Remember one night trying to adjust the needles for them not to jump on the vinyls. Great article. Madame JoJo's closure was a massive blow to Soho 's nightlife scene. Plus I think Friction was there for a bit to. Its sad though, as these were truly iconic clubs I am not from UK, but had a chance to party in Turnmills and The Fridge at their best times I felt everyone is equal kind of things there. I (just about) have wonderful memories of all 5 of those venues. We then went our seperate ways. Before the Millenium Dome became the O2 Arena we know today it was home to a couple of nightclub's. The works. I had some of the best days of my life there! Redferns/Getty Images . The duo ran the popular basement club in Holborn for years. No sensible drinking cautions, no smoking bans, and generally less moderation of everything. Arts charity Stone Nest began to restore and redevelop the former chapel into flexible performance space for theatre, dance, music, video and performance art in 2012. Its really not surprising nobody has any sense of ownership or love for these places, because both promoters and punters are using them on such an ad hoc basis. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Good to see http://givingupdrugsforlent.tumblr.com/ in full swing again this year. By the 1990s gay venues across the country started to transform. 14. All rights reserved. And there are also some intriguing facts about the nightclub's sister venues across the pond. He was about 50 years old and massive. A great article , and so sad that many of these truly iconic places may be but a memory in the minds of millions . 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. But the party was brought to an abrupt end after a stabbing there led it to lose its licence and subsequent closure. (1989) " London Nights ". So blessed to have lived through that experience and a special mention to my ex Alan and DJ Chris McKoy. Maggie's, 329 Fulham Road, SW10 9QL, maggies-club.com The Jazz Caf 5 Parkway Every Saturday night, the Jazz Caf hosts I Love the 80s v I Love the 90s, a retro night combining all the best bits of. The site on Curtain Road is now the uber-cheesy Sunset cocktail bar and offers VIP Packages underneath a branch of the burger chain Hache. 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?) The Astoria, Soho1976-2009Not even Londons largest live music club could stand in the way of the Crossrail development. Sat 30 May 2020 17.00BST 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. 8. The music was smooth and progressive, which moved into a feeling of just less than trance. George Michael often arrived at the nightclub accompanied by a woman before he came out as gay. It was in King's Cross's golden triangle of night clubs which all shut down in the face of the area's redevelopment. Shelves in the loos. When it opened, the Fridge was the club of the New Romantics - Boy George was a regular - before becoming famous for its nights hosted by Soul II Soul. A great venue Finally closing after 18 years in 2008, Trade never again found a permanent home as Turnmills itself was demolished; the site is now home to the most anonymous possible looking corner office block. It was where world-famous artists like Adele and The XX cut their teeth, and was a gem of the North London nightlife scene. By the mid-1990s the venue was no longer used as a cinema, instead functioning as a music venue, nightclub and snooker hall. Trying to find your mates Bagleys started to go downhill for me after the drugs raid. It was almost impossible due to vibration from the soundsystem Later feeling sick in the stomach because of the same reason. Cheers Mike. 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. 10. 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. but it went wrong after the terrible stabbing on a bank holiday sunday night. We do have to move on though and surely there are opportunities for a new generation of people who want to create new nightclub venues, with fresh ideas. I DJed at the Cross 13th birthday and was given a copy of the book on my way out. Dirty, worn, in your face, street cred with banging, hard but funky beats. My favourite break-time activity was to go up to the rafters and watch everybody raving. And while theres nothing worse than the club bore going on about how the music and the parties were so much better back in the day, we should give these classic institutions more reverence. Were you a Crank? It was the place to go. Despite pioneering an anything goes party culture in London, by the late noughties, the buzz was fading. You can withdraw your consent or find out more by clicking on our Privacy Policy link below. Demonstrators protest against the closure of Madame JoJos, in 2014. mixed the burlesque glamour of Soho with Londons contemporary music scene, Speaking to the Guardian after its closure, Marcus Harris, Hackney council revoked the clubs licence, the capitals biggest modern developments, stand in the way of the Crossrail development, taking the scalp of the Metro with the same swoop of the sword that ended the Astoria. THANKS. You had, in all probability, just left Turnmills, the first club in the UK to receive a 24 hour license. However, its worth taking a moment to remember that nightclubs, by their very essence, shouldnt outstay their welcome. In one fell swoop, however, the Cross, Canvas and the Key were culled in favour of the regeneration of Kings Cross. The demise of so many iconic spaces, proper clubs, remains a tragedy for a city that still considers itself a capital of European partying. Special times in special places all round though. 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). I remember having to take my shoes off for them to be searched. It was around the corner from Angel station. I remember one of their selling points was drinks at pub prices. RIP Turnmills, Im glad I was there to experience it. Written by. I frequented all of these bar Velvet and had many a great night in all. 16. #5 Where could you find warehouse raving complete with funfair rides right in the heart of the capital? When record producer and DJ Paul Oakenfold went to Ibiza in 1985 to celebrate his birthday, he hired a villa and invited then-unknown DJs Nicky Holloway, Pete Tong and Danny Rampling. Great article, and Ill second and third and fourth what has been said here. I also have a book given out on The Ends 10th birthday which is a coffee table book but still good. 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. Mike Nolan from Bucks Fizz appeared at the club in 1997, and boy band D.V.S and singing star Caprice also made memorable appearances. So sad to see it all boarded up. 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. Fabric is the Only venue to stick to its principles avoiding putting in any old rubbish that draws a crowd. Same here. So goooood memories!!!! Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The likes of Oasis and Nirvana played there and it hosted regular LGBT club nights. Even if we cant and possibly shouldnt prevent their almost inevitably fleeting existence. 