, there are gorgeous seating booths, with velvet cushioned pew seats nestled under rustic archways, reminiscent of ‘The Cavern club’ in Liverpool, with a ceiling above pasted full of pop posters and memorabilia . It’s quirky, inviting and unique.

It doesn’t end there, however, as on the first floor there is a large chill out area, with comfortable soft sofas, a pool table and arcade games for the teens . Oh wait ! I haven’t even mentioned the dance floor or the stage yet!

The dance floor is quite large with a huge glass chandelier dangling above and is overlooked from the open railed stairway to upstairs. There are even mock window balconies on the upper floor, with faux window box planters looking over downstairs; which give it a Mediterranean look and feel.

The bar does cocktails (two for £12) and they have a chef who makes delicious tapas and small plates, as well as a full menu, throughout the week, served from around 4:30pm. The catering team prepared a fabulous buffet for my birthday party. This included a very tasty chicken curry and rice, chicken wings, duck spring rolls, prawn, egg, cheese sandwiches, green salad and quality sausage rolls and pasties. There was absolutely no food left and all the guests commented on how good it was.

The stage is the perfect space for any performer. The bar host their own live open mics, live solo artists and comedy nights regularly. I had a pre organised open mic show at the party and a DJ of my own, which went down exceptionally well, although there is a juke box too. There were keyboard players, guitar players, mouth organists, singers and dancers from opera to body popping performing on the stage with everyone having a good view.

Background:

Purple Rain only opened in March 2023, as a live music venue, and has a following in it’s Facebook group of over 2k followers, so far, which is steadily increasing as the bar becomes more well known. It recently was also the venue for our town’s “Battle of The Bands,” which proved a massive success.

Purple Rain is owned by Bernard Stapleton and Natalie Wilson, who previously ran a series of successful restaurants and bars in Spain. The couple also run the thriving Marina Bar and Grill at the Yacht Club in Liverpool.

Bernie says:

“We wanted to open somewhere in Southport that was welcoming and diverse, where people can be who they want to be.”

I personally think they have succeeded in this! The only thing now is for more of Southport to know about this amazing place!

I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the staff and management of Purple Rain who went above and beyond to make my party the amazing night that it was.
I would highly recommend booking this venue for your own party! The bar can close to the public (if it is booked enough in advance.) An asset of this venue is that it has the upstairs area, which is perfect for the teens or anyone to chill and hang out.

Everyone who attended had a fabulous time. Purple Rain gets a 10/10 from me!!

For more info on private bookings, please contact Lollie Hart on +44 7557 765685

Visit Purple Rain’s facebook here

Reported by Claire Kelly
clairekelly@qlocal.co.uk for community interviews, reviews and events coverage

Still miss The Forge very much, but good that its successor is successful.