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Despite a big campaign to save it, the club fell victim to a compulsory purchase order from Hackney council to build a new cinema. 3. Some of the greatest nights of my life have been at FWD>> at Plastic People.. 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. For more info on what we write about and why, see our About section. Between 1987 and 1990, when police pressure forced its closure, Shoom was where the London dance club as we know it today was born. Cramming into clubs packed with big hair, booze and pounding music was a rite of passage in the 1980s and into the 1990s. 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. I will be following developments closely. After all, it did have a capacity pushing 4,000 people and a 24-hour drinking licence. Unfortunately, I cant say I experienced all of them. THANKS. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Nobody came to Plastic People for the glamour or dcor. A great article , and so sad that many of these truly iconic places may be but a memory in the minds of millions . Remember one night trying to adjust the needles for them not to jump on the vinyls. The End just had to be #1 Its a hardback coffee table monster, full of lovely photos and quotes. Sadly, the chances of mere mortals gaining access to the club today are about as likely as Keith Moon making an appearance and he died in 1978. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. I worked at AKA for many years. If you screwed up, you were thrown to the lions. After 14 years, however, its owners wanted to move on, saying they wanted to leave on a high. The basement of 69 Dean Street, Soho, housed Gossips (formerly Billy's) nightclub, which hosted various one-nighters, the best known being Gaz's Rockin' Blues. Nick, the big bald black guy who always had a smile on his face, pretty much the master of ceremonies at Turnmills. or one of his friends in the first arch of muscle-alley. The very social cafe upstairs, the dense dry-ice on the main floor with the mesmerising lasers, hottest guys, new bizarre sounds, the knowledge that the rest of England was sleeping and had no idea that such hedonism was taking place on a Sunday morning and night (you missed out Warriors) all fuelled after an initial polite and orderly wait in line to see Nick (is he out yet?) 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?! Hi Martyn! LuvDup were djing (one of them fell over on the stage), Princess Julia was stood by the decks dancing. Then Dane Bowers went and ruined it all. We forgive all this because nightclubs in our fair city also provide some of the most euphorically happy moments of collective felicity and joy that well experience in the course of our lives. I found some of the pictures a couple of weeks ago including some rather x-rated ones. Kids going out today wont realise its a tragedy, but it is. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Fact is we WERE around when these incredible bastions of modern culture were in their pomp negotiating a route through the tunnel room at Turnmills, walking up that incredibly long slope towards the cab rank at 5am after The Cross and getting hopelessly lost in those pokey rooms at the bottom of Bagleys. Peter Gatien produced the 1993 film A Bronx Tale after having produced it as a one-man play. From sweaty rave spots to Soho institutions, these are the iconic nightlife haunts we most miss. The Kingsland Road venue was once "the coolest bar around." Ask Billy if there are more? Ch N. Katz In Brick Lane was a small string and paper bag supplier until the late 1990's. Rising rents forced out the Owner after 57 years. Bagleys was always my favourite. Then of course there was The Fridge, Studio 33, and some fantastic railway arch clubs buried away around London (Imperial Rooms in Camberwell New Road a particular memory). Cans of beer Seems quite a few people would like to get their hands on The Cross book dont suppose youve got a lockup full of a last, forgotten batch? But its about the memories though, for me. Velvet Rooms, Soho1993-2003Ibiza party man Nicky Holloway kickstarted this central London club originally named Velvet Underground after his previous project, Milk Bar, lost its lease. The historic venue, which hosted game-changing concerts from the likes of Oasis, Manic Street Preachers and Nirvana, was bulldozed in 2009 to make room for a bigger ticket hall at Tottenham Court Road tube station. