Sunderland's Pop Recs cafe renamed Sonny's in tribute to Dave Harper and family

Frankie & the Heartstrings drummer Dave, who was steadfastly passionate and vocal about flying the flag for Sunderland’s cultural scene, was a major driving force in the Pop Recs venue, cafe, arts and community space, which this year turned ten.

Two years ago, after a decade of hard graft by the team, the venue opened in its new, and largest, home to date after the sympathetic restoration of once-dilapidated buildings in High Street West.

Dave passed away on August 25, 2021, aged just 43, and never got to see the venue open its doors in its full form, but he’s still very much a part of Pop Recs.

It’s proved a huge success story; a safe community space, a culture hub, a culinary hot spot and a much-loved thread in the fabric of Sunderland.

Now, the cafe side of the community interest company (CIC) has been rebranded as Sonny’s after Dave’s 10-year-old son.

It’s a fitting tribute to Dave.

Speaking to the Echo in 2018, he said: “Once the door of Pop Recs opened I didn’t want to shut it again. In 10/15 years when you leave your flag in the sand, this is the level of legacy I want my son to see.”

Dan Shannon, one of the Pop Recs directors alongside Michael McKnight, said: “What Pop Recs is now is mine and Michael’s vision, but Dave is the driving force behind it all.

"While Pop Recs CIC is the ultimate focus of the building, the food and drink side of the business has proved so popular and we wanted to give the cafe its own focus and identity. While the venue is still Pop Recs, we didn’t want to just call the cafe side Pop Recs cafe. So we thought it would be cool to solidify Dave’s legacy and, as a tribute to his family, to call it Sonny’s.

"We asked Ruth (Dave’s wife) and she was so supportive, as she always is. There’s not many big decisions we don’t run past her.”

Sonny himself has been into the newly-rebranded cafe and is "chuffed” with the rebrand.

While the venue attracts a great range of acts and bands from a broad range of genres and hosts thought-provoking exhibitions, the cafe, which now has its own branding designed by local freelance designer Polly Stuart, has proved an excellent addition to the city in its own right.

You can venue forthcoming gigs at Pop Recs here.

With head chef Adam Fairbairn at the helm, who’s previously worked at Mexico 70 and Trakol, it serves up a seasonal menu of quality breakfasts, brunches and more.

"The food culture in Sunderland is really developing,” said Dan. “Bit by bit that level is being raised. The future of Sunderland city centre is experiences: food, drink, interaction. Stuff you can’t get online. And if you deliver good quality and good service, it can sustain itself.

"We knew that if we delivered that quality, people would come.”