The small room was great. A most excellent post Tom.. #5 Where could you find warehouse raving complete with funfair rides right in the heart of the capital? In the past 15 years, some of best-loved venues of the London club scene have shut their doors, for reasons ranging from crime to gentrification and Crossrail. Sign up to our weekly email. It drew in big name DJs and its club night FWD>> was a rite of passage for many Londoners going out in the early 2000s. He then says, whilst his tash does this little dance/shuffle thing, in the deepest booming, bass-like voice Awighht, Lads, you havin yerselves a good night, then? Me and my brother just cracked up. It was hip long before Shoreditch was, and paved the way for the plethora of nightlife venues that have popped up in the area since. Sad to see the old clubs flattened, but everyone clearly took so much from their experiences there that I hope the post is also a real celebration. He was about 50 years old and massive. Nice article Tom, brought back some memories. But in the 1990s it was plagued by bad publicity and following a drug-related . All the London clubs now are appearing and disappearing like mushrooms. For more info on what we write about and why, see our About section. It closed after an issue with underage drinking was reported in 2009, before re-opening as Electric Brixton. All rights reserved. The place has many special memories for many people. Astoria in Charing Cross Road was London's largest live music club for years. We need a new visionary. In the middle years of the 60s this was the place to be seen. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Founded in an old bus garage in 1991, its far from salubrious location deep in pre-gentrification Elephant and Castle gave it genuine edge. Great article. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Cramming into clubs packed with big hair, booze and pounding music was a rite of passage in the 1980s and into the 1990s. With the post-lockdown future of so many live music venues in doubt, Paul Tallings new book is a timely reminder of what we have already lost. Maybe we can campaign to put a blue plaque up on the inevitable bland glass front of its replacement I wonder what on earth it would say?! By the mid-1990s the venue was no longer used as a cinema, instead functioning as a music venue, nightclub and snooker hall. Would love to break that story! We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. In 2010 a group which was known for squatting in large homes and embassies moved into the the building. Bagley's, King's Cross (1990-2008) Instagram The massive warehouse club in King's Cross was a close as you could get to a legal rave. Central to the Black jazz scene at the time, and closely linked with African. The exterior of Hammersmith Palais nightclub in 1968 when it was still known as Hammersmith Palais de Danse . So while we salute the nightspots that have weathered the Covid storm, lets now recall the clubs that have fallen, not just during the pandemic but way, way before that, all of whom, in their day, contributed to the aching limbs, sore feet and empty wallets of hedonistic Londoners of yore. Plus I think Friction was there for a bit to. Ruby Violet: NW5s pioneering ice cream parlour to close, Let It Roll Records closes. At the Astoria I met a bloke who ended up being my significant other for a decade. Killjoy councils, student debt and stolen phones: the slow death of British clubs, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Then Dane Bowers went and ruined it all. It is quite sad seeing a place that holds so many memories for whatever reasons e.g. I worked at AKA for many years. Will come back around and write more. Anyway, as the corridor joined Soundshaft to Heaven (and Heaven being pretty legendry), I decided to go to the loo. Also an important indie music club, the venue a few doors down from Plastic Peoples original address hosted acts including the Klaxons, Kings of Leon, Courtney Love and Mika. thanks for the article, spent many crazy nights/days in all of these places, Velvet Underground aside. 10. A bare room with the most rudimentary of bars at one end (cans of Red Stripe or nothing) in a Hoxton basement, the place came to prominence in the Nineties and Noughties as an incubator for dubstep and for possessing one of the greatest sound systems ever owned by a nightclub. The West End establishment started out as a burlesque club but later became a staple for Central London's "fringe-culture" community. THANKS. best dominic madden, Sundays @ The End with The A corner crew slapping the walls to Malcom Duffy. Hearing those tunes led to me pestering the record shops for a record I didn;t kow the name of, who it was by but it went something like this Mmmm, mmm,mm uh-uh dah-dah! Some of the greatest nights of my life have been at FWD>> at Plastic People.. The West End night spot was based in a former chapel on Shaftsbury Avenue until its popularity declined and sadly, it was sold on and converted into a bar. In one fell swoop, however, the Cross, Canvas and the Key were culled in favour of the regeneration of Kings Cross. 16. Oasis performed their debut London show at The . Vauxhall became the locus of gay clubs from 2000. The sound shaft and heaven where legendary , as was the London Astoria, Fascinating to read about the origins and teams behind such monumental moments in Londons clubbing history. Ive worked in Turnmills from 1996 right to the very last night in 2008. A dominant hair design was de rigueur. it probably was ha ! I remember them all so well!! I had some of the best days of my life there! The five-storey building is rather wonderfully detailed inside and out. Something went wrong, please try again later. Many thanks These might have often been dank, crumbling, smelly old places, but they are where countless people enjoyed some of the most intense and vital moments of their lives. I have one precious copy, sadly. Love it, smiling from ear to ear thinking about some of them. In the 1990s, the scene reverted back to Soho, revitalised by new style bars like The Village. Ironically, the development never happened and the club was eventually reopened as the Den and Centro. This former gin distillery was home to one of Londons all time greatest club nights: Trade. Despite the epic interior, or perhaps because of it, the venue struggled to pull in the punters during its later years, blaming the recession for its eventual closure. It had its licence revoked after a "serious incident of disorder" in 2014 and its closure left many Londoners with heavy hearts. The music, the mixing, the vibe. Great article and very sad reading. 