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Visibility. The sad fact of the matter is that there aren't the same options there used to be. Memories of its glamorous showbiz past as one of the places to be seen in London in the 1980s echo around through the wall of this beautiful piece of architecture. Hey Janine, I remember you well! As of 2021, MoS now also has its own record label, gym, cruise ship franchise and full size members only shared workspace on Borough Road incorporating private offices, a cinema, meeting rooms for hire and a full service restaurant. Believe it or not King's Cross was once the party hub of London. The place declined to the point that, by the 1980s, it was a strip club but was bought out and re-styled as a members only A-list speakeasy in 2012, now attracting Noel Gallagher, Mark Ronson, Harry Styles et al. Joe Blogs, Great article Tom and indeed sad loss for Londons once outstanding clubland. But Crossrail was the final nail in the coffin for the much-loved Soho venue. The award-winning print and online title Kentishtowner was founded in 2010 and is part of London Belongs To Me, a citywide network of travel guides for locals. My walk to work takes me past what used to to be the entrance to Turnmills every morning it never fails to bring a smile to my face when I think of the good times I had there. Cheers Mike. A great venue Would have kept going there for anniversary, shame its closed but glad weve done it all at the best times, Im an Aussie that worked the doors at imperial garden, car wash gigs, sunny side up, cafe de Paris (wanky but fun). Ah. After searching for ages Ive just stumbled across an archaic website that still has photos and even videos of all three Kings Cross clubs Canvas, The Cross and The Key. the cross in king cross the best partyever is vertigo italian style, thanks Joel glad you like Electric and the Van Dyk show smashed it. The spot is now a lap dancing club called The Red Rooms. Madonna, Bjork and Kate Moss all turned up over the years and versions of Trade popped up in Ibiza, New York and LA. Mass was a particularly important south London club, notably as the home of DMZ, which turned the venue into a pilgrimage spot for dubstep fans from way beyond the capital. A producers first booking at the club was a serious rite of passage. Madame JoJos, Soho1960-2014The legendary nightclub once owned by porn baron Paul Raymond seamlessly mixed the burlesque glamour of Soho with Londons contemporary music scene. Great article. I would work a ten hour shift at a newspaper then drive to Bagleys to spend 5/6 hours talking to ravers, taking photos of people, checking they werent eating their tongues and giving out free condoms (Durex sponsors had given us hundreds of boxes of the things). Electrowerkz was the name!!! 3. next. 7. Last modified on Tue 2 Jun 2020 05.49BST, Photograph: Ray Stevenson/REX/Shutterstock, Photograph: Dick Barnatt/Redferns & Paul Talling, Photograph: Paul Talling & Ilpo Musto/REX/Shutterstock, Photograph: Ray Stevenson/REX/Shutterstock & Paul Talling, Photograph: REX/Shutterstock & Paul Talling, Photograph: Paul Talling & Marc Sharrat/REX Shutterstock, Composite: David Corio/Redferns & Paul Talling, Photograph: Paul Talling & David Corio/Redferns, Photograph: Brendan Beirne/Rex Shutterstock & Paul Talling, Photograph: Alan Davidson/REX/Shutterstock, Photograph: Paul Talling & Ray Stevenson/REX/Shutterstock, Photograph: Suzie Gibbons/Redferns & Paul Talling, Photograph: Ray Stevenson/REX/Shutterstock & Paul Talling, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every The End was the brainchild of DJs Mr C and Layo. Its loyal following of drum and bass fans would flock there every Wednesday for Swerve, the legendary midweek session. The immovable object of the London clubbing scene. From the weekly FWD>> nights, where the UK bass scene emerged, to the broken beat nights Co-op, this was a club that managed to evolve and change while somehow remaining the same for over 20 years, a run that ended only when long-standing manager Charlotte Kepel felt the time was right to pull the plug in 2015. Written by. It was made for DJs by DJs and those who fumbled fumbled spinning the decks were quickly called out by the crowd. Now the industrial area, which was once a high-density party hotspot, is the site of one of the capitals biggest modern developments. It was one of the premiere south London nightspots of the time, with Glenn Miller, Audrey Hepburn and Charlie Chaplin among the top names to grace its stage. 