Ah. 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). London's night-time economy is estimated to contribute 17-26.bn in . I remember one of their selling points was drinks at pub prices. Special times in special places all round though. 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! Mass and Babalou, Brixton1996-2012Bearing in mind this pair of venues were hosted within Brixtons St Matthews Church, which leased the space to them, it was always pretty cheeky for Mass to host Torture Garden events in the crypt. Never crossed my mind that even the buildings would be gone. Ruby Violet: NW5s pioneering ice cream parlour to close, Let It Roll Records closes. musical boundaries being broken, relationships being formed, inspiration etc, is then taken and truned into something else. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Depressing isnt it? 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. 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. 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. Breaks my heart to see whats happened. Nice read Scary thought that Ive actually worked at all of them!!! Nobody came to Plastic People for the glamour or dcor. During the 1990s, photographer Steve Eichner documented the rowdy, over-the-top debauchery that was New York City's club scene and nightlife. Its really sad that the times have achanged and in a reflection of this, all these fantastic places are being bulldozed. Bob Geldof had his stag do at Limelight before he married Paula Yates, George Michael (pictured here in 1992) was often seen at Limelight with a woman on his arm, Inside the former Welsh chapel which was once home to the Limelight nightclub. Before and during the Second World War, most lesbian bars and clubs were found in central London. For more news and featuresabout London directly to your inbox sign up to our newsletter here. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Limelight in London opened in 1985 in a Grade II listed former Welsh Presbyterian church in Shaftsbury Avenue in the West End borough of Westminster. Many a themed student bash was hosted at London Bridge's notorious Cable Club in the mid 2000s. Turnmills, Clerkenwell1990-2008Another one of Londons fossilised superclubs, Turnmills was the first venue in the UK to get a 24-hour dance licence. Want the best food, film, music, arts and culture news in London sent straight to your inbox? But the party was brought to an abrupt end after a stabbing there led it to lose its licence and subsequent closure. 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.. (1989) " London Nights " is British Europop duo London Boys ' biggest hit single, released in 1989 from their debut album, The Twelve Commandments of Dance. It was almost impossible due to vibration from the soundsystem Later feeling sick in the stomach because of the same reason. Great article. So blessed to have lived through that experience and a special mention to my ex Alan and DJ Chris McKoy. There is no place for this kind of establishment in Hackney. Top 5 Lost London Nightclubs of the 90s Former DJ Magazine Deputy Editor Tom Kihl investigates what happened to the clubs that once dominated London's nightlife By Tom Kihl March 1, 2013 T his week, Boris Johnson has been considering a decision that will affect the future of London's most famous nightclub. Thanks Julian. All rights reserved. Bagleys moody security also trying to half in your gak. Losing those places feels like losing a family member never to return. Didnt boy george have a residency there? 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. 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. It was like a small amphitheatre with the DJ the absolute centre of attraction, he says. 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. Must be sat looking pretty on a fair few coffee tables to this day, The cross & turnmills, nothing did or has come close. The arcade room downstairs We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Matter, Greenwich2008-2010It was perhaps always a slightly over-optimistic proposition opening a nightclub in Greenwich, let alone one inside the Millennium Dome, but if anyone was going to have a good stab at it, then it would be the pair behind Fabric: Cameron Leslie and Keith Reilly. To order the clip clean and high res visit http://www.kinolibrary.com. October 2018 the anonymous landlord of the former chapel won planning approval from Westminster council to upscale the venue into a major performance venue on the West End's arts scene with a restaurant and basement bar, run by Stone Nest. 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. Weve picked our Top 5 such venues, all of which were in stumble-home-from distance for Kentishtowners (thats why theres no Club UK for example, if youre wondering). Glad you like it Phil. Great article and very sad reading. 11. Because of the sleazy, druggy, mischievous late night vibe (exactly what makes such haunts so exciting), we tend to reduce their cultural significance. The Whirlitzer seating in The Cross Garden I remember Bagleys that was a long time ago. Cramming into clubs packed with big hair, booze and pounding music was a rite of passage in the 1980s and into the 1990s. Great article Tom. Great article. The works. Unfortunately, I cant say I experienced all of them. With increasing interest in the 'pink pound', gay pubs and clubs proliferated in London and other cities and towns across the country. 15 South London clubs and bars from the 2000s we all really miss Nuff Said. Amen. When Limelight fell out of favour as a celebrated nightspot it was sold and in 2003 became a Walkabout bar. But the magic was gone weve since seen the end for the Den, too. People from across the capital will flock to Herbal, an exposed brick warehouse which regularly hosted big name DJs. Nowadays the capital's former red light district is swanky. 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. Councils across London are cracking down on late night licences. 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. Limelight in Atlanta was also a place to see and spot celebrities over the years. 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. Im rambling anyway. A perfectly acceptable thing to do at the time. Electrowerkz was the name!!! 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. He looked down at me, then to my brother, we both leant forward in unison, looked at each other, as if to say Have you seen this, dude? and then back up at him. 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. But we've been getting all nostalgic and wishing we could have a final drink at Limelight. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. 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. After all, it did have a capacity pushing 4,000 people and a 24-hour drinking licence. . But things turned sour after after a double stabbing took place in the club, leading to its licence being revoked. Zen's Dartford First Flicks in the 1980s and later Zen's, the nightclub on Essex Road was more recently known as Air & Breathe. If anyone sees them please can you let me know? have always wondered where he is now and what hes up to. Plus Lion & Unicorn and LGBTQ History Month, Black History Month 2022: 5 picks across Camden, Foodscape: own a vertical plot in Londons first urban farm, Queer Jubilee: Drag at Zabludowicz, Queer Britain and Mighty Hoopla, LGBTQ History Month 2022: top 10 Camden & Islington highlights, My Boy Danny: the acclaimed play tackling LGBTQ hate crime, Where to find the summer special issue and whats in it. 16. We also ran revesceen magazeen But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. All this created the friendliest and most fun crowd on the clubbing scene. And good to see you the other night (I was in the ridiculous blue jacket). In the middle years of the 60s this was the place to be seen. 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. 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. Fantastic to look through it every so often and remember what wasa very much loved and much missed club . I will never stop thinking it was incredible. 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. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. By the 1990s gay venues across the country started to transform. -d(-L-)b-. The energy and the hedonism of the club gave a new life to the scene and other clubs sprung up trying to emulate Trade, giving more choice to clubbers. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. The Kingsland Road venue was once "the coolest bar around." 18. Turnmills building being totally destroyed is the ultimate, inexcusable vandalism though. A great article , and so sad that many of these truly iconic places may be but a memory in the minds of millions . The Top 10 Rave venues of the Nineties | Junglist Network 10. OMG London clubbing in the 90s, was there ever a time in history that was better? There are now just 1,733 venues compared with 3,144 in 2005 and in the last 10 years London has lost 10 top clubs. Redferns/Getty Images . I will be following developments closely. I was just chatting away, when I heard this rhythmic, squeaking sound, along with heavy, thundering footsteps. London's lost venues - in pictures | Music | The Guardian Plus I think Friction was there for a bit to. Kids going out today wont realise its a tragedy, but it is. 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. By the 90s, everyone from Desmond Dekker to the Prodigy had played there. 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. I played at the cross several times .. 4 me one of best uk clubs where i played great memories , I have the Cross book. Cue acid house, bucket hats, baggy T-shirts and lots of sweat. I am now all grown up at 42 with a respectable job and look like I am, a middle aged mum. 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? Its industrial settings and position in the centre of London made it a unique offering. He was a sound guy actually.