1. I stood at one and there was one in between us, unmanned. Hope you are too. After all they shaped todays society in one way or another. People may rave about London's nightlife, but compared to other big cities, clubs and bars shut early and are expensive. 051. I walked into the toilet and my brother was stood at the urinal. Enjoyed the trip into nostalgia very much.. If the Mayor grants planning permission for a huge development of flats opposite Ministry of Sound, club bosses know their days at the Elephant & Castle bus depot cum internationally renowned temple of DJ culture will be numbered. Stars from the world of the music who were regulars at the nightclub included Boy George, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Steve Strange. This week, Boris Johnson has been considering a decision that will affect the future of Londons most famous nightclub. 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. After all, it did have a capacity pushing 4,000 people and a 24-hour drinking licence. Oh, the most impressive handlebar tash I have ever seen on a Man. Big small club! The massive warehouse club in King's Cross was a close as you could get to a legal rave. Have to confess my favorites were Frantic at the Academy, and The Fridge. R&B Clubs And Events In London. I love this article! Its a hardback coffee table monster, full of lovely photos and quotes. It was almost impossible due to vibration from the soundsystem Later feeling sick in the stomach because of the same reason. It most certainly is me. Back then, the huge 2,000 capacity venue was a Saturday night lockout and one . Were you a Crank? The haunt of royals and car dealers, gangsters and landed aristocrats, it was a fixture in London nightlife, with the most famous years of the club being the decades between 1950 and 1970. Despite a big campaign to save it, the club fell victim to a compulsory purchase order from Hackney council to build a new cinema. Some partners do not ask for your consent to process your data and rely on their legitimate business interest. Rather than join the party, Hackney council revoked the clubs licence following an undercover operation into drug dealing at the venue. According to its owners, the time felt right to move on. Great article Tom. The End on a Friday and Turnmill on a Saturday were more my thing. Thanks for the article, brought back awesome memories! Lashana Lynch: Its inspiring to see a young black woman on screen not be perfect, The biggest films coming out in 2023 and when theyll be released, Bulgari to open Serpenti exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery. The End and AKA, West End1995-2009A venue that just seemed to stick in the hearts of all who frequented it, the End was an intimate basement club run by Mr C and Layo, tucked just behind High Holborn. London Night Guide is your nightlife concierge for the most best clubs in London. 9/10 you lose 1 point for making me feel old! Believe it or not King's Cross was once the party hub of London. There is no place for this kind of establishment in Hackney. I think the concern is that given the way that redevelopment is happening across town, one day soon there wont be any suitable spaces where clubs can settle. hope youre well? Now, as then, this is still the party spot for the rich and privileged, with a fair smattering of showbiz excess included. ; Beargarden Club - A St James's club in Trollope's Palliser novels; Bellona Club - Lord Peter Wimsey's club and location of a murder in Dorothy L. Sayers novel The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club Billiards Club - Setting for the improbably tall . Keeping mine though , Sounds great, have been looking for a fb page for The Cross but cant find anything at all, would be amazing to see pics over the years, Its a hardback book called the cross 1993-2003 by j. cutting. Today, bar the indefatigable fabric, its secret warehouse parties all the way invariably cold, austere and over crowded, with awful sound and non existent facilities (one toilet between 500, anyone?) So goooood memories!!!! The Whirlitzer seating in The Cross Garden However, its worth taking a moment to remember that nightclubs, by their very essence, shouldnt outstay their welcome. Worse than that, advanced ticketing is now the only option promoters are now willing to risk, destroying that brilliant spontaneous thing of being in the pub and deciding who you wanted to see and where (knowing you had a good choice of reliable venues that you knew inside out.) 13. It didnt last long though. Ive loved reading ur write up about the old clubs and the memories came flooding back with the pics!! Thats brought back some memories. We could party on until 1pm without worrying if the police were going to turn up, says Smokin Jo, who was resident DJ at the night. The club was renamed Canvas in 2003, when Billy Reilly took over the club, also opening the Key and the Cross next door, creating a golden triangle of clubbing in N1. The club on the corner of Mount Pleasant and Brownlow Hill was one of the city's most famous venues in the 90s. Its industrial settings and position in the centre of London made it a unique offering. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. It was where world-famous artists like Adele and The XX cut their teeth, and was a gem of the North London nightlife scene. A club with really innovative nights and for the hardcore Metalheadz on a Sunday night. There was no place to hide. I remember one of their selling points was drinks at pub prices.

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