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?) Thanks for the article, brought back awesome memories! Bagleys moody security also trying to half in your gak. Sold out, obviously, although there might be a ticket on the door for 30. Were you a Crank? Cables enraged founder Euan Johnston, who also founded nearby SeOne, said: We were assured when we moved in that we would not be affected by the redevelopment and Network Rail have simply changed their minds We have been brushed aside at every level.. But sadly it never recovered from the initial closure and was put up for sale in 2010. Regulars over the years have included Michael Caine, Keith Moon and Jack Nicholson. Open till 5am and with no alcohol license, this, more than any other London club, marked the end of the sticky carpets and flock wallpaper design of clubs in the capital and triggered the beginning of nightspots being seen as somewhere to dance rather than a place to get hammered and attempt to grope members of the opposite sex. Limelight in New York, which closed in 2001, was in the media in 1996 when Michael Alig was arrested and later convicted for the killing and dismemberment of Angel Melendez, who frequented the New York Limelight - the 2003 biopic Party Monster, starring Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green, was based on this event. Black Sheep Bar, Croydon. Whats in the new July issue of Kentishtowner? Great article. Sir Bob Geldof had his stag do at Limelight before he married Paula Yates in 1986. Or did that go the way of the marbles?! Trying to find your mates These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. A string of London's best-loved night clubs have closed since 2000. Its sudden closure came as a big shock to staff and owners; Network Rail turned up with angle grinders, cut through the metal shutters and took possession of the venue so it could go ahead with its station upgrade plans. Memorable days and nights. With alternate Saturdays at Happiness Stan's/Fourplay at Smith's and the Jazz Bistro in Farringdon. Four Aces, Dalston1966-1998In what was, ostensibly, a simpler time for Dalston, the Four Aces was the areas flagship club. In the middle years of the 60s this was the place to be seen. Nice article that has brought back some wonderful memories. But the party was brought to an abrupt end after a stabbing there led it to lose its licence and subsequent closure. Great article, had some great and messy nights at most of them. 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 think great venues have heritage. Paul Tunkin, who ran the club night Blow Up, which took over the running of the venue in 2001, significantly raising its profile, said at the time: It is another nail in the coffin for central Londons live music and club scene.. It was where world-famous artists like Adele and The XX cut their teeth, and was a gem of the North London nightlife scene. The End & AKA were a true second home. London's night-time economy is estimated to contribute 17-26.bn in . Some partners do not ask for your consent to process your data and rely on their legitimate business interest. The End on a Friday and Turnmill on a Saturday were more my thing. Great article. ; 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 . We then went our seperate ways. Today the building is, quite fittingly, home to an arts organisation with new plans afoot to take the arts venue into the future. The venue hosted international DJs as well as some seminal club nights such as broken beat fix Co-op and dubstep-founding FWD>>. It hosted huge weekend parties that were at hit with House music fans. R&B Clubs And Events In London. It was the image I had in my head before we got there of what Heaven might be like and then this guy walked in. The pictures are quite shocking, but their club history often deliciously more so. Nice article Tom, brought back some memories. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. What I would say is be glad we are the ages we are. We had amazing nights, including joint parties with labrynth and raindance. Fabric is the Only venue to stick to its principles avoiding putting in any old rubbish that draws a crowd. Excellent piece Tom. Oh, the most impressive handlebar tash I have ever seen on a Man. If you were staggering down the Clerkenwell Road on a Sunday afternoon at around 4pm in the early '90s then you can consider yourself a true nightclub pioneer. I used to do the guest list at Freedom! Ive loved reading ur write up about the old clubs and the memories came flooding back with the pics!! Rather than join the party, Hackney council revoked the clubs licence following an undercover operation into drug dealing at the venue. I completely agree would be a fitting tribute to see them all immortalised appropriately in some way. Simon brought the three nights that were being run at Sublime, Beatfix, Cargo and Voodoo and moved its DJs (including Peewee Ferris, Nik Fish, Craig Obey, Bexta and Kate Monroe) into Home's Friday night. George Michael often arrived at the nightclub accompanied by a woman before he came out as gay. You'll get 12 stories straight to your inbox at around 12pm. With increasing interest in the 'pink pound', gay pubs and clubs proliferated in London and other cities and towns across the country. The MyLondon team tells London stories for Londoners. Good to see http://givingupdrugsforlent.tumblr.com/ in full swing again this year. MoS is an institution, still respected by much of the dance music cognoscenti but derided in many quarters for having long since become the Bluewater of nightclubs; mostly now populated by coach parties from Essex. Will come back around and write more. I played at the cross several times .. 