Cheap bars like Revolution were a rite of (affordable) passage and we need them

Let's time travel. 2009, Sheffield, the university years. Welcome to Vodka Revs - a branch of Revolution Bars - when, each time the bartender turns to the till, I ease a martini glass from the overhead rack and slide it down an arm of my coat. I stop after seven.

- David Ellis

A success until it's time to leave, when outside, as I throw my hands up in triumph, everything comes crashing, shattering down. The bouncers shout; I run.

Does everyone over 18 and under 40 have a memory like this? Could anyone still have a night like that? I think about that crystal puddle surprisingly often: 15 years later, it crosses my mind every time I order a martini. At the time, Revolution was worth about £60 million, and drinks were a fiver when they were from the top shelf. It was a haven.

So this week's news, of Revolution Bars in trouble, gave me pause. After failing to publish its half-year results last week, on Tuesday the chain announced it had suspended its shares.

It is on the hunt for a rescue plan which could mean a new investor, a sale, or the closure of around a quarter of its roughly 70 sites across the country.