3. next. Thanks for the article, brought back awesome memories! It was around 2000 and I remember those times as probably the best of my life. Glad to have been part of that London dance scene. Nick, the big bald black guy who always had a smile on his face, pretty much the master of ceremonies at Turnmills. Or did that go the way of the marbles?! Sign up to our newsletter and be the first to know about the latest fashion, travel, going out and lifestyle happenings, Subscribe to the Luxury London print edition, Celebrate the return of clubbing with a trip through the capitals infamous after dark drinking dens. The Norman-style Welsh Chapel was built in 1888 by James Cubitt for inner London's Welsh community and was empty for 15 years before it found new life as nightclub Limelight. I used to do the guest list at Freedom! Stars from the world of the music who were regulars at the nightclub included Boy George, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Steve Strange. Stealth on a Thursday night, marvellous http://wharferj.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/stealth-the-blue-note/ I will never stop thinking it was incredible. Astoria in Charing Cross Road was London's largest live music club for years. Its loyal following of drum and bass fans would flock there every Wednesday for Swerve, the legendary midweek session. Throughout the 90s and 00s the venue attracted party-lovers from far and wide and also played host to a number of big-name acts. Hope youre healthy and happy I played at the cross several times .. 4 me one of best uk clubs where i played great memories , I have the Cross book. The massive venue had a 24 hour drinking licence and a 4,0000 people capacity. 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. 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. We list 18 things you might not know about the Limelight club, the building it was in and its links to the US. Even Prince Charles has been to the Limelight club - he was snapped getting out of the royal car as he arrived to attend a reception for the Prince's Trust at the venue in December 1997. Its a shame that the ones boarded up or abandoned arent brought back to life. Ive loved reading ur write up about the old clubs and the memories came flooding back with the pics!! In its 80s heyday, Limelight was one of London's top nightclubs and a hangout for the decade's biggest celebrities. London Boys singles chronology. In the 1980s some clubs opened up in Earls Court, where the rent was cheaper. Hilarious times. Ill email you! Didnt boy george have a residency there? Now, as then, this is still the party spot for the rich and privileged, with a fair smattering of showbiz excess included. By the 90s, everyone from Desmond Dekker to the Prodigy had played there. It closed after an issue with underage drinking was reported in 2009, before re-opening as Electric Brixton. What I would say is be glad we are the ages we are. In the middle years of the 60s this was the place to be seen. But in the 1990s it was plagued by bad publicity and following a drug-related . Cue acid house, bucket hats, baggy T-shirts and lots of sweat. It closed in 2010 to make way for housing, flats and a theatre, in a high street regeneration scheme. Andy Warhol, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Grace Jones, Debbie Harry, Village People's Randy Jones and Tom Cruise were all names seen at the Atlanta club, which closed in 1985. 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! This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. We had amazing nights, including joint parties with labrynth and raindance. The place was a really important hub for the fledgling dubstep family, says 6Music DJ Mary Anne Hobbs, who went to FWD>> religiously in the mid-2000s. 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). The single was written and produced by Ralf Ren Mau, and its cover artwork features . In 1979 it was from this Covent Garden spot that the New Romantic movement came forth to rescue England from a music scene of lumpen post-punk mediocrity. Vauxhall became the locus of gay clubs from 2000. Hey Janine, I remember you well! 11. We set the standard for many years I wonder.. What can we create next >?? 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 sad fact of the matter is that there aren't the same options there used to be. 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. A linchpin in London's dubstep scene, it was a shock for bass-loving partiers when the Shoreditch venue announced its sudden closure in 2015. 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.) migrated from the Milk Bar around the corner, Danny Rampling ruled wednesday night, and Jon Pleased took over the tradition.Shoom, Pure, Glam, Pleased the weekends fun used to begin on a wednesday,,,,OMG !! To order the clip clean and high res visit http://www.kinolibrary.com. When the lease ran out, Turnmills left amicably, leaving the buildings owners to develop the site into an office block. Electric benefits from the amazing history of the Fridge. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. You can head back to a mate's house and lounge with a cold one until your party mood completely fades, but what if you still have itchy feet and the urge to dance? Then Dane Bowers went and ruined it all. The street was home to the 1980s Batcave nightclub where regulars such as Robert Smith, Marc Almond and Alice Coop. Some partners do not ask for your consent to process your data and rely on their legitimate business interest. RM 2HTCTTN - Ace Cinema, Alexandra Avenue, Rayners Lane, Harrow, London, 1983. Bring your dancing shoes and prepare for a night packed with tunes from the likes of Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Beyonce and Jay-Z as we introduce the best R&B events . Four Aces, Dalston1966-1998In what was, ostensibly, a simpler time for Dalston, the Four Aces was the areas flagship club. Heaven is a Gay superclub in Charing Cross, London, England.It has played a central role and had a major influence in the development of London's LGBT scene for the last 40 years and is home to long-running gay night G-A-Y.The club is known for Paul Oakenfold's acid house events in the 1980s, the underground nightclub festival Megatripolis, and for being the birthplace of ambient house. I dont think so. Nice article Tom, brought back some memories. 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. There is no place for this kind of establishment in Hackney. Thanks Tom sad to read but glad youve documented. 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. But its about the memories though, for me. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Me and my brother went there, 2 days before we flew out to Zante in 1994. "Harlem Desire '89". In the 1990s, the scene reverted back to Soho, revitalised by new style bars like The Village. The MyLondon team tells London stories for Londoners.