4 me one of best uk clubs where i played great memories , I have the Cross book. Happy days. Im surprised The Gardening Club wasnt there. Keep us up to date with how your inspiration is getting on. Great article and very sad reading. so much fun should be illegal. Those that were there will never forget and those that werent would wish they were if they knew. By the 1990s gay venues across the country started to transform. I half remember a night at Bagleys sitting in an ice cream fridge next to the dancefloor. In Berlin you can rave for days at the Berghain without ever having to leave and in Madrid no one hits the "discoteca" before 4am. After all they shaped todays society in one way or another. I was just chatting away, when I heard this rhythmic, squeaking sound, along with heavy, thundering footsteps. Home. We WERE there, we DID live it, and now were sentimental old bastards. Electric benefits from the amazing history of the Fridge. Even if we cant and possibly shouldnt prevent their almost inevitably fleeting existence. The venue stopped running the events to save its licence, but as a result lost a lot of money through cancelled bookings and by March 2010 was broke. All the London clubs now are appearing and disappearing like mushrooms. This made me rather emotional. The Soul City nights in Covent Garden were also really good. However, I do hold dear the fact I took advantage of the last ever NYE at The End..needless to say Laurent Garnier did not disappoint:). Don't skip a beat and sign up to The 12 newsletter here. SeOne, London Bridge2002-2010It was billed as Londons biggest nightclub, a 3,000-capacity venue set in a vast set of arches beneath London Bridge station, known for big-name Saturday nighters as well as regular Moondance raves. Stars from the world of the music who were regulars at the nightclub included Boy George, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Steve Strange. 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. Must be sat looking pretty on a fair few coffee tables to this day, The cross & turnmills, nothing did or has come close. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. but it went wrong after the terrible stabbing on a bank holiday sunday night. Great article, and Ill second and third and fourth what has been said here. 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. A perfectly acceptable thing to do at the time. club uk was awesome, so was the complex, leisure lounge, the cross, turnmills, home in leciester square, camden palace, ku club in leicester square.. All gone I was there though so the memories stay ! You had, in all probability, just left Turnmills, the first club in the UK to receive a 24 hour license. No 6 - Bagleys - London Bagleys was one of London's largest venues throughout the Nineties. The massive warehouse club in King's Cross was a close as you could get to a legal rave. I (just about) have wonderful memories of all 5 of those venues. Acts to have played The Scala include Foo Fighters, The Killers and Coldplay. I discovered house music whilst on holiday in Ibiza in 1990 and after that London was the only place on my to move to list. It later became the Cat's Whiskers club, the Ritzy then Caesars Nightclub. surprised Heaven isnt in thereas well as SoundshaftGood article though! 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Limelight in Atlanta was also a place to see and spot celebrities over the years. Ironically, the development never happened and the club was eventually reopened as the Den and Centro. 15. It was around the corner from Angel station. Great article. How weve missed it all: the overly zealous bouncers in high vis jackets by the entrance, the larcenously overpriced plastic bottles of water, the sweaty bloke in the gents toilets who rents the watered down cologne and Chupa Chups lollies concession and the DJ whose pretence of being a serious artist is such that he spends his six hour set peering down at his decks in the manner of an A Level geography student cramming for the final exam. London's lost nightclubs in pictures A new book by DJ and writer Dave Haslam offers a fascinating glimpse into London's clubbing history. 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. 