Leading Scottish musicians yesterday paid tribute to a popular Scottish arts venue which has closed its doors after running in to financial difficulties.

Aberdeen's The Lemon Tree, which helped launch the careers of Idlewild, Franz Ferdinand and The Delgados, has ceased trading and gone into liquidation after several years of struggling for funds.

Upcoming events have been cancelled at the venue, which employs more than 50 full and part-time staff. It is not known if ticket holders will be able to get refunds.

The centre's board rejected an offer of financial aid from Aberdeen City Council, opting instead to close.

A statement read: "The board met and agreed unanimously that The Lemon Tree had no alternative but to cease trading with immediate effect. We regret the decision and the impact that there will inevitably be on staff and customers, but we are unable to continue trading when we do not have enough cash to meet our liabilities."

The Lemon Tree's future had been in jeopardy ever since it lost out on a £180,000 core grant from the Scottish Arts Council.

The blow meant it was forced to survive on private funding to continue with its acclaimed programme of music, dance and drama.

Emma Pollock, a singer- songwriter and founding member of The Delgados, said she was "shocked" by the news. She said: "Only a few months ago I played there with King Creosote, so I was really shocked when I heard because it has been one of the best venues in Scotland.

"The Lemon Tree knew how to treat performers. They had a really professional set-up and the staff really cared about putting on a good show."

Tribute was also payed by Jo Mango, one of the rising stars of the Scottish music scene, who recalls seeing some of her first gigs at The Lemon Tree, having been brought up in nearby Peterhead.

She said: "Some of the first bands who inspired me were acts I saw at The Lemon Tree.

"I remember going to a songwriting workshop there that was instrumental in my taking music more seriously.

"I've played there as a performer and it's a great size of venue - big enough but still small enough that you can get up close to the audience.

"Now that's gone, along with Dr Drake's, you have to wonder where is left in Aberdeen for bands now?"

Housed in the former St Katherine's Club, The Lemon Tree opened in April 1992, and by 2003 had attracted more than 100,000 visitors to a programme of music, theatre, dance, comedy, literature and educational projects.

Anne Begg, the Labour MP for Aberdeen South, said the closure was a "tragedy".

"This is Aberdeen's only mid-range arts venue and its sudden closure is going to leave a huge hole in the arts scene in Aberdeen," she said.

"It is a complete tragedy leaving many loyal followers with tickets for shows which will be cancelled, including primary school children hoping to see a puppet show who will find the doors firmly closed instead."