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. 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. Reliving my 20s again still with a younger GF (cliche alert) and the new wave of EDM. Salmon and Compass in Angel. Anyone have a time machine so I can attend the all night Cox party or a Laurent Garnier night. The first Limelight club opened in Hallendale, Florida in the 1970s and after a devastating fire later that decade, Gatien opened his next Limelight venue in Atlanta. It makes me feel quite sad how our communities are being transformed into bland faceless environments in some cases. Love it, smiling from ear to ear thinking about some of them. By the 90s, everyone from Desmond Dekker to the Prodigy had played there. 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. The regulars often spent hours preparing for the night, and the morning the night morphed into. Wow. MyLondon's brilliant newsletter The 12 is absolutely jam packed with all the latest to keep you keep you entertained, informed and uplifted. (1989) "Megamix". Boy George worked the cloakrooms, Spandau Ballet played their early gigs here and you simply (for better or worse) would never have heard Ultravox or Visage were it not for the Blitz Club. Electroworks (I think this was the name?). My favourite break-time activity was to go up to the rafters and watch everybody raving. Many a themed student bash was hosted at London Bridge's notorious Cable Club in the mid 2000s. it probably was ha ! Nuff Said. Thats brought back some memories. But before it was shut down to make way for King's Cross redevelopment, The Cross Club's six arches would fill with partygoers every weekend. A club with really innovative nights and for the hardcore Metalheadz on a Sunday night. But many of the places that clubbers flocked to every weekend in their thousands in the post-Criminal Justice Act heyday are being erased from todays landscape. I couldnt do it now, but I so glad I did it all then. Proud2, Greenwich 2011-2012Following the closure of Matter, Alex Proud became the next investor to have a go at making a nightclub at the O2 work. I do remember my first time in Trade and deemed it like the descent into Soddom and Gomorrah .. and there were many happy times there after!! Heads of whistling into the sunset. A perfect storm of London property economics, redevelopment zones and major transport improvements (rather than any lack of interest from music fans) has seen off an unprecedented number of key venues in the last few years. 13. I remember me and my brother went up to Soundshaft one night (I was about 22), with, erm, a couple of associates.. Gilles Petterson on Monday, Kenny Hawkes and Luke Solomon on Wednesday, Bryan Gee on Thursday, Garage City on Saturday. 18. Ive had experiences at all of these nightclub venues and brought back many memories reading your article. Founded in an old bus garage in 1991, its far from salubrious location deep in pre-gentrification Elephant and Castle gave it genuine edge. Our journalists cover all the news you need - from City Hall to your local streets, so you'll never miss a moment. Hope you are too. I wouldnt even know where to go nowadays for a night out. The huge venue, which filled six arches, brought a Balearic party vibe to a run-down corner of London, with club nights including Glitterati and Cheeky People. No sensible drinking cautions, no smoking bans, and generally less moderation of everything. By the mid-1990s the venue was no longer used as a cinema, instead functioning as a music venue, nightclub and snooker hall. This former gin distillery was home to one of Londons all time greatest club nights: Trade. I took a diversion myself up York Way a while back and took similar snaps of Bagleys and The Cross. We list 18 things you might not know about the Limelight club, the building it was in and its links to the US. 4. Those Cranks days were the era that I fully embraced the concept of the 3-night sleepless weekender and other wonderous, if slightly unprofessional, ways to fill the hours between shifts. Turnmills, Clerkenwell1990-2008Another one of Londons fossilised superclubs, Turnmills was the first venue in the UK to get a 24-hour dance licence. The Black Sheep Bar in Croydon High Street (Image: David Cook) This High Street venue in Croydon, which was loved for its alternative club nights and live music, closed in 2013 after 15 years in service. Anyone who is anyone has DJd there over the years (as the endless MoS series of album releases testifies), including Paul Oakenfold, Pete Tong and Armand Van Helden. Peter Gatien's daughter Jen Gatien made a documentary called Limelight in 2011, about New York City night life in the 1990s and the rise and fall of her